First performance of Fastnet music
As a continuation of their Fastnet 100 celebration
the Commissioners of Irish Lights commissioned Gráinne Mulvey to
compose a piece of music commemorating the centenary of the
completion of the present Fastnet Lighthouse and those who
designed, built, and maintained it for its first 100 years.
The music, entitled two reflections (1-the sea and the tower; 2-the light) for tape 2003-4, commemorating the centenary of the Fastnet Lighthouse was given its first performance in the Board Room of Irish Lights Office on Friday 3 September 2004 to an invited audience of Commissioners and staff which included the composer's brother Gay who works in our Service as a Lighthouse Technician. Gráinne was present for the first performance to introduce her work and was afterwards given a presentation copy of For the Safety of All (lighthouse photographs by Sir Robert Ball) by Mel Boyd, Chief Executive, on behalf of the Commissioners.
The music Gráinne composed for this commission is purely electronic: there are no instruments or live players involved. Electronic sounds are generated, and pre-recorded sounds are manipulated electronically, to create the composition. Originally electronic music was composed directly onto tape; these days CDs are used but such works are still usually referred to as 'for tape'. Music is not limited by time or place, so this commemoration of Fastnet, and the people associated with it, can be brought to audiences anywhere and at any time. The music can be heard on the Irish Lights website www.cil.ie (click on Fastnet 100 Music on the side panel). A performance at Mizen Head is planned for 2005, and we hope Gráinne's music will be given many more performances in future years.
Gráinne Mulvey was born in Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin. She studied music with Eric Sweeney at Waterford Regional Technical College, Hormoz Farhat at Trinity College Dublin, and Agustín Fernández at Queen's University, Belfast. In 1994 she won the Composers' Class of the RTÉ Musician of the Future competition and in 1998 she was awarded the Macaulay Fellowship administered by the Arts Council. In 1999 she gained a DPhil in Composition at the University of York under Nicola LeFanu.
Her music has been performed in Ireland and abroad, and has been broadcast by RTÉ. Her most recent works is Scorched Earth, commissioned by RTÉ and premiered by the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland on 22 October 2004. Two of her works, Sextet Uno and Rational Optional Insanity, were released on CD by Black Box Music in 1999.
biography © Contemporary Music Centre, Ireland
Programme note
gráinne mulvey
two reflections for tape, 2003-4
commemorating the centenary of the fastnet lighthouse
1 - the sea and the tower
2 - the light
Last year I was very fortunate to spend one night in July on the Fastnet Lighthouse. The experience will be forever etched on my mind-the weather was good and I was able to view the wonderful panorama and experience the thrill of being totally isolated, surrounded by the sea and the elements.
I was happy to have the freedom to roam the entire lighthouse, which enabled me to make video and audio recordings on each floor. These audio recordings form the basis of the first part of my piece. Since the lowest floors comprise the engines which run everything in the tower, I set about recording them first and then recorded every sound source available, including the radio transmissions, the foghorn, right up to the light which has a quieter crackling sound. Outside, sounds of nature-seagulls, the sea, wind and waves crashing against the rocks-were also an invaluable stimulus.
Initially I envisaged writing the piece for instruments and electronics. In the end, however, I decided to use tape and computer alone-the technology of the 21st century paying homage to that of the twentieth.
The first track, the sea and the tower, uses exclusively location recordings. The sea forms the constant backdrop. Sounds of seagulls and the ebb and flow of the tide contrast with the outbursts of man-made noise from within the tower.
The second section, the light, is purely electronic (ie electronically generated tones), and thus represents a personal reflection of my experience of the tower. Variations in light-both natural light and that from the lighthouse-are the principal inspiration here. The play of light on the open sea, broken suddenly by a crashing wave; the gradual shading from full daylight, through dusk, to night; the sudden flash of a seagull caught in the lighthouse beam; and, calmly watching over all, the regular pulsing of the lighthouse itself, once every five seconds, echoed in the fading pulse at the close of the piece.
Gráinne Mulvey
July 2004
The music, entitled two reflections (1-the sea and the tower; 2-the light) for tape 2003-4, commemorating the centenary of the Fastnet Lighthouse was given its first performance in the Board Room of Irish Lights Office on Friday 3 September 2004 to an invited audience of Commissioners and staff which included the composer's brother Gay who works in our Service as a Lighthouse Technician. Gráinne was present for the first performance to introduce her work and was afterwards given a presentation copy of For the Safety of All (lighthouse photographs by Sir Robert Ball) by Mel Boyd, Chief Executive, on behalf of the Commissioners.
The music Gráinne composed for this commission is purely electronic: there are no instruments or live players involved. Electronic sounds are generated, and pre-recorded sounds are manipulated electronically, to create the composition. Originally electronic music was composed directly onto tape; these days CDs are used but such works are still usually referred to as 'for tape'. Music is not limited by time or place, so this commemoration of Fastnet, and the people associated with it, can be brought to audiences anywhere and at any time. The music can be heard on the Irish Lights website www.cil.ie (click on Fastnet 100 Music on the side panel). A performance at Mizen Head is planned for 2005, and we hope Gráinne's music will be given many more performances in future years.
Gráinne Mulvey was born in Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin. She studied music with Eric Sweeney at Waterford Regional Technical College, Hormoz Farhat at Trinity College Dublin, and Agustín Fernández at Queen's University, Belfast. In 1994 she won the Composers' Class of the RTÉ Musician of the Future competition and in 1998 she was awarded the Macaulay Fellowship administered by the Arts Council. In 1999 she gained a DPhil in Composition at the University of York under Nicola LeFanu.
Her music has been performed in Ireland and abroad, and has been broadcast by RTÉ. Her most recent works is Scorched Earth, commissioned by RTÉ and premiered by the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland on 22 October 2004. Two of her works, Sextet Uno and Rational Optional Insanity, were released on CD by Black Box Music in 1999.
biography © Contemporary Music Centre, Ireland
Programme note
gráinne mulvey
two reflections for tape, 2003-4
commemorating the centenary of the fastnet lighthouse
1 - the sea and the tower
2 - the light
Last year I was very fortunate to spend one night in July on the Fastnet Lighthouse. The experience will be forever etched on my mind-the weather was good and I was able to view the wonderful panorama and experience the thrill of being totally isolated, surrounded by the sea and the elements.
I was happy to have the freedom to roam the entire lighthouse, which enabled me to make video and audio recordings on each floor. These audio recordings form the basis of the first part of my piece. Since the lowest floors comprise the engines which run everything in the tower, I set about recording them first and then recorded every sound source available, including the radio transmissions, the foghorn, right up to the light which has a quieter crackling sound. Outside, sounds of nature-seagulls, the sea, wind and waves crashing against the rocks-were also an invaluable stimulus.
Initially I envisaged writing the piece for instruments and electronics. In the end, however, I decided to use tape and computer alone-the technology of the 21st century paying homage to that of the twentieth.
The first track, the sea and the tower, uses exclusively location recordings. The sea forms the constant backdrop. Sounds of seagulls and the ebb and flow of the tide contrast with the outbursts of man-made noise from within the tower.
The second section, the light, is purely electronic (ie electronically generated tones), and thus represents a personal reflection of my experience of the tower. Variations in light-both natural light and that from the lighthouse-are the principal inspiration here. The play of light on the open sea, broken suddenly by a crashing wave; the gradual shading from full daylight, through dusk, to night; the sudden flash of a seagull caught in the lighthouse beam; and, calmly watching over all, the regular pulsing of the lighthouse itself, once every five seconds, echoed in the fading pulse at the close of the piece.
Gráinne Mulvey
July 2004