'Vedrò Con Mio Diletto', an opera aria by Antonio Vivaldi (1724), arranged by Garrett Sholdice.

Ergodos Musicians

Michelle O’Rourke – voice
Seán Mac Erlaine – saxophone
Kate Ellis – cello

Taken from the Ergodos Musicians release, 'Songs'. 

For the 'Songs' project, composers Garrett Sholdice and Benedict Schlepper-Connolly have arranged, re-composed, weaved and stitched material drawn from the songs they love. 

Working closely with vocalist Michelle O’Rourke, reed player Seán Mac Erlaine and cellist Kate Ellis, they celebrate the way a melody or a lyric can live in memory, heart and limb— turning, dissolving and re-forming, but never vanishing. 

Experiences become transformed and transfigured, while other perspectives and insights come in the form of deeply reflective improvisations. 

https://ergodos.ie/shop/songs/

Vedrò Con Mio Diletto (1724) / Antonio Vivaldi / arranged by Garrett Sholdice

'I am Weary of Lying Alone', a traditional song, arranged by Benedict Schlepper-Connolly. 

Ergodos Musicians

Michelle O’Rourke – voice
Seán Mac Erlaine – saxophone
Benedict Schlepper-Connolly – electric guitar

Taken from the Ergodos Musicians release, 'Songs'.

For the 'Songs' project, composers Garrett Sholdice and Benedict Schlepper-Connolly have arranged, re-composed, weaved and stitched material drawn from the songs they love.

Working closely with vocalist Michelle O’Rourke, reed player Seán Mac Erlaine and cellist Kate Ellis, they celebrate the way a melody or a lyric can live in memory, heart and limb— turning, dissolving and re-forming, but never vanishing.

Experiences become transformed and transfigured, while other perspectives and insights come in the form of deeply reflective improvisations.

https://ergodos.ie/shop/songs/

I Am Weary Of Lying Alone / Trad. / arranged by Benedict Schlepper-Connolly

An improvisation by Ergodos Musicians:

Michelle O’Rourke – voice
Seán Mac Erlaine – saxophone
Kate Ellis – cello

Taken from the Ergodos Musicians release, 'Songs'.

For the 'Songs' project, composers Garrett Sholdice and Benedict Schlepper-Connolly have arranged, re-composed, weaved and stitched material drawn from the songs they love.

Working closely with vocalist Michelle O’Rourke, reed player Seán Mac Erlaine and cellist Kate Ellis, they celebrate the way a melody or a lyric can live in memory, heart and limb— turning, dissolving and re-forming, but never vanishing.

Experiences become transformed and transfigured, while other perspectives and insights come in the form of deeply reflective improvisations.

https://ergodos.ie/shop/songs/


This World (improvisation)

The new solo album from woodwind instrumentalist and composer Seán Mac Erlaine, now available on limited edition, transparent orange vinyl.
http://ergodos.ie/shop/a-slender-song

Seán Mac Erlaine — Dingle

The first part of an organum on the plainchant 'Viderunt Omnes' by medieval Parisian composer Léonin. 

Michelle O’Rourke – voices

Taken from the Ergodos Musicians release, 'All the ends of the earth'. (https://ergodos.ie/shop/all-the-ends-of-the-earth/)

'All the ends of the earth' reaches across nine centuries to connect three contemporary Irish voices with the music of a mediæval master. Present-day Dublin and 12th-century Notre Dame Cathedral have never seemed closer in this, the latest time-shrinking project by the visionary Ergodos Musicians.

Music by a French mediæval master, known simply as Léonin, forms the focus of this record. Léonin time-stretches a plainchant tune, Viderunt omnes, and places beautiful lyrical counter-melodies on top of it; this music seems even more transcendent as time passes.

Irish composers Linda Buckley, Benedict Schlepper-Connolly and Garrett Sholdice have found inspiration in the clarity of Léonin’s constructions, and the quality of his simple materials. Their works are personal acts of homage, remembrance and celebration.

