Alarm Will Sound - Donnacha Dennehy: Land of Winter (CD)

The piece, performed by Dennehy's longtime collaborators Alarm Will Sound and conductor Alan Pierson, explores the subtleties of Ireland's seasons via twelve connected sections representing the months of the year. Dennehy says of his composition, "The Romans referred to Ireland as Hibernia-the 'land of winter'-believing that the inhabited world ended in the northwest with this country that never knew summer... 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. "Structurally, the piece is divided into twelve 'months' continuously connected, beginning in December, and culminating at the end of November, ready to start all over again in winter," he continues. "Solstices and equinoxes are translated musically using overtone distributions throughout the ensemble, creating sweeps of color and shade across the aural space. "