Bread is a RTÉ lyric fm co-commission involving the pairing
of a composer and a poet as a way of reflecting the mix of music and words
associated with the Quiet Quartet radio essay series on Lyric Notes.
The idea for Bread came from thinking about the way Ireland
has changed in recent years. A simple thing like bread, common to almost all
cultures, when one thinks about all its different types the world over, offers
a way to mark and celebrate a new diversity on the island. The poem consists of
two parts, the first listing the names for all the different types of bread,
reminding us of other cultures, and off difference, but also serving to
celebrate a common and often sacred coming-together of people. Here I
rhythmically play with spoken and sung sounds, often in unison, to stress these
colourful names.
The second part reflects the baking of bread within the Irish family 'the
beating, the kneading, the rolling, the baking of bread' are, at once, magical
and very ordinary, necessary acts
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