Concert Programme click here
Texts and Translations click here
This special performance of Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, usually heard on Good Friday and illustrating the sorrow and pain of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is dedicated to everyone mourning a loss, whether that be of a loved one, their work, life as we knew it or anything else which living through this pandemic has left us with.
Vivaldi's Nulla in Mundo (There is no true peace in this world without bitterness) is considered one of the most beautiful solo motets. The text considers the imperfections of the world and praises Jesus for the salvation he offers from it.
These sacred works also transcend the liturgical purposes for which they were written and appeal to a human nature which is intrinsically vulnerable but available to healing and therefore naturally resilient.
With special guests Aisling Kenny - Soprano, Mark Chambers - Counter Tenor and Ray O'Donnell - Organ.
The programme - Voces Luminis (voices of light) aims to reflect on the suffering we have all experienced and give whatever relief we can through the medium of sublime baroque music. The programme moves through reflective and sorrowful colours to find the light and lift the spirits with a celebratory and thankful tone of Corelli's Concerto Grosso No. Op.6 No. 4.
The beauty within this music is at once divine and mortal and the ability to celebrate and be thankful is so important during these difficult times. We hope you love this programme and thank you for your valued support.
Produced with funding from the Arts Council and Galway City Council.
For tickets click here:
All tickets €10
The Soloists
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Aisling Kenny
Aisling Kenny, is a soloist and ensemble singer specialising in early music and art song. She pursues a busy freelance career at home and abroad and sings frequently as a soloist in chamber music and oratorio. She has sung as a soloist with Irish Baroque Orchestra, Camerata Kilkenny, Irish Chamber Orchestra, Marlborough Baroque, Luminosa String Orchestra, The Orchestra of St Cecilia, Linden Baroque and the Staatskapelle Halle and as a soloist with numerous choirs including Resurgam, Sestina, and Chamber Choir Ireland. Aisling features regularly in the National Concert Hall’s Chamber Music Series, most recently with IBO for their La Donna Barocca project directed by Claire Duff, and Handel in Italy with countertenor Francesco Giusti directed by Peter Whelan.
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Mark Chambers
Since leaving the Royal Northern College of Music in 1992, Mark Chambers has enjoyed a varied career both as a soloist and ensemble singer. He has performed opera at the Royal Opera House, The Globe Theatre, Sanssouci Palace, Potsdam, Beijing, Jerusalem and New York. As an ensemble singer Mark has performed with Tenebrae, The Monteverdi Choir, The Gabrieli Consort, Gallicantus, Theatre of Voices and Alamire. In the commercial world, Mark provided the Voice of the Ood for the BBC Dr Who series and has appeared on soundtracks to many movies. Mark currently lives in Buncrana, Co. Donegal and combines his singing career with teaching voice at the University of Birmingham, and as musical director of Sestina.
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Ray O'Donnell
Raymond O'Donnell has been organist & Director of Music at Galway Cathedral since January 1994. A native of Dublin, he studied organ with Gerard Gillen and served three years as Organ Scholar at Dublin's Pro-Cathedral. He studied music and mathematical physics at Maynooth University, graduating in 1991 with a first-class honours Master's Degree in organ performance and interpretation. He founded Galway Cathedral Recitals in 1994, which presents a major series of organ concerts in the Cathedral every summer; and in 2006-2007 he oversaw the rebuilding of the Cathedral organ by Trevor Crowe, which saw it become one of the finest symphonic organs in the country. In addition to his work in the Cathedral, he has a busy performing career, and is in demand as soloist and accompanist in Ireland and across Europe. About 12 years ago he returned to Maynooth University as a part-time lecturer in harmony and counterpoint, and a tutor in organ performance and keyboard skills.
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Wolodymyr Smishkwych
Wolodymyr “Vlad” Smishkewych has performed as tenor soloist with artists as diverse as Sequentia, Theatre of Voices, Carlos Nuñez, Jordi Savall and Hesperion XXI, The Harp Consort, Ars Nova Copenhagen, and Ensemble Dialogos. He has recorded for Sony/BMG, Harmonia Mundi, Naxos, Norton, and Focus Records. He holds the Doctor of Music in Voice Performance from Indiana University, and has lectured and taught masterclasses and performance programmes at universities in the USA, South America, Canada, and Europe. His passion for writing and creating audio and video about music, culture, and nature, brought him to Spain as a Fulbright Fellow in 2005.
In 2011 he moved to Ireland to become director of the MA in Ritual Song and Chant at the University of Limerick, Ireland, where he taught until 2014. He then returned to performing and to the world of audio broadcasting and film, in 2015 joining Ireland’s RTÉ lyric fm as an announcer and programme writer, and as the host of Ireland’s weekly early music programme, Vox Nostra.
Together with music educator Dr. Mary Goetze and ethnomusicologist Dr. Cornelia Fales, he co-authored “Exploring the Universal Voice,” which helped singers in Western traditions respectfully and healthfully explore the singing traditions of other cultures, and which featured as a chapter in the Cambridge Companion to Choral Music (Cambridge University Press). He is currently working on a co-edited volume titled “Medieval Song in Modern Performance.” Find out more about his upcoming projects at: www.wolodymyrsmishkewych.com and www.hipsterireland.com.
