Performance of the First Symphony Composed in Ireland (Gleeson Theatre, DIT Kevin Street, 1 May 2013)

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The Research Foundation for Music in Ireland at the DIT Conservatory of Music & Drama presents a performance of the first symphony composed in Ireland by the French-born composer and violinist Paul Alday, c1816.

The catalyst for this performance was the recent discovery of the parts for this symphony in the National Library of Ireland by RFMI/RISM Ireland. Prior to this discovery, the library of the Royal Irish Academy of Music held only the incomplete parts, but the newly discovered parts provide a complete set for performance. These parts have been digitally edited by students of the DIT Conservatory of Music & Drama in preparation for the performance of this symphony, conducted by Keith Pascoe. The concert will also include performances from DIT Chamber Winds and DIT Chamber Brass conducted by Ciaran O’Connell and Ian Dakin.

Alday was resident in Dublin from 1805 to his death in 1835, during a period of extreme social and cultural change immediately after the Act of Union (1801). When the Irish parliament was removed, many of the Protestant aristocrats left Dublin. Concert audiences diminished and composers and performers stopped including Dublin in their tours of Europe. This provided an environment for the fostering of private concerts. Alday’s involvement in Dublin’s musical life mirrored the wider cultural and social climate and he rarely performed in public. He was an active member of the Anacreontic Society of Dublin, a private music society established to provide aristocratic amateurs with the opportunity of performing with professional musicians. Alday composed his first symphony for this society in 1816.

See http://www.dit.ie/conservatory/events/ for concert details.

For further details on the Alday discovery, contact Dr Catherine Ferris

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