Organum on 'Viderunt Omnes' / Léonin

The second part of two-part work for ensemble by Benedict Schlepper-Connolly, inspired by an organum on the plainchant 'Viderunt Omnes' by medieval Parisian composer Léonin.

Ergodos Musicians

Jonathan Sage – clarinet
Kate Ellis – cello
Garrett Sholdice – piano
Benedict Schlepper-Connolly – electric guitar

Taken from the Ergodos Musicians release, 'All the ends of the earth'. (ergodos.ie/shop/all-the-ends-of-the-earth/)

'All the ends of the earth' reaches across nine centuries to connect three contemporary Irish voices with the music of a mediæval master. Present-day Dublin and 12th-century Notre Dame Cathedral have never seemed closer in this, the latest time-shrinking project by the visionary Ergodos Musicians.

Music by a French mediæval master, known simply as Léonin, forms the focus of this record. Léonin time-stretches a plainchant tune, Viderunt omnes, and places beautiful lyrical counter-melodies on top of it; this music seems even more transcendent as time passes.

Irish composers Linda Buckley, Benedict Schlepper-Connolly and Garrett Sholdice have found inspiration in the clarity of Léonin’s constructions, and the quality of his simple materials. Their works are personal acts of homage, remembrance and celebration.

In his central instrumental diptych, 'All the ends of the earth', Benedict Schlepper-Connolly crafts intricate, interlocked phrases out of tiny fragments from Léonin’s texture. These are set into motion, gracefully spinning and turning; gradually, over time they are changed, like clay on the potter’s wheel.

All The Ends Of The Earth II / Benedict Schlepper-Connolly

The first movement of 'Rise up, my love' by Howard Skempton, taken from the EP of the same name by the Irish Youth Chamber Choir under conductor Greg Beardsell. 

A celebration of the sensual, the vital and the earthly, 'Rise up, my love', is a passionate debut from the Irish Youth Chamber Choir. The title comes from English composer Howard Skempton and his four-movement setting of fragments from the 'Song of Songs', a biblical text unique in its joyous narrations of human intimacy. 'Rise up, my love' is typical of Skempton’s paired-down, exquisitely balanced compositional style. The words are everything, and nothing is over-stated. Beardsell and his singers match this approach in a flowing, natural interpretation that allows Skempton’s rich harmonies to really breathe and bloom.

https://ergodos.ie/shop/rise-up-my-love/

Rise Up, My Love / Howard Skempton

Track 1 from "violin:piano" by Kevin Volans, released on the Ergodos label on 4 October 2015. 

Waldo Alexander, violin
Jill Richards, piano

violin:piano is a new album of chamber music by Kevin Volans, featuring the premiere recordings of three major duos from 2009 – violin:piano, Etude 9 for piano and electronics, and viola:piano – as well as the violin solo Passi leggieri, originally composed for Norwegian Hardanger fiddle in 2003. Sensitively performed by two experienced interpreters of Volans' music, violinist / violist Waldo Alexander and pianist Jill Richards, this music is all about the contour of the moment. From its first sumptuous gesture, each piece absorbs completely, promising an adventure of luminous beauty.

In the 70s, Volans’ work was associated with the beginnings of postmodernism in Germany. In 1979, after several research trips to his native South Africa, he began a series of pieces based on African composition techniques, which occupied him for the next 10 years and included the enormously successful White Man Sleeps (recorded by the Kronos Quartet). Since then, Volans’ work has explored various aspects of anti-conceptual, post-formal composition in a range of different styles. He describes his work as “essentially modernist”. violin:piano is testament to Volans’ freshness of approach; it is an important document of boldly original work.

We celebrate the launch of violin:piano with a concert performance at 8pm on Sunday 4 October 2015. Waldo Alexander and Jill Richards will travel from South Africa to perform the music of the album in the very special atmosphere of Dublin’s Pepper Canister Church. Tickets (€10-€15) are available from https://ergodos.ie/shop/ticket/kevin-volans-violinpiano-album-launch/

Kevin Volans / violin:piano

Frankie Gavin (fiddle), Malachy Bourke (fiddle).

