Beethovenfest Bonn Performance 1 of 4

In the first of four performances at Beethovenfest Bonn, Alarm Will Sound presents the world premiere of Land of Winter by Donnacha Dennehy.

From the composer:
The Latin name for Ireland was Hibernia which translates as “land of winter”.  I suppose the country seemed cold to the Romans.  It seems cold to many, especially in July.  In a way it is the quality of light that demarcates the seasons, from the shorter days of either grey or piercing light in the winter to the warmer, longer but mercurial light of summer.  I like this play between light and time, and it inspires this piece that plays with a connection between time (expanding and contracting temporal processes) and light (harmony, often overtone-hued). Occasionally, the resonance of the term “land of winter” – something perennially stuck in its last cycle – engenders a terrifying force in the piece (the linear push towards death perhaps or even a kind of climate endgame).  Comfort, and re-generation is found in the circular recurrences.

Past AWS/Dennehy Collaborations: