Keep your Derry Aire to yourself!

Wordless voice can be such an effective technique in orchestral music, I am surprised it isn't used more often.

Carl Nielsen and Henryk Górecki come to mind for using it in symphonies. But orchestral lovers are not always voice lovers, so perhaps that is the reason. Ode to a Nightingale uses the technique to good effect, though.

Either way, the vocal works here touch on Irish folklore, while the concertante works here sound mightily Irish. I feel Harty is at his best when referencing his homeland.

This really is a neat program, yet I get the feeling there is nothing here that is really standout, if you catch my drift.

A fine look into the music of Harty, though.

A review from 2023

Irish conductor/composer Hamilton Harty was never afraid to wear a badge of his heritage when composing, and this recording evinces that. Two concertante works for violin and orchestra take directly from folk traditions, while two orchestral works with soprano voice land in folklore and poetry.

The 30-minute Children of Lir is an out-and-out orchestral work. Here and there it uses wordless soprano voice, from Irish soprano Heather Harper, to musically tell an ancient tale. On the other hand, Ode to a Nightingale is full on soprano with orchestra, using John Keats’ poetic Romanticisms. Both this 20-minute work and Lir bandy between heroism and lyricism throughout, giving the listener plenty of variety.

The two pieces for violin and orchestra are stronger with Irish sound. Londonderry Air is known to most as Danny Boy, and Harty’s arrangement is well loved. The Variations on a Dublin Air showcases what he can do with an orchestra, shifting focus across the ensemble from strings to winds to brass.

Aside from Londonderry Air, I don’t think any of this music has been recorded elsewhere, a shame as Hamilton Harty is an exciting orchestral composer. Ulster plays wonderfully and Thomson obviously has a love of this music. All the better with top-grade soloists Heather Harper and Ralph Holmes.

These four works have since been compiled together with other Harty orchestral and concertante music on Chandos, later remastered again. Really a great find!

 Listen on YouTube

Works
Children of Lir (31.48)
Variations on a Dublin Air (18.19)
Londonderry Air (5.27)
Ode to a Nightingale (22.32)

Soloists
Heather Harper, soprano
Ralph Holmes, violin

Ensemble
Ulster Orchestra
Bryden Thomson, conductor

Label: Chandos
Year: 1996
Total Timing: 76.36

Not the best from Harty, but far from unlistenable.

This is a treasure due to the love of the composer's home country.

Find more Harty recordings HERE!