Chamber Choir Ireland

The sixteen dazzling voices of Ireland’s national chamber choir bring the best of contemporary choral music to Norfolk & Norwich Festival. 

Featuring works by living Irish composers, David Fennessy’s eccentric chOirland—made up of nonsense lyrics taken from the choruses of traditional Irish songs and ballads—and Eoghan Desmond’s I am. 

In Cassandra Miller’s The City, Full of People, the audience eavesdrops on ‘a cacophony of private secrets,’ immersed in the meditative echoes of Tallis’ sixteenth-century lamentations.  

Mesmerising to behold, Caroline Shaw’s origami-inspired How to fold the wind uses speech, inhaled notes, and innovative vocal effects to fold individual voices together into a complex whole. 

Guest director Eamonn Dougan (The Sixteen, Britten Sinfonia Voices) leads Chamber Choir Ireland in the subtle unfolding of Pärt’s sublime O Holy Father Nicholas—composed for the re-opening of St Nicholas’ church as a pilgrimage for all faiths at New York’s Ground Zero.

Chamber Choir Ireland are known for their awe-inspiring performances and their creative approach to commissioning. They bring world-class choral performances to audiences across Ireland and internationally, spanning from rarely heard treasures of early music to world premieres and brand new commissions.

chOirland David Fennessy (Ireland, b. 1976)
I am Eoghan Desmond (Ireland, b. 1989)
O Holy Father Nicholas Arvo Pärt (Estonia, b. 1935)

Lamentations of Jeremiah I Thomas Tallis (England, 1505-1585)
The City, Full of People Cassandra Miller (Canada, b. 1976)
How to Fold the Wind Caroline Shaw (USA, b. 1982)

Due to illness, Paul Hillier will be unable to conduct Chamber Choir Ireland in this performance. The programme remains unchanged, and we are delighted to welcome Eamonn Dougan to conduct.