From the forthcoming album "The masters return", celebrating the legacy of Sligo fiddle player Paddy Killoran.

https://ergodos.ie/shop/ticket/the-santa-rita-concerts-frankie-gavin-malachy-bourke-brian-bourke/

The enchanted lady / The Holy Land (reels)

From the upcoming release by Michael McHale. 

Available from 27 January 2016 from www.ergodos.ie


Michael McHale / Schubert: Four Impromptus, D. 899 (Op. 90)- No. 3 In G - Flat Major

There is an Island combine rich vocals, earthy violin textures, minimal piano and etherial soundscapes to form songs inspired by the memories and places that linger in our hearts. In this arresting new Irish trio, singer Michelle O’Rourke and the composing duo of Benedict Schlepper-Connolly (violin) and Garrett Sholdice (piano) channel an eclectic spread of influences – from Nick Cave to Planxty to Mozart – to create unforgettable, intimate performances. Expect hushed invocations, oceanic lullabies and haunting melodies with a sound that is at once transparent and full of warmth.

http://ergodos.ie/there-is-an-island

There is an Island - Anywhere

There Is An Island – Evensong

There Is An Island – Sedna (Efterklang)

There is an Island were on Blue of the Night with Carl Corcoran on 21 November 2016 in advance of a performance in the Santa Rita Concerts at the Little Museum of Dublin on Wednesday.

Listen to the full show: http://www.rte.ie/lyricfm/the-blue-of-the-night-with-carl-corcoran/#2337520

There is an Island on Blue of the Night (21 November 2016)

A song after the poetry of Francis Ledwidge by There is an Island. 
Commissioned by Solstice Arts Centre in 2017.
www.ergodos.ie/there-is-an-island

With Flowers

Inamorata

Large Cold Sun

He Does Not Pass

"The Melting Song" is from Seán Mac Erlaine's new album "Music for Empty Ears", which is released on 25 May 2018 and is now available to pre-order here: 
https://ergodos.ie/shop/releases/music-for-empty-ears/

---

Seán Mac Erlaine’s richly-textured woodwind sound meets an expanded palette on Music for Empty Ears, the Irish musician’s breathtaking new album. Having honed his distinctively-shaped soliloquies over his first two solo records, Mac Erlaine’s work now bears the mark of collaborations with Norwegian luminaries Jan Bang and Eivind Aarset to reveal a fresh, variegated musical language.



The album journeys through a splendour of musical shades: from the gently insistent minimal grooves and hushed invocations of tracks such as ‘The Melting Song’; to slow pans across dark, saturated vistas on tracks such as ‘Winter Flat Map’; to a warm, celebratory treatment of the Irish traditional tune ‘An Buachaill Caol Dubh’; and to moments of visceral, splintered abstraction in ‘Shake and Sigh’ and ‘The Alchemist III’.

Whether it’s the elusive vocals of Galway singer Sadhbh Ní Dhálaigh or Mac Erlaine’s sublime clarinet melodies that catch you, Music for Empty Ears is an album that reveals more and more with each listen. And, with a bespoke print by Dublin design studio Destinctive Repetition, the heavyweight vinyl of Music for Empty Ears is a beautiful and sumptious object to hold as much as to hear.

