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Kevin Griffin, Eoin O'Neill and Quentin Cooper – Live in Liscannor, Co. Clare
Kevin Griffin is a banjo player from Doolin in County Clare. He has recorded three popular CDs – Traditional Irish Music from Doolin, Co. Clare (1997), Across The Pond with Roger Burridge, Michael... Read More
Creating .the ollam.
.the ollam. is an album written and recorded in February 2012 by John McSherry (uilleann pipes, whistles), Tyler Duncan (uilleann pipes, whistles, guitar, Rhodes piano) and Mike Shimmin (drums,... Read More
Anna Murray's 500 Words
Anna Murray, a composer and musician and former editor with The Journal of Music, has contributed to the Irish Times' '500 Words of January' guest blog series. In the article, Murray writes... Read More
Rís's Ten New Songs
The contemporary Irish-language group Rís have completed their recent project of composing ten songs in the month of December and performing them at Christmas. The group have now uploaded several... Read More
Oratóir na Nollag
There will be a repeat broadcast on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta of Colm Ó Foghlú's Oratóir na Nollag, the first Christmas oratorio written in Irish, this Sunday 6 January at 7.15pm. ... Read More
Pecker Dunne Has Died
The musician Paddy 'Pecker' Dunne has died in Clare, aged seventy-nine. Born to a traveller family in Castlebar, County Mayo in 1933, Dunne was best known as a banjo player and singer, but also... Read More
Celebrating the Music of North Kerry Fiddler Tom Barrett
Tom Barrett (1923-2002) was a fiddler, bagpiper and composer from Bedford, near Listowel, in County Kerry. His enthusiasm for Irish traditional music, and especially the music of his native area,... Read More
Who Would Be A Composer?
Michel Dervan, writing in the Irish Times, asks who would still want to be a composer today: Why would anyone want to be a composer? It’s an incredibly demanding calling. It’s badly paid, save for a... Read More
Storymap by Kris Drever and Éamonn Coyne
Singer-songwriter Kris Drever of Lau and banjo and tenor guitar player Éamonn Coyne will release an album together in the new year. A combination of traditional songs and instrumentals, Storymap... Read More
Traditional Music On Lyric FM
On RTÉ Lyric FM’s only programme dedicated to Irish traditional music, Grace Notes, tonight Ellen Cranitch will be playing tunes from a selection of 2012 albums. The programme starts at 7pm, and will... Read More
New Frontiers by Damien Kelly and Ciaran Farrell
New Frontiers, a CD by guitarist Damien Kelly of music composed by Ciaran Farrell, was recently launched at the Royal Irish Academy of Music.  Both former students of the RIAM, Kelly has since... Read More
New Tommie Potts CD
Marking the centenary of Tommie Potts' birth in 1912, RTÉ has just released only the second commercially available recording of the Dublin fiddle-player who died in 1988. Claddagh Records formerly... Read More
Resurgam and the Irish Baroque Orchestra perform Messiah
Beginning in Triskel Christchurch in Cork tonight, followed by Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin tomorrow, and St Nicholas Collegiate Church in Galway on Saturday, the annual performances of Handel's... Read More
Dave Brubeck (1920–2012) Performs 'Take Five'
In this video, Dave Brubeck, the pianist and composer who has died aged 91, performs his famous piece 'Take Five'.
Programme on Computer Music in Ireland
A recent RTÉ Lyric FM feature focussed on the history of computer music in Ireland. Why Music Can't Stay Still was written and presented by Brian Connolly and 'explores computer music in Ireland from... Read More
The Music Theory Song
This song, titled 'Intervals Roasting', with lyrics by David Rakowski, attempts to encapsulate the fundamentals of music theory in just over two minutes. You can download the sheet music here.
