Elizabeth Hilliard, soprano
and The Degani Trio
Alan Smale, violin
Rachel Quinn, piano
Annette Cleary, cello
Philip Martin: The Maids of Mitchelstown Fancy
Elaine Agnew: April Awake
Piers Hellawell: Up by the Roots
Jessica Meyer: The Last Rose
Anselm McDonnell: Common Places
Ryan Molloy: Clearances III
Gráinne Mulvey: The Gift of Freedom
Joan Trimble: Phantasy Trio
Common Places sets a poem of the same title by Northern Irish pastor and writer Andrew Roycroft. It is a text which reflects on the beauty of ordinary human situations and events: a topic that resonates even more with me given how these experiences have been changed in recent years. As the text encourages us to look at events anew, the music reiterates a group of ideas from different perspectives to highlight new aspects of them each time they are heard. (Anselm McDonnell)
Anselm McDonnell is an Irish/Welsh composer based in Belfast. He has written over seventy works for a variety of ensembles such as the London Symphony Orchestra, CRASH Ensemble, Chamber Choir Ireland, BBC Singers, Ulster Orchestra, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. His debut album Light of Shore was released in 2021.
Irish Soprano Elizabeth Hilliard is an exceptional singer and is widely regarded as an imaginative and dramatic interpreter of new music. She has worked in close collaboration with composers including Gráinne Mulvey, Jennifer Walshe, Christopher Fox and David Bremner and champions Irish art, music and composers, achieving recognition in the US and UK as well as her native country.
The Degani Piano Trio is an established Irish Piano Trio of distinguished and award-winning musicians. They are renowned for their insightful and joyful interpretations of the classic trio repertoire