Seán Mac Erlaine is a Dublin-based woodwind instrumentalist, composer and music producer, recognised as one of Ireland’s most forward-thinking creative musicians. Mac Erlaine works in a variety of settings from free improvisation, contemporary jazz, folk music and experimental theatre, and is a member of the groups This is How We Fly and the Quiet Music Ensemble. “One of the most interesting and adventurous musicians of his generation” – The Irish Times

Electronic musician/producer Jan Bang has worked with such luminaries as Jon Hassell, David Sylvian, Brian Eno, and Arve Henriksen. From his work as a pop producer in the 90s, his pioneering work in developing the concept of live remix has led to him being constantly in-demand as producer and performer today. “[Jan Bang is] defying all misconceptions about the vast potential of electronic composition.” – All About Jazz

Eivind Aarset is a guitarist with a unique musical vision that absorbs and reflects all manner of music while retaining an enviable individualism and high quality craftsmanship that can span from quiet intimacy to searing intensity. As one of Norway’s most in-demand guitarists, Eivind Aarset has worked with Jon Hassell, David Sylvian, Bill Laswell, Jan Garbarek and many more. “Norwegian Eivind Aarset is in a class of his own proving that lyricism and raw noise aren’t contradictory.” – The Guardian

The Melting Song

From "Music for Empty Ears", the new album by Seán Mac Erlaine:
https://ergodos.ie/shop/releases/music-for-empty-ears/

***

Seán Mac Erlaine’s richly-textured woodwind sound meets an expanded palette on Music for Empty Ears, the Irish musician’s breathtaking new album. Having honed his distinctively-shaped soliloquies over his first two solo records, Mac Erlaine’s work now bears the mark of collaborations with Norwegian luminaries Jan Bang and Eivind Aarset to reveal a fresh, variegated musical language.

The album journeys through a splendour of musical shades: from the gently insistent minimal grooves and hushed invocations of tracks such as ‘The Melting Song’; to slow pans across dark, saturated vistas on tracks such as ‘Winter Flat Map’; to a warm, celebratory treatment of the Irish traditional tune ‘An Buachaill Caol Dubh’; and to moments of visceral, splintered abstraction in ‘Shake and Sigh’ and ‘The Alchemist III’.

Whether it’s the elusive vocals of Galway singer Sadhbh Ní Dhálaigh or Mac Erlaine’s sublime clarinet melodies that catch you, Music for Empty Ears is an album that reveals more and more with each listen. And, with a bespoke print by Dublin design studio Destinctive Repetition, the heavyweight vinyl of Music for Empty Ears is a beautiful and sumptious object to hold as much as to hear.

Seán Mac Erlaine is a Dublin-based woodwind instrumentalist, composer and music producer, recognised as one of Ireland’s most forward-thinking creative musicians. Mac Erlaine works in a variety of settings from free improvisation, contemporary jazz, folk music and experimental theatre, and is a member of the groups This is How We Fly and the Quiet Music Ensemble. “One of the most interesting and adventurous musicians of his generation” – The Irish Times

Electronic musician/producer Jan Bang has worked with such luminaries as Jon Hassell, David Sylvian, Brian Eno, and Arve Henriksen. From his work as a pop producer in the 90s, his pioneering work in developing the concept of live remix has led to him being constantly in-demand as producer and performer today. “[Jan Bang is] defying all misconceptions about the vast potential of electronic composition.” – All About Jazz

Eivind Aarset is a guitarist with a unique musical vision that absorbs and reflects all manner of music while retaining an enviable individualism and high quality craftsmanship that can span from quiet intimacy to searing intensity. As one of Norway’s most in-demand guitarists, Eivind Aarset has worked with Jon Hassell, David Sylvian, Bill Laswell, Jan Garbarek and many more. “Norwegian Eivind Aarset is in a class of his own proving that lyricism and raw noise aren’t contradictory.” – The Guardian

Music for Empty Ears

Seán Mac Erlaine / En Fetelle Mai

01 Clarinet Quintet In B Minor, Op. 115: Allegro

“This album charts a direct line back to my beginnings as a musician: I was an annoying child who was always singing, and at seven I started learning the violin. Writing fragments down and singing along with them was a natural consequence. These pieces are my most direct and personal; they deal with love, art, the horrors of learning solfège, breaking voices, and memory.” – Andrew Hamilton

Andrew Hamilton – voice, violin

All compositions (words and music) by Andrew Hamilton, except: "The Spirit of Art", which uses words by Andrew Hamilton, Ulrike Syha and Hagen Betzwieser; "May", which uses words by Heinrich Heine, translated by the composer; and "i and i", which is an arrangement of “Non lo dirò col labbro” by G.F. Händel, and uses a recording of the composer as a child singing “Silent Worship” (Händel, adapted by Arthur Somervell), accompanied by Frank Hughes (piano).

