Wisdom and experience shake hands across the generations
The Adult Youth Orchestra of Ireland, conducted by Ronan O’Reilly with leader Sarah Murphy, is the brainchild of Barbara Dowling
The Adult Youth Orchestra of Ireland, conducted by Ronan O’Reilly with leader Sarah Murphy, is the brainchild of Barbara Dowling following on from the first Christmas in June concert, for Brain Tumour Ireland in 2022.
Barbara explains: “A gap in the orchestral market for a successful symphony orchestra – like the Irish Symphonic Wind Orchestra – was obvious. While regional orchestras play a part, the notion of building on the success of the National Irish Youth Orchestra was obvious.
Hence tonight’s massive orchestra that is the first post-youth orchestra project of its type.”
Their aim is spot on: the gathering of past members of youth orchestras from around the island to perform programmes of quality and innovation.
There’s a significant input from the Déise among the players and they all come with a massive musical career in place.
Violists Deirdre Scanlon and Moya Glynn, trombonist Liam Walsh, Paul Nolan on percussion along with three members of the Kirby family – mum Darina and daughter Lucy in the violin section along with cellist Sophie – and we remember their double bass player son and brother Karl who was taken from us far too young a few years ago.
And we’ve also got Ian McHardy on cello and Caroline Fielding on violin who are all resident here in the Déise. All of the members of the orchestra participate at their own expense and buy their own tickets.
It’s interesting to hear the entire score of Mussorgsky’s, ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’, because there’s always a cherrypick whenever this composition is performed.
It’s a clever composition that was inspired by a memorial exhibition of the paintings of the composer’s friend, Russian artist and architect Victor Hartman.
The exhibition inspired Mussorgsky to create his own tribute to Hartman — a composition depicting ten pieces of art from the exhibit.
The moods and colours of the pictures are fascinating. Colours glowing, shadows threaten, figures brood, crowds clatter and jabber and life is everywhere. Grotesque nutcracker ‘Gnomus’ lurches and lumbers across the frame with uneven stops and rhythms that’s positively threatening.
The heavy lumbering movement of the ‘Polish Oxcart” is so clever with that pianissimo effect as it lurches off into the distance on the muddy plain.
But it doesn’t last. A medieval troubadour brings summer love as he romances before the ‘Old Castle’.
The jabbering chatter of children as they prattle and argue at play in ‘Les Gardins Tuilleries’ along with the Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks bring life and laughter as does the market place in ‘Limoges’ that is just crammed with clattering and chattering as shoppers and traders barter and gossip.
‘The Great Gate of Kiev’ lives up to its classic Russian reputation and would rattle the bones of any self-respecting skeleton with its massive chords and heavy orchestration that’s steeped in Tsarist nationalism and triumphalism.
Helen Doyle began her trumpet career at ripe old age of eight before becoming principal trumpeter with the Irish Youth Orchestra and performing with the National Symphony and the Garda Band.
Helen’s Trumpet Concerto from Alexander Arutiunian (1920-2012) is a real show-off piece that mixes Gypsy, Russian and Armenian music through beautiful, soulful melodies and several challenging rapid- tonguing passages for the trumpeter and Helen’s playing is a delight.
There’s a lot to hang on to in the Tchaikovsky 5th because the central theme keeps popping up in all four movements.
The players have a love-hate relationship with Tchaik Five because it’s a very physically demanding composition. Violist Deirdre Scanlon commented that ‘the violas had only nine bars rest in the forty minute long symphony.’ Tchaik Five is melody built on simple recurring phrases like a Russian folk song but the rhythm plays tricks on us.
We hear it first on a slow, solo clarinet that casts dark shadows but then up-tempos into an agitated and spirited melody. A march steals its thunder before we find ourselves in the centre of a magnificent sweeping waltz that gives us a breather from the drama of what’s gone on before.
And nobody writes waltzes like Tchaikovsky. A final Andante that’s full of life rushes us headlong into a spectacular finish that gets us out the gap with chords that explode like grenades.
A great night from the Adult Youth Orchestra at the Arena where wisdom and experience shake hands across the generations