A Birthday Rendition of Tallis' Forty-Part Motet
Richard Bloomfield, a chorister in the Christ Church Catherdral Choir, Dublin organised a performance of Thomas Tallis' forty-part motet, Spem in Alium, for his birthday. 'I gathered together around... Read More
Myles O'Reilly on Ernst Reijseger
Film maker, Myles O’Reilly has released a short homage film about the improvising cellist Ernst Reijseger in action teaching and performing in his hometown of Amsterdam. “This is the film I have... Read More
Archive Footage of Messiaen on Debussy
In this archive footage of one of his analysis classes at the Paris Conservatoire, the composer Olivier Messiaen apologises for his 'composer's voice'. Messiaen is talking about and playing excerpts... Read More
Carol Keogh Fundraising for Solo Album
The singer and songwriter Carol Keogh, whose former ventures include the bands Tycho Brahe and the Plague Monkeys, is fundraising to produce a solo album. The album, which will feature Keogh's... Read More
Te Bruite... Rís's new song blog
Contemporary Irish-language group Rís – brothers Breandán and Richie Ó hEaghra, and PJ McDonagh – have set themselves the creative task of writing ten songs in one month and performing them at... Read More
Thought-Fox Launch New Album
The Irish jazz quintet Thought-Fox is launching a new album, My Guess at the Grand Social, Dublin, on Saturday, 1 December. The group comprises the singer Lauren Kinsella, trombonist Colm O'Hara,... Read More
Sfumato Album Launch at Unitarian Church
Sfumato, the Dublin group led by drummer Daithí Ó hÉignigh, is launching its first album at the Unitarian Church, Dublin, on Saturday, 1 December at 7.30pm. Sfumato will be a fourteen-piece band for... Read More
Hilliard Ensemble in Cork
Update: this concert has been postponed due to a back injury affecting one member of the Hilliard Ensemble. The concert will be rescheduled for 2013. The four-piece vocal group, the Hilliard Ensemble... Read More
Groove Theory/Irish Baroque Orchestra Tour
The Irish Baroque Orchestra today begins its three-day tour performing Groove Theory written by American fiddle player Hollis Taylor. Written especially for the Artistic Director of the IBO, Monica... Read More
Kirkos Ensemble Salon Performance
The recently established Kirkos Ensemble will perform in a salon event organised by the Contemporary Music Centre on Thursday, 22 November, at 8pm at the National Concert Hall, Dublin. Founded and... Read More
An Album of Commissioned Music for Fiddle and Guitar
Though she has featured significantly on a wide range of recordings, Zoë Conway’s back catalogue to date centres on two solo albums, the eponymous debut from 2002 produced by Bill Whelan, and the... Read More
Mornington Singers to Perform Frank Martin Mass
The Dublin choir Mornington Singers will perform the Swiss composer Frank Martin's Mass for Double Choir in a concert at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, on Saturday, 24 November at 8pm. We found a... Read More
United Bible Studies at the Workman's Club
The experimental folk band United Bible Studies will play their first Dublin concert in a year at the Workman's Club, Dublin, on Tuesday, 20 November, at 8pm. The event, presented by Deserted Village... Read More
Music Without a Business Model
The musician Damon Krukowski of Galaxie 500 and Damon & Naomi wrote in Pitchfork recently about his income from music steaming services such as Spotify and Pandora. He has calculated that... Read More
Irish Music on Spotify
With the launch of Spotify in Ireland this week, we've put together a playlist of Irish artists. For this playlist we've picked both old and new releases from the likes of Roger Doyle, Seti the First... Read More
New Album from Clare Trio Socks in the Frying Pan
Brothers Shane (accordion) and Fiachra Hayes (fiddle) and friend Aodán Coyne (guitar) have been gigging around Galway, Limerick and their native Clare for the past few years, and now have released... Read More
Instrument-Maker Jan Muyllaert's Forty Years in Ireland
Guitartist Pat Coldrick is playing at an unusual gig, called Jan is Forty … Years in Navan, taking place tomorrow night in the Solstice Arts Centre, Navan, to mark the forty years that Belgium-born... Read More
Arnold Dreyblatt's Double Bass
Ahead of Crash Ensemble's performance of his music at the Huddersfield Festival on 18 November, we've found in which composer Arnold Dreyblatt describes how and why he uses piano strings on his... Read More
Is Authenticity Important in Music?
