Date Sunday, June 13th
3:00 pm
Postcard from London saluting WB Yeats

Robin Tritschler, tenor
Carducci Quartet

T Dunhill arr C Hazell The Cloths of Heaven

June 13th is the 156th birthday of the birth of William Butler Yeats who spent much of his early life in London. What better way to mark the birth date of the world-renowned Nobel laureate than a short postcard greetingfrom the Church of St Jude-on-the-Hill in Hampstead. The Cloths of Heaven, Yeats’ meltingly romantic poem is the inspiration for Thomas Dunhill’s musical setting of the same name and Robin Tritschler and the Carducci Quartet weave their own special version of Chris Hazell’s arrangement of this beautiful, unadorned arrangement. A taste of the flavours on offer in the 2021 Dublin International Chamber Music Festival

Supported by Culture Ireland
Stamped by James and Marie Pike

S Perkin The Marriage of William Marshal and Isabel de Clare (Nesting Doll) from the Ros Tapestry Suite

The 2021 Dublin International Chamber Music Festival opens with a flourish with a rich crop of home-grown composers and performers posting musical postcards. First from the mailbox is a postcard from pianist, Finghin Collins, who delivers a performance of Sam Perkin’s musical response to the vibrant Ros Tapestry of Ireland’s Ancient East. The Tapestry itself, is an impressive fifteen-panel embroidery work, lovingly stitched by a team of volunteers, traces the history of the Norman invasion of Ireland. Entitled The Marriage of William Marshall and Isabel de Clare (Nesting Doll) Perkin’s musical response is one of 15 solo piano pieces commissioned by the New Ross Piano Festival of which Finghin is co-founder and artistic director.

Presented in association with the Office of Public Works
Supported by Culture Ireland

Date Thursday, June 17th
3:00 pm
Cormac Ó hAodáin, horn
Andreja Maliř, harp

J Kinsella     Homage to Victor (world première)

Another postcard from Dublin and the first of three world premières in the 2021 Dublin International Chamber Music Festival. One of Ireland’s leading composers, John Kinsella, dedicates his new work for horn and harp to Victor Maliř, who was for many years section leader of the horn section of the RTÉ NSO and one of Ireland’s leading teachersat the Royal Irish Academy of Music for over 60 years. It was commissioned by his daughter Andreja and his distinguished former student Cormac Ó hAodáin in memory of this much-loved musician.

Presented in association with the Office of Public Works

Date Thursday, June 17th
6:00 pm
Postcard from Dublin Castle
William Dowdall, flute

S Carlile    Dystopia

William Dowdall visited Dublin Castle from where he sent musical greetings via Cork-born composer Solfa Carlile. The inspiration for this short piece comes from the idea of a society which juxtaposes the beautiful with the grotesque. Opening with an intense darkness, beauty and light then emerge in Carlile’s Dystopia; a beacon of hope for audiences in current times.

Presented in association with the Office of Public Works

Date Friday, June 18th
12:00 Noon
Postcard from Hampstead, London
Rosalind Ventris, viola

E Lutyens   Echo of the Wind Op 157

Day two of the Festival begins with a Postcard from Hampstead, London from where violist Rosalind Ventris sends the first of two greetings by way of Elizabeth Lutyens’ evocative Echo of the Wind. Elizabeth Lutyens has strong Irish connections with an Irish grandmother and whose father, the renowned architect, Edwin Lutyens, left an important body of work in Ireland, including Heywood Gardens and the National War Memorial Gardens in Islandbridge, both of which have been an oasis of peace and calm for so many in the current difficult times. Described by Evelyn Waugh as “a fine Lutyens edifice”, St Jude-on-the-Hill in Hampstead, is the location for the recording of this postcard.

