Frank Corcoran

What is history ? What is Papal history ?  e.g.  does a stop-the-traffic-and-ALL-other-visitors to these Viterbo Bagni ( Terme dei Papi  Papal visit of a Culo Papale in eg. Dante´s time or even today ( yes, it still happens )  constitute history ?

History of the particular Culo Papale ? Of its Pope? Of his entourage ? Of his times and pomps and fears ?  Of theirs ? Whose Cosmic Indifference ( I intend these capitals )  can help our historian here ? Sulphur , noble and healing friend of all our culi, of our scabies and our soul´s gout and skin´s rabies and scurvy worse , was misused, apparently,  by John Milton and Co.  ( the Jahwist ? From which King James´s ” brimstone “, then ? ) to hot up our hots and to lave our sodomies and our Papal differences and superbic self-lacerations  for all of, ahem, recorded time ; I pondered as I raised my own humble(d) culo out of  these hot and healing and laving  waters of our Thermal Culo Bath.

Maybe it now helps me to compose my newest  ALTO RHAPSODY, that chalumeau – Brahmsian , superb and flowing line, my ( Brahmsian ) orchestral chording and voice-accompanying , a melting Satz. Singing the High Song. Ecstasy pure.

April 27 2014

Dublin Royal Hibernian Academy   14.30  to  16.30

Concorde Concert  including Irish Premiere of Frank Corcoran´s  ” A  DARK  SONG ”  for  Solo Bassclarinet  ( Paul Roe )  and  – for  Frank´s

Seventieth Birthday –  the first screening of C.M.C.´s  commissioned  Frank Corcoran film  (  Mark  Linnane  )

2015  An Bhliain Nua  2015.  13ú Márta.

Dublin Premiere of Frank Corcoran´s stunning new CELLO CONCERTO

( NSO  /  great soloist Martin Johnson´s resined cellow bow. Molto.  )

Until I´d hatched and birthed the 2012 VIOLIN CONCERTO , I wasn´t ready to attempt these 4 mighty movements, my solo cello line as both singing song / weaving scéal/ soaring ecstasy, pitted against.

Yes, I, this composer, am also pitted against mighty Dvoak and  incomparable Lutoslawsky. I´ll do it.

This Hamburg sky is mixed today, blue plus clouds. The sermonizer´s now at his old game of how´ll I trap excellence, whether thought or sounded.

Hmmm. Between the thought and the act falls the shadow. ( “This Sunday will never again come back ” etc, ) I may call it bathos or pathos, it depends. What texts then for a projected Alto Rhapsody ? Far in the future, yes, but  what seamless text ?  On this Sunday, well, I as yet don´t know; the soaring words must soar as the alto voice soars, deep-throat, middle and occasional upper range.How´ll the orchestra help or hinder ?

I don´t quite yet know that either. But I will.

“Stop bashing Basho !”

Issa was furious now,

The bottle weeping.

25.1.2014. NDR – KLASSIK ” Prisma Musik ” .

Frank Corcoran´s radiophonic analysis of Brahms VIOLIN CONCERTO and

Frank Corcoran: VIOLIN CONCERTO .

TWO XMAS HAIKUS

Wine, songs, feasting
Halt for a moment my slide
Down Time´s cold ski-slopes.

Children, wrap up warm!
Old Red Fattie´s a-comin´,
Reindeers shit on snow.

The two works by Frank Corcoran, who was on hand to respond to the
dilemma in his unique, witty, wordy way, had to be toned down, so that
Corcoran’s music, which often comes across as Xenakis meets Irish
mythology, had an exceptionally mild manner on this particular occasion.

The Hugh Lane Gallery has this month added to the perversity of
affliction that can be inflicted on performers. The first concert of
the month, a programme of work by Frank Corcoran (Music for the Book of
Kells and Trauerfelder) and Thom Hasenpflug given by the RIAM
percussion ensemble under Richard O’Donnell, very nearly had to be
cancelled, and in the event Hasenpflug’s Bicksa had to be dropped.

The problem was volume. Percussion pieces are often very loud (the
marking on the fortissimo opening page of Bicksa is “Burnin’!”) and the
level of sound in rehearsal set off the alarm system. The energy
transmitted through the air caused an amount of movement in an
extremely valuable artwork that was sufficient to trigger the alarm.
Turning off the alarm was not an option, as it would have invalidated
the gallery’s insurance policy.