A new poem for Dublin, sung beneath the vaulted stone of St Patrick’s Cathedral, gave the Guinness Choir anniversary concert its most stirring moment. Marking 75 years since the choir’s founding, the Dublin ensemble premiered The City of our Dreaming, a new work built from words by Paula Meehan and music by Seán Doherty.
The Guinness Choir anniversary concert took place last month as part of the Culture Date with Dublin 8 festival and drew a crowd of about 600 people. Among those present was President Catherine Connolly. It was a fitting setting for a group whose story stretches back to 1951, when the choir was formed for Guinness brewery employees, and continues today as an independent choir with more than 100 members.
A city heard in song
At the centre of the Guinness Choir anniversary concert was Meehan’s newly commissioned poem, written to honour the choir’s roots in Dublin and map the city through choral music. Doherty’s score turned that idea into a cantata lasting more than 20 minutes, receiving its world premiere on the night.
Under musical director Ciarán Kelly, the programme also included works by Bach, Fauré, Stanford and Verdi. Soloist Leanne Fitzgerald, organist David Leigh and Dublin musician Bren Berry joined the performance, adding extra colour to an already rich evening.
- Venue: St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin
- Occasion: 75 years of the choir
- Premiere: The City of our Dreaming
- Next stop: a June tour of England, including Cambridge and Norwich
Chairman John Healy said the choir was “thrilled and delighted” to commission the new work, adding that the performance had a significant impact on the audience. That feels easy to believe. A choir with deep Dublin roots, still growing, still singing, and still bringing large-scale music to the public through amateur voices: the Guinness Choir anniversary concert was both a milestone and a promise of what comes next.
Image Courtesy: The Irish Times
