Lore Lixenberg and RLPO's Ensemble 10/10 conducted by Clark Rundell (2010)
Premiered in Liverpool, 2010. Music and words by Ailís Ní Ríain:

"I am holding you aloft
Raising you up
Pillared above my fading colours-
Somehow you seep them from me,
I live with you in my blood
Bleeding into my bloodstream,
In sleep you surround me within
Stealing compliments from my lips
Of who you are and your effect on me.

Then I begin to let you down-
Softly
Slowly
Safely
Sweetly
Harness this?

Stay.
Stay with me."

In Sleep, Mvt IV - Ailís Ní Ríain

Commissioned and premiered by the Irish new music ensemble Concorde.
Painting - 'The Singing Horseman' by Jack B. Yeats (Irish artist)
http://homepage.eircom.net/~concorde/

Under The Rose [1st Mvt] - Ailís Ní Ríain

Lighthouse Lullaby (2009)
Commissioned by FOLD, Cumbria, UK for Maryport Lighthouse on the West Coast of Cumbria 2010. Featured on BBC Radio 4’s The Today Programme and Channel 4’s Big Art Mob as a mini-documentary.  The lighthouse was open to the people of Maryport for the first time in 75 years. Visitors entered the 150 year old iron lighthouse to hear the composition in a unique acoustic.
“An electroacoustic composition featuring Danish trio Vox Nueva with glockenspiel, piano and electronic sound to create a song of longing for a beautiful old lighthouse.  Maryport Lighthouse is the oldest cast-iron lighthouse in the UK.”

Lighthouse Lullaby [extract] - Ailís Ní Ríain

Tom Mckinney (guitar) and Tim Williams (cimbalom)
Painting - Ailís Ní Ríain

Taken from Brief-Blue-Electric-Bloom (2010) 40 mins.
A suite for two guitars (acoustic or electric). 
Eight individual pieces with optional video.

All Love is Insane - Ailís Ní Ríain

Beautiful Cracked Eyes [extract] - Ailís Ní Ríain

StreetSong was awarded joint-First Prize at the ICSM World Music Days 2006 Short Cuts Competition and was played at the Kunstmuseum, Stuttgart, Germany on 18th July.  200 works from 30 countries were submitted. It has since been broadcast or presented in Switzerland, Ireland, UK and Serbia.

StreetSong

Composer - Ailís Ní Ríain [2025]
String Trio. Violin, viola and cello. Full duration 8 mins.
Commissioned by Evlana Ensemble [Ireland] 
Funded by the Irish Arts Council
Premiered at Finding a Voice Festival, Ireland in March 2025
Thanks to Evlana, Finding a Voice Festival and Arts Council Ireland

...never here and nowhere else... [2025] [extract]

Violin, wine bottle, marimba and piano. © Ailís Ní Ríain 2003
Live recording from The National Concert Hall of Ireland 2007

"The last time I died......offered you my pulse....gave you my breath..."

The Last Time I Died (extract)

Solo piano
Composer - Ailís Ní Ríain
Pianist - Ailís Ní Ríain
A suite of four pieces for solo piano
© 2002

"The night I died came back to me:

The distance suddenly reflected,
crossing a meridian of regret,
closer now than flesh.

Enough to know that it was nothing,
Everywhere with me and nowhere."

Into The Sea Of Waking Dreams (1st movement)

Commissioned by The York Late Music Festival in 2012. Sung by the Welsh baritone Jeremy Huw Williams. Based on a poem from 2011 by York based poet Carole Bromley based on her time spent at The Bronte Parsonage in West Yorkshire. The mourning bracelet was made of her sister's hair. 

Mourning Bracelet - Ailís Ní Ríain

Ailís Ní Ríain is an Irish composer. 


“...shows a voice that is independent, exploratory and quirky.” – The Irish Times 4*

“The sounds are bright, fresh and inventive…wide ranging and often provocative.” – The Guardian 4*

‘Seductively tintinnabulating […] music that dances and delights,’ – BBC Radio 3 New Music Show

A significant talent”– The Irish Times

“… her bold approach combined with ingenious imagining of musical shapes” – The Wire

“…an ideal introduction to a highly original composer, with powerful and distinctive ideas” – Musical Opinion 5*

‘The Last Time I Died is a broad demonstration of her curious and unique creative mind’ – Morning Star 4*

She works broadly in the areas of concert music, music installation, electroacoustic and music­-theatre. Her interdisiplinary approach has led to numerous collaborations with writers, dancers, performers, visual and theatre artists. 

Her musical work has been commissioned, performed and broadcast worldwide. In 2016 she was awarded the prestigious Paul Hamlyn Award for Composers and Portrait album of her work was released by NMC Recordings in 2023 receiving many favourable reviews.

...never here and nowhere else... [2025] [extract]

Ailís Ní Ríain

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