Music

Ensemble captures the sounds of the National Library of Ireland with the aim of  ‘opening up the composition of music to everyone’


For the first time the music of an inclusive ensemble of musicians and composers of differing abilities will form part of the National Collections at the National Library of Ireland (NLI). 

Led by composer Karen Power, the ensemble is made up of a group of ten musicians - five living with intellectual disabilities and five students of the Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM). The composition incorporates sounds that capture the distinctive atmosphere of the National Library.

An inclusive ensemble is built on a shared process-based approach to music-making. The process is open, unbiased and offers equal opportunities for genuine exchange between all the musicians. ‘Sounding the hidden at the NLI’ pairs acoustic instruments, iPads as digital instruments, and field recordings.

Welcoming this first-in-its-kind collaboration, Deborah Kelleher, Director of the Royal Irish Academy of Music said:

“Until recently, music ensembles such as the orchestra were the preserve of the musical elite - but our work with our shared ensemble for the ‘Sounding the Hidden at the NLI’ project has challenged how we approach what we do across institutions and disciplines when it comes to making music together. The Royal Irish Academy of Music is proud to be leading this work. At its heart, this work is about co-creation, deep listening and the unfailing creativity of the human – the musicians themselves are the composers and collaborators, and they work on every aspect of the piece together.

“We understand that this composed piece, co-created by a diverse group of talented musicians, is the first of its kind to be added to a National Library Collection possibly anywhere in the world.   

“One of the most exciting parts of this initiative is our new collaboration with the National Library of Ireland – and the NLI itself provides the sounds and inspiration for the musical work. We are thrilled that the finished piece will be included in Ireland’s National Collections.”

Dr Audrey Whitty, Director of the National Library of Ireland said:

“People think of a library as a silent place, and yet this group of composers have weaved together a soundscape from the hum of constant activity inside and outside our historic walls. The fabric of the music is built on the echoes of books being shelved, pages rustling, trollies on the move, vigorous typing and note taking – all very real sounds of learning and discovery. 

“There is something very meaningful and beautiful about the work produced by this group of musicians, and we could not be prouder to accept it as part of our National Collections so it can be accessed for years to come. 

“The National Library of Ireland, working with the Royal Irish Academy of Music, is celebrating practical initiatives to make music accessible to everyone, and the showcasing of the indelible talent of Irish musicians from a broad spectrum of experiences.

“Projects of this kind are an example of proactive collecting by the National Library of the works of under-represented voices in our communities.”

Karen Power, Composer said:

“I am thrilled to be leading this co-creative process with RIAM, which both establishes a working framework for inclusive and co-creative music-making activities and produces our first composition.

“The composition is based on the audible and inaudible sounds of the magnificent NLI space. 

“Our aim was to offer time and space for people of differing abilities to create on equal footing, to try to break with assumptions about what we all think music is and can be. What better way to achieve this then by beginning with listening and specifically placing focus on a living and culturally significant place – the NLI.

“My goal in leading this process was to ensure that active listening was at the core of every step of our composition. By carefully considering the artistry and training of each musician, I wanted to develop a challenging environment for all involved. 

“I believe that together we have created a new, original and qualitative, professional composition that is unique to this group of extraordinary people.”

About The National Library of Ireland

The National Library of Ireland (NLI) is the library of record for Ireland. Established in 1877, it shares the story of Ireland with the world through its unique collections. The NLI cares for more than twelve million items, including books, manuscripts, newspapers, photographs, prints, maps, drawings, ephemera, music and digital media. The library is open, free of charge, to all those who wish to consult the collections. The five strategic priorities for the National Library of Ireland for 2022-2026 are to Collect, Protect, Reveal, Engage and Innovate. Further information is available at www.nli.ie.

About the Royal Irish Academy of Music 

The Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM) is Ireland’s national conservatoire for music, specialising in classical music. For the past 176 years, RIAM has been the leading voice for music performance education in Ireland, producing generations of successful graduates nurtured by passionate and dedicated staff. RIAM provides undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses accredited by Trinity College Dublin, trains talented young musicians from age four in the RIAM Junior Academy, engages professionals, hobbyists, and community musicians through a large programme of lifelong learning courses, and assesses tens of thousands of young music and drama students each year as Ireland’s National body for graded music examinations. 

About Karen Power

Karen Power is an Irish composer based in Cork, Ireland, whose work draws on two primary sources: acoustic instruments and environmental sounds. She engages with these sources both independently and collectively, allowing each musical concept to dictate the medium employed. Her creative output is diverse in both approach and delivery, aiming to capture and translate the essence of an idea through various forms, media, and methods of dissemination. Recent works include sound installations, multi-sensory walk-through experiences, staged orchestral and ensemble pieces, wordless opera, collaborations between sound and dance or sound and image, free and guided improvisations, solo instrumental works, duets, musical happenings, and explorations in augmented, virtual, and expanded realities.

MORE ABOUT THE PROJECT

    This project was supported by the Benefact Group’s Movement for Good promoted in Ireland by Ecclesiastical Insurance.
    The performers/co-creators are Adrian Conaghan, Ailis Colgan, Rory Donnelly, Jack Doyle (RIAM), Aoife Goodison-Lawlor (RIAM), Rohan Harron (RIAM), Alannah Kelly, Max Matthews (RIAM), David Banfield, and Aoife O'Donovan (RIAM).
    ‘Sounding the Hidden at the NLI’ takes recordings of sounds recorded during regular opening hours at the NLI as the basis of the new composition. Ten RIAM composition students and five musicians living with intellectual disabilities spent a full day sourcing and recording audible and inaudible sounds at the NLI.
    The group came together after recording to co-create a piece of music in response to the found sounds, incorporating the actual recordings into the final composition. 
    RIAM Bachelor of Music students specialising in Composition took part in the project, with 3rd and 4th year students recording, composing and performing and 1st and 2nd year students observing. 
    Adrian Conaghan and David Banfield became involved through a previous RIAM initiative - the Open Youth Orchestra of Ireland, the first large ensemble in the country made up exclusively of musicians with disabilities including Down syndrome, autism and cerebral palsy. Ailis, Rory and Alannah came via local community services. 
    The final composition, ‘Sounding the Hidden at the NLI’, will be premiered to an invited audience on-site at the NLI on Friday, 10th January 2025, with introductions from Dr Audrey Whitty, Director NLI and Deborah Kelleher, Director RIAM. 

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