Recorded December 2014 and June 2019 at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (with special thanks to Dr. Simon Hall). Mixed in Dublin. Mastered at Entertape, Vienna.

Produced by Adrian Hart & Benedict Schlepper-Connolly. Mixed by Adrian Hart. Mastered by Christoph Stickel.

Cover image of the composer as a child by Graham Hamilton.

Andrew Hamilton is supported by a grant from the PRS Foundation’s Open Fund.

Andrew Hamilton / May

'Invocation' by Enda Bates.

This track is taken from 'Dubh', the debut album by Amsterdam-based group Trio Scordatura.

'Dubh' is released on Ergodos Records.

For more info and to purchase the album, click here: http://www.ergodos.ie/shop/dubh/

Invocation / Enda Bates / Trio Scordatura

'Immersia - 1' by Linda Buckley

This track is taken from 'Immersia', a 3-track EP of ambient electronica by Cork-born composer Linda Buckley. 

'Immersia' is released on Ergodos Records.

For more info, and to purchase the album, click here: http://www.ergodos.ie/shop/immersia/

Immersia – I / Linda Buckley

'Star' by Benedict Schlepper-Connolly.

This is the title track from a 3-track EP of meditative string duos performed Maya Homburger and Barry Guy.

'Star' is released on Ergodos Records.

For more info, and to purchase the album, click here: http://www.ergodos.ie/shop/star/

Star / Benedict Schlepper-Connolly / Homburger/Guy

'Amhrán Na Leabhar', a traditional Irish composition, arranged by Seán Mac Erlaine.

This track is taken from 'Long After the Music is Gone', a solo album by Dublin-based woodwind instrumentalist and composer Seán Mac Erlaine.

'Long After the Music is Gone' is released on Ergodos Records.

For more info, and to purchase the album, click here: http://www.ergodos.ie/shop/long-after-the-music-is-gone/

Amhrán Na Leabhar / Traditional Irish, arr. Seán Mac Erlaine

'O Vis Aeternitatis', a composition by Hildegard von Bingen, arranged by Seán Mac Erlaine.

This track is taken from 'Long After the Music is Gone', a solo album by Dublin-based woodwind instrumentalist and composer Seán Mac Erlaine.

'Long After the Music is Gone' is released on Ergodos Records.

For more info, and to purchase the album, click here: http://www.ergodos.ie/shop/long-after-the-music-is-gone/

O Vis Aeternitatis / Hildegard Von Bingen, arr. Seán Mac Erlaine

'Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ', a composition by J.S. Bach, transcribed by Garrett Sholdice.

This track is taken from 'I Call to You', a record of music inspired by music by Baroque master Johann Sebastian Bach, and performed by the Dublin-based group Ergodos Musicians.

'I Call to You' is released on Ergodos Records.

For more info, and to purchase the album, click here: http://www.ergodos.ie/shop/i-call-to-you/

Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ / J.S. Bach, trans. Garrett Sholdice / Ergodos Musicians

'Ich bitt, erhör mein Klagen' by Benedict Schlepper-Connolly.

This track is taken from 'I Call to You', a record of music inspired by music by Baroque master Johann Sebastian Bach, and performed by the Dublin-based group Ergodos Musicians.

'I Call to You' is released on Ergodos Records.

For more info, and to purchase the album, click here: http://www.ergodos.ie/shop/i-call-to-you/

Ich bitt, erhör mein Klagen / Benedict Schlepper-Connolly / Ergodos Musicians

Ergodos is a record label and production house based in Dublin, Ireland.

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