Donnacha Dennehy's Nonesuch debut album, Grá agus Bás, is "a serious exploration of an Irish folk-music idiom, teased out into a range of fresh sounds," says the Washington Post, which describes the title piece as "an ecstatic vision set in a dreamscape of sound" and says Dawn Upshaw, featured on the song cycle That the Night Come, "has another winner here."Audiophile Audition gives the album four-and-a-half stars, calling it "an absolutely mesmerizing introduction" to Dennehy's music. "This music is nearly impossible to describe. You simply must experience it ..."
Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy's Nonesuch debut, Grá agus Bás, includes the title piece, which was inspired by sean-nós "old style" Irish vocal music, as well as the composer’s song cycle That the Night Come, comprising six settings of poems by W.B. Yeats. The Dublin–based Crash Ensemble performs both works, conducted by Alan Pierson. Irish singer Iarla O’Lionáird is the soloist for Grá agus Bás; Dawn Upshaw is featured on That the Night Come.
Washington Post classical music critic Anne Midgette calls the album "a serious exploration of an Irish folk-music idiom, teased out into a range of fresh sounds: twangs and electronic pulsings and the clink of percussion, all eddying and coalescing around the keening phrases of a single human voice."
Midgette describes the title piece, the result of Dennehy's collaboration with O’Lionáird, as "an ecstatic vision set in a dreamscape of sound." She sees That the Night Come as "a deliberate contrast" to that piece, featuring Dawn Upshaw’s "angelic" voice. "Upshaw, phenomenally successful as a mainstream new-music specialist, has another winner here."
Read the complete review at washingtonpost.com.
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Audiophile Audition gives the album four-and-a-half stars. Reviewer Daniel Coombs "an absolutely mesmerizing introduction" to Dennehy's music.
Coombs finds the title piece to be "immediately attention-getting" and That the Night Come "absolutely beautiful and arresting" from the start. "The interplay between the clear, plaintive, always soul-wrenching voice of Dawn Upshaw and the shimmering keyboards, metal percussion, droning winds and strings is simply atmospheric."
Ultimately, the album leaves Coombs more or less at a loss for words. "This music is nearly impossible to describe," he explains. "You simply must experience it and I predict that you will enjoy it and want to learn more about this brilliant young composer ..."
Read the complete review at audaud.com.
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To pick up a copy of Grá agus Bás, head to the Nonesuch Store, where orders include high-quality, 320 kbps MP3s of the complete album at checkout.
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