On November 15, 2024, Nonesuch Records releases the debut recording of Land of Winter, a twelve-movement sonic exploration of Ireland’s seasonal changes by Donnacha Dennehy. Titled after the Roman name for Ireland—Hibernia, or “land of winter”—the piece is a tender, dynamic, and keenly observant study of the composer’s homeland throughout the year.
Dennehy explains: “It is the varying quality of light that truly demarcates the seasons, from the shorter days of grey or piercing light in the winter to the warmer but mercurial light of summer days that at solstice stretch almost to midnight. I like this play between light and time, and it is the major inspiration behind the piece.”
As The Wire observes, this inspiration is “translated into music for chamber orchestra that is vividly present, yet subtly variegated in texture and coloration […] Its sections have been contrived to mirror the months of the passing year, yet overall this engrossing composition conveys organic flow rather than programmatic sequence. Dennehy is adept at locating details that are telling and moments that signal indicative seasonal change.” Two movements also feature accompanying videos that visualize the character of particular months. “July” (directed by Jack Phelan and starring Camille O’Sullivan) depicts the liveliness of Ireland’s summer through eruptions of flowers, while “November" (directed by Hugh O’Connor) features actor Mikel Murfi on a determined walk and wild dance through a starkly beautiful winter landscape.
Land of Winter was written for and recorded by Dennehy’s long-time collaborators, the iconic new music group Alarm Will Sound and conductor Alan Pierson. Called “as close to being a rock band as a chamber orchestra can be” by The New York Times, the ensemble is an ideal interpreter of Dennehy’s mix of energy and poeticism. Throughout Land of Winter, they “nurture those rhythmic and harmonic subtleties required for such a dynamic evocation of place, as perceived dramatically through time” (The Wire).
Alarm Will Sound and Pierson give the New York premiere of Land of Winter at the Irish Arts Center on December 11 and 12, 2024. The Austrian premiere on December 2, 2024 features Ensemble Kontrapunkte under the baton of Gottfried Rabl at the Musikverein in Vienna.
For more information, please contact your local Wise Music Promotion Team.
