Irlandiani

Irlandiani: Smock Alley

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Irlandiani: Smock Alley
CD launch concert: Sands Music Room, Rotherhithe, Thursday 14 September 2023
Carina Drury & Poppy Walshaw, cellos, John-Henry Baker, violone, percussion
CD: First Hand Records, FHR144
plus Nathaniel Mander, harpsichord, Eimear McGeown, Irish flute


Following her earlier CD, Irlandiani (reviewed here) comes this latest recording from cellist Carina Drury and her collective group, also called Irlandiani. It is based on the musical life in and around the Smock Alley Theatre in 18th century Dublin. It features cello duos in the Galant style by the Neapolitan composer Tomasso Giordani who moved to Dublin in 1763 as musical director at the Smock Alley Theatre. As well as arrangements of 18th-century Irish melodies by musicians linked with the Smock Alley Theatre and its surrounds, the launch concert and recording also features music by Roseingrave, Scarlatti and Geminiani and a new piece by Carina Drury based on the Irish air Caoineadh Na Dtri Muire. If you are quick and live close enough, you can even catch the third of the laun

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Carina Drury: Irlandiani

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Irlandiani
An exploration of musical life in 18th Century Ireland
Penny Fiddle Records. PFR2005CD. 57’33


The musical life of 18th century Dublin is often overlooked in recordings, concerts and in many a musical history. With that in mind, the debut album Irlandiani from the Irish baroque cellist Carina Drury is particularly welcome. Taking its title from the name given to early Italian settlers in Ireland, the recording pictures the musical life of early 18th Century Dublin. It explores the influence of Irish folk music on Italian baroque composers living in Ireland, and the influence of the Italian baroque style on Irish composers. With Irish flute player Eimear McGeown and a combination of historic and traditional instruments, the album explores Irish music from The Neal Collection, the first printed collection of Irish music, together with cello sonatas by Italian composers who lived in Dublin during the 18th century.

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