Date Friday, June 18th
3.00 pm
Postcard from Farmleigh House
Ailbhe McDonagh, cello
Dearbhla Brosnan, piano

E Wallen Dervish

The afternoon post delivers a lively greeting from cellist Ailbhe McDonagh and pianist Dearbhla Brosnan with the first of two works by Errollyn Wallen in the 2021 Dublin International Chamber Music Festival. Described as a ‘renaissance woman of contemporary British music’ (The Observer), Wallen is as respected a singer-songwriter of pop-influenced songs as she is a composer of contemporary new music. Dervish, scored for cello and piano, captures both the ‘rapt and still devotion’ and the ‘passion that is in speed’ of the Sufi dance.

Presented in association with the Office of Public Works

Date Saturday, June 19th
12.00 Noon
Postcard from Dublin Castle
William Dowdall, flute
Dearbhla Brosnan, piano

O Messiaen Le Merle Noir

Another postcard from Dublin, this time from the regal Chapel Royal at Dublin Castle from where flautist, William Dowdall and pianist, Dearbhla Brosnan perform one of the modern classics of French flute music, Le Merle Noir by Olivier Messiaen. The composer, an acknowledged authority on birdsong, once declared “what renewed me most was, I believe, my interaction with the birds”. In this song of the blackbird, renewal is wished for all our audiences interacting with us virtually.

Presented in association with the Office of Public Works
Presented in partnership with the French Embassy in Ireland

Date Saturday, June 19th
3.00 pm
Postcard from Berlin
Carol McGonnell, clarinet

B Kovács   Hommages
Hommage à Aram Khachaturian
Hommage à Zoltan Kodály
Hommage à Manuel de Falla

Winging its way from Irish clarinettist Carol McGonnell, is a postcard from her home in Berlin and a series of short homages by the Hungarian composer Béla Kovács to composers from Russia, Hungary and Spain. This spirited music for solo clarinet pays tribute to Aram Khachaturian, Zoltán Kodály and Manuel de Falla – a spellbinding display of virtuosity guaranteed by this dazzling artist.

Presented in partnership with the Embassy of Ireland in Germany

Date Saturday, June 19th
7.00 pm
Postcard from Paris
Philippe Cassard, piano

C Debussy Préludes
La fille aux cheveux de lin
La sérénade interrompue
Général Lavine – eccentric
Ondine
M Ravel Pavane pour une infant défunte

Honorary Irishman Philippe Cassard, winner of the first Dublin International Piano Competition, says part of his heart is in Ireland and wants to post his musical greeting through two giants of French composition,Ravel and Debussy. Philippe’s performance of the Debussy Préludes contributed to his win in 1988, so a big treat is in store with the four preludes he offers in his Paris postcard. Philippe dedicates Ravel’s Pavane pour une infant défunte to the memory of those who have lost their lives to Covid-19.

Presented in partnership with the Embassy of France in Ireland

Date Sunday, June 20th
12.00 Noon
Postcard from London
Rosalind Ventris, viola

A Feery Boreal
T Musgrave In the Still of the Night

London offers another opportunity to post and this particular postcard from Rosalind Ventris combines works by Irish composer Amanda Feery and one of the UK’s leading compositional lights, Thea Musgrave. Written in 2010, Feery’s Boreal, is inspired by the sub-Arctic climate whilst Musgrave’s short work written in 1997, is in the words of the composer intended as “a moment of peaceful contemplation after the day’s activities cease.”

H Watkins Seven Inventions

The final postcard comes from Scotland from the dynamic percussion/piano duo, Colin Currie and Huw Watkins. We are proud to have joined forces with two major international partners – the East Neuk Festival and Wigmore Hall – in co-commissioning a new work, Seven Inventions by Huw. The was originally scheduled to receive its Irish première in June 2020 as part of the GMIIH Festival’s 50th Anniversary celebrations. The co-commission will now feature in the 2021 online festival bringing musical fireworks and a spirited conclusion as we close our 2021 postbag.

Seven Inventions is co-commissioned by East Neuk Festival, Wigmore Hall and the Dublin International Chamber Music Festival (Great Music in Irish Houses), with the support of the PRS Foundation’s Beyond Borders Programme, and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival.

Presented in collaboration with Horsecross Arts