For three years, the melody of St. Patrick’s Lament has been locked away in the voice notes app on my phone. Inspired by a native Irish bird called the Curlew, the melody came to me on piano after listening to the poem that accompanies the song ‘Michael Collins’.
In the latter part of the poem, the following lines are read;
The curlew takes to flight
And as he flies out over the empty sad fields of West Cork
With his lonesome call
He must tell the world
That the big fellow has fallen
And that Michael is gone
Something about that image really impacted me and in response, I composed the first part of the piece. It also came to my knowledge that the curlew is under threat of extinction in Ireland and hearing that confirmed to me that I wanted to dedicate a piece of music to it. As a nature lover, I felt really saddened that the curlew population had decreased so rapidly in recent years. Hence the name ‘St. Patrick’s Lament’.
The instrumental piece is written for piano and orchestra and I am so happy to release a piece of music that is very different to previous releases. The melody is simple throughout, interacting with various sections of the orchestra at different times.
I am really excited to release St. Patrick’s Lament to the public on the 17th of March 2023.
Thanks for tuning in and stopping by.
Sinéad x
Sinéad McNally 