Frank Corcoran

irish composer

FRANK CORCORAN NEW WORKS :

RHAPSODIETTA JOYCEANA for cello solo

is a short tribute composed with the 5 notes that I get from the 5 tone-names in the words,
” James Joyce” i.e. using the German, Italian and English versions ,
j A Mi Es j dO y Cis = or A, E, E flat, C, C sharp

to get the fun going ; which is almost over before a true rhapsody gets started.
Tender and reflective too. Just a little rhapsody.

SEVEN MINIATURES for violin solo

is composed of seven little ” Charakterstuecke” that echo the great literature for the virtuoso
fiddler.
Number 1 with its echo at the end , Nr. 7 , is a pale imitation of a Bach sarabande.
In the intervening 5 movements , each being faster than its predecessor,
the whole work , from shadow-sarabande to shadow-sarabande, is a kind of composed speed – up.

My tribute to this noble instrument.

Variations on A MHAIRIN DE BARRA is exactly that. I have always loved this great Munster love-song with its tale of the unrequited passion of the singer for his bitch – lover; she has got between him and God.
This is a lovely, myxolydian melody with its architecture of 4 phrases, its dizzying leap up to its highest note and then the resigned descent at the end…. Variation-technique has, of course, a long and honourable history in music . Here the dark colours of the solo viola’s open strings are predestined to highlight the passion of the song and the singer. It was commissioned by Lyric Fm in 2005 in order ” to bring the listener from the old to the new, from the Sean to the Nua. “

Posted under: Humble Hamburg Musings

Comments are closed.