Grá agus Bás, the Nonesuch Records debut from Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy, was released in May 2011 to critical acclaim, named among the year's best by NPR Music, which called it "a revelation." The album 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. This week, Crash Ensemble, the Dublin-based group that performed on the album, led by conductor Alan Pierson, will perform both pieces as part of its US tour, joined by the vocalists featured on the recording: Irish singer Iarla O’Lionáird on Grá agus Bás and Dawn Upshaw on That the Night Come, in the piece's US and New York premieres.

The performers will give the US premiere of That the Night Come and perform Grá agus Bás in a concert at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, on Tuesday. Upshaw will join Crash Ensemble for two works by Osvaldo Golijov—Lúa Descolorida and How Slow the Wind—as well. The program also includes Aisling Gheal, a traditional tune arranged by Dennehy. Carnegie Hall will present the artists and the program in Zankel Hall this Friday, marking the New York premiere of That the Night Come.

Closing out Crash Ensemble's US tour is a performance at Princeton University, where Dennehy is currently a Global Scholar, next Tuesday, May 21, including the world premieres of works written for the ensemble by Princeton graduate composers.

Donnacha Dennehy will be the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (Texas) Composer-in-Residence for the 2013–14 season and is working on a large-scale music theatre piece based on the Irish Famine for Alarm Will Sound, Dawn Upshaw, and Iarla O’Lionáird.

To pick up a copy of Grá agus Bás, head to the Nonesuch Store, where CD orders include a download of the complete album at checkout.