London Symphony Orchestra | Anselm McDonnell: Cross-Purposes @LondonSymphonyOrchestra | Uploaded August 2024 | Updated October 2024, 19 hours ago.
Recorded live at LSO St Luke's as part of LSO Jerwood Composer@AnselmMcDonnell's Politics of the Imagination concert 9 March 2024.
Players
Louise McMonagle cello
Heather Roche clarinet
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Programme Note
Autumn is enervating this wood,
Cutting its sinews at the knee.
The evergreens show some resilience,
Seeing blotched spots of hope
In their sap reserves.
They’ll weather any pollarding.
Others taste the bitter husk:
The child who has forgotten her alphabet,
A young man, hunched like a choking sapling
With no leaf-cushion to soften his fall,
And the spreading blight of witches’ brooms on lonely, rusted oaks.
Prattling pigeons vacillate among the branches,
Cooing as they sow their ordure.
No roots, they’ll fly as they please,
At cross-purposes with their babbling.
I’ll bend my boughs towards the shade of
Christ, that fecund mustard seed,
Who calls to tree and bird,
'Come, abide in me,
And I …
In thee.'
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Biography
Anselm McDonnell is an Irish/Welsh composer who has composed over 90 pieces for orchestra, chamber groups, choirs, soloists and electronics. His music has been performed in 13 countries and includes commissions from the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, BBC Concert Orchestra, the Crash Ensemble, BBC Radio 3, British Council and NCH Dublin. He was previously an LSO Soundhub member.
His music features on eleven CDs, including two self-released albums: Light of Shore and Kraina. In 2023 he had portrait concerts dedicated to his music in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Thailand, by the TACETi Ensemble. His music has been played at NCH Dublin, LSO St. Luke’s, Wigmore Hall, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Hugh Lane Gallery, and New Music Dublin Festival. He is an LSO Jerwood Composer+ 2023/24 participant, and was recently resident composer at the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris (Oct/Nov 23). His recent interview with BBC Music Magazine features in their March 2024 issue. His compositions have been described as 'abrasive and compelling' (Irish Times) and 'bright as fluorescent light’ (Journal of Music).
Recorded live at LSO St Luke's as part of LSO Jerwood Composer@AnselmMcDonnell's Politics of the Imagination concert 9 March 2024.
Players
Louise McMonagle cello
Heather Roche clarinet
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subscribe to the LSO's channel: bit.ly/LSOsubscribe
Subscribe to LSO newsletter: https://smarturl.it/lsonewsletter
Follow the LSO on:
Instagram: instagram.com/londonsymphonyorchestra
Facebook: facebook.com/londonsymphonyorchestra
TikTok: tiktok.com/@londonsymphonyorchestra
Twitter: twitter.com/londonsymphony
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/london-symphony-orchestra
Website: lso.co.uk
Apple Music: geni.us/yH0sXY
Spotify: spoti.fi/291cCk0
LSO Live: lsolive.lso.co.uk
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Programme Note
Autumn is enervating this wood,
Cutting its sinews at the knee.
The evergreens show some resilience,
Seeing blotched spots of hope
In their sap reserves.
They’ll weather any pollarding.
Others taste the bitter husk:
The child who has forgotten her alphabet,
A young man, hunched like a choking sapling
With no leaf-cushion to soften his fall,
And the spreading blight of witches’ brooms on lonely, rusted oaks.
Prattling pigeons vacillate among the branches,
Cooing as they sow their ordure.
No roots, they’ll fly as they please,
At cross-purposes with their babbling.
I’ll bend my boughs towards the shade of
Christ, that fecund mustard seed,
Who calls to tree and bird,
'Come, abide in me,
And I …
In thee.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Biography
Anselm McDonnell is an Irish/Welsh composer who has composed over 90 pieces for orchestra, chamber groups, choirs, soloists and electronics. His music has been performed in 13 countries and includes commissions from the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, BBC Concert Orchestra, the Crash Ensemble, BBC Radio 3, British Council and NCH Dublin. He was previously an LSO Soundhub member.
His music features on eleven CDs, including two self-released albums: Light of Shore and Kraina. In 2023 he had portrait concerts dedicated to his music in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Thailand, by the TACETi Ensemble. His music has been played at NCH Dublin, LSO St. Luke’s, Wigmore Hall, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Hugh Lane Gallery, and New Music Dublin Festival. He is an LSO Jerwood Composer+ 2023/24 participant, and was recently resident composer at the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris (Oct/Nov 23). His recent interview with BBC Music Magazine features in their March 2024 issue. His compositions have been described as 'abrasive and compelling' (Irish Times) and 'bright as fluorescent light’ (Journal of Music).
