Dermot Crehan and Paul Honey: Toss The Feathers - Music for Irish Soloists and Orchestra
This collection of arrangements of traditional Irish music, together with a few self-composed pieces, is the culmination of a long-standing partnership between the violinist Dermot Crehan and the composer/arranger Paul Honey. After having worked together for many years in a variety of professional situations, they decided the time was right to embark on their own project.
Their aim from the start was to create a collection of arrangements of traditional Irish music that are contemporary in style whilst being true to the original melodies. The result are pieces that move away from the bland sentimentality of so many arrangements of Irish music and instead explore the darker, more melancholic and profound nature of the music. All the pieces are scored for strings, 3 horns, harp and piano and have been specially chosen as they encompass a broad range of themes from religious persecution to death, from sex to forgiveness and reconciliation.
Crehan and Honey are joined by four highly respected exponents of Irish music; the vocalist Mick Sands, accordionist Luke Daniels, flautist Fiona Kelly, and Jean Kelly playing harp.
The premiere performance of the music at the Church of St Martin In The Fields received a standing ovation and has been enthusiastically received at subsequent performances including the Maidstone Proms In The Park, the concert for the Musicians’ Benevolent Fund at the Royal Opera House and the sellout St Patrick’s Day Celebration again at St Martin In The Fields. An album of the music was recorded in Dublin with the RTE Concert Orchestra in the summer of 2007, and is scheduled for release in March, 2009.
Click here to see videos from the concert given for The Musicians' Benevolent Fund at the Floral Hall, Covent Garden.
Website coming soon!
Click on the titles below to hear samples of music from the forthcoming album - 'Toss The Feathers'...