Peadar Ó Riada: New music from an old tradition

PEADAR Ó RIADA is not a man likely to be haunted by thoughts of his own paucity of accomplishments.

Thu, 01 Oct, 2015 - 01:00

Pet O’Connell

Choir director, musician, composer of traditional, classical, and liturgical music, radio presenter, founder of a hedge university… the list goes on.

But not until now has he been able to add to this list of achievements a performance of his concerto for uilleann pipes.

The uilleann pipes, for their part, have been making their presence felt in Irish music since developing into something akin to their present form in the 18th century. Rarely, however, are they associated with classical music, much less a concerto accompanied by a 30-piece orchestra.

For Ó Riada, composing a pipes concerto in three movements was a challenge he set himself back in 1981 “to see if the instrument would stand up to being treated as a classical instrument”.

Having concluded that “treating the pipes the same way that you would treat the piano or violin”, as a showcase solo instrument performing to orchestral accompaniment, was indeed a viable prospect, his work will finally make it to the public stage at its premiere in Cork Opera House tonight.

Consisting of two lively movements and one based on the Irish slow air, the work will be performed by Dublin piper Mick O’Brien, with the Camerata Chorcaí chamber orchestra under the baton of CIT Cork School of Music’s John O’Connor.

The uilleann pipes concerto forms the first half of a concert entitled ‘Mo Ghile Mear’, which consists entirely of Ó Riada’s compositions and his new orchestral arrangements of existing pieces.

The song ‘Mo Ghile Mear’ is synonymous with Cor Chúil Aodha, the men’s choir directed by Peadar since the death of his father, the composer Seán Ó Riada, 44 years ago, and will be one of 11 sung by the choir in the concert’s second act.

Peadar writing a letter too his father, Sean

The song is a synthesis of three traditional pieces — two of them composed by 18th Century Maigue poet Seán Clárach Mac Domhnaill — and it was introduced by Peadar to the repertoire of the choir his father had founded 51 years ago in the Cork Gaeltacht village of Cúil Aodha.

Cór Chuil Aodha are joined in the concert by legendary Cork tenor Seán Ó Sé, who first came to prominence while singing with Seán Ó Riada’s traditional music collective Ceoltóirí Chualann in the 1960s.

Such has been the enduring popularity of that group’s biggest commercial hit ‘An Poc ar Buile’ that its name became affixed to Ó Sé.

Ó Sé, aged 79, has now employed the song as the title of his new published autobiography. ‘An Poc ar Buile’ is one of the songs with new arrangements by Ó Riada to be included in the concert, along with the likes of ‘Bímis ag Ól’, ‘Go mBeannaíotar Duit’, and ‘The Banks of My Own Lovely Lee’.

.@CorkFolkFest kicks off in Cork Opera House tomorrow with Peadar O Riada & special guests!http://t.co/2KDr80O4ow pic.twitter.com/cIKAr5VDuN
— Cork Opera House (@CorkOperaHouse) September 30, 2015