Stephen Graham, writing on his blog,  has looked at the idea of authenticity in relation to music — and in partiular the band One Direction: Just as particular artists’ authenticity... Read More
Drinkify
If you've ever wondered what drink would best accompany listening to records by your favourite artists, Drinkify has solved the problem. Just type in the name of artist and the website will give you... Read More
Sample Midleton Rare, the New Album from John Cronin and Daithí Kearney
Ahead of their performance at Bruach na Carraige centre (‘the heart of Sliabh Luachra’) in Rockchapel, Co Cork this Saturday coming, you can sample a track from John Cronin’s and Daithí Kearney’s... Read More
Come out, sit awhile; break the bottle, and you is lost
Cold Blue Music, the Californian label established by composer Jim Fox in the 1980s  – and that closed a few years later, only to re-emerge in the 2000s – has recently released its second... Read More
Lau to Play Jools Holland
They have on three occasions been voted best group in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, but Lau’s profile is about to be raised to new heights with a first appearance on BBC 2’s Later … with Jools Holland... Read More
3epkano, Iarla Ó Lionáird and the Undertones in Sligo
The Northwest Film and Music Fest runs from 14 to 25 November at the Model, Sligo, with one-off film screenings as well as live music. Download the brochure here or find out more on the Model website... Read More
Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin's 'Concertino for Fiddle' featuring Paddy Glackin (1981)
Gael-Linn have this week re-released Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin's recording of film and radio music from 1981, Cry of the Mountain. Featuring seven tracks, the centrepiece is a sixteen-minute Concertino... Read More
A Sound Map of the World
MoMA, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, has launched a sound map of the world, in an attempt to collect field recordings from around the world. Developed by Spencer Kiser, the map is integrated... Read More
Philip Lawson performing Benjamin Dwyer's Etude No. 1
Ahead of the first 'Fractal on Tour' concert in Dublin, listen below to a preview performance by guitarist Philip Lawson of Benjamin Dwyer's Étude No. 1 ('Relentless') Fractal begins its national... Read More
Music Men of the Irish Nation
Movember, the annual campaign to raise money to support cancer research and raise awareness about men's health issues, specifically prostate cancer, is back this November. Irish musicians are doing... Read More
An Interview with Elliott Carter
The American composer Elliott Carter died a month shy of his 104th birthday on 5 November. We came across this recent interview with him by James Tarmy, in which he reveals his thoughts on longevity... Read More
On Travelling With A Double Bass
The Irish bassist Malachy Robinson wrote recently about the job of transporting the double bass — he jokes that people who treat travel as relaxation should consider being a freelance musician. He... Read More
Is There a New Tonality?
Philip Clark, writing in Gramophone magazine, looks at the idea of a new tonality in contemporary composition. 'A composer with a love of sound and a flare for the heuristic? There’s the future of... Read More
Hurricane Sandy Hits New York Music Organisation
The New York based music organisation and record label New Amsterdam suffered horrific damages to its new Brooklyn premises as a result of flooding caused by Hurricane Sandy. Their recently acquired... Read More
What Happens to Old Pianos?
A recent BBC piece by Cordelia Hebblethwaite looks at what happens to pianos when they or no longer wanted, or when they have badly deteriorated. She speaks to piano restorer John Gist in... Read More
Oireachtas na Gaeilge in Letterkenny
Oireachtas na Gaeilge, the annual Irish-language festival that includes the major sean-nós singing event of the year – the Corn Uí Riada competition – started yesterday in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal,... Read More
Brian Eno Wallpapers
Over at Q magazine, you can hear a stream of Brian Eno's new album Lux. The album, a seventy-five minute composition in twelve sections, is Eno's first solo record in seven years. The result of an... Read More
Justin Grounds on Tour
Originally from England, but now based in West Cork, the violinist and songwriter Justin Grounds will be touring Ireland in November. Grounds, a member of the Headland Collective, performs with a... Read More
Warp Spasm
The singer Lorcán Mac Mathúna has released a special track to mark Oíche Shamhna, or Halloween. In 'Warp Spasm', Mac Mathúna sings a text from The Book of Leinster, the medieval manuscript which... Read More
Rónán Ó Snodaigh's Perspective Continues
Rónán Ó Snodaigh continues his live re-enactment of his back catalogue at Whelan's with The Playdays album next Tuesday 30 October, featuring Richie Buckley on sax, Martin Brunsden on bass, Hugh O'... Read More
A Quick Guide to Wexford Festival Opera
Wexford Festival Opera – which opened on Wednesday and runs until next Saturday 4 November – has uploaded several videos over the past two weeks that provide a quick guide to this year's operas. On... Read More
Composer Smashes Instruments in Protest
At a performance of the SWR Rundfunkorchester at the Donaueschingen Festival in Germany, the composer Johannes Kreidler destroyed a cello and a violin in protest against the proposed merger of two... Read More
Linda Buckley's Christmas Carol
The current RTÉ Lyric FM Composer-in-Residence, Linda Buckley, has composed a Christmas carol for the station. The sheet music of Stars of Wonder is available from Buckley's blog. Buckley set a poem... Read More
Animation for sonic.art Ligeti Bagatelle
The sonic.art saxophone quartet (Ruth Velte on soprano, Alexander Doroshkevich on alto, Adrian Tully on tenor, and Annegret Schmiedl on baritone) is starting a Music Network tour next month.The... Read More
Fintan O'Toole on Classical Music
The writer Fintan O'Toole has written of classical music having split into two distinct strands: a mainstream and an avant-garde. In an article in the Irish Times this week, O'Toole asked... Read More
Early Music Lessons Benefit Children
An article in the New York Times last month cited a recent study that found that children who attended music lessons at a young age reap years of benefits, even if they only play music during... Read More