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Here to read some interviews with Shaum.
"Davey's work manages to be both brave and populist. The sequence in which the City of Glasgow Pipes and Drums squared up to the Philharmonic Orchestra was simply stunning " "A musical experience of Stunning emotional power " "An enthusiastic crowd of 7000.... called for encore after encore. " "It is not only an immense achievement musically and spiritually, but is the outworking of one man's vision to squeeze life and a sense of culture from the footnotes of history. " "A journey to perfection " "A thing of beauty and considerable emotional force...For once the standing ovation was awarded on merit. " "There is simply no classification that can be put on a work of this calibre...extraordinary music. " "The Pilgrim fascinated 3700 spectators and pinned them to
their seats. They in turn demanded two encores and gave the
musicians a standing ovation. Shaun Davey can be proud of the
updating of his work, it was simply superb. "A standing ovation for at least five minutes from 3000 spectators.
Rarely in 30 years has a festival show evoked such enthusiasm.
On Saturday evening in the big Kergroise marquee, The Pilgrim
made hearts reel. How can one not be lyrical about an evening
whose lyricism swept away all reticence? It's true that the
first moments of the concert were almost close to being becalmed,
but very quickly the first squalls flurried and the skiff of
Kergroise suddenly so fragile is carried along on a delicious
musical peregrination. One couldn't be prevented from applauding
between each movement though it's not the norm because it (the
music) was too strong, too moving, because it was too beautiful.
"It's hard to describe the euphoric atmosphere at the end of Shaun Davey's concert at the Queen's Hall without going over the top. The reaction of the audience was just about the most spontaneously enthusiastic I can remember at any Edinburgh event....Rita Connolly's voice was a sheer delight to listen to. " - Folk Roots "A truly wondrous and exciting work. Left the audience ecstatic, the Ulster Orchestra obviously enjoying the experience as much as the raving, cheering audience." - Belfast Newsletter "Irish folk and orchestra blended with brilliance" - Irish News "Specially written for Rita Connolly, this work sets off her spellbinding voice." - Liberte du Morbihan-France "Davey's forceful score succeeds in suggestion the wildness of the sea and Mayo landscape as well as the turbulence of the era...a very enjoyable musical experience." - The Record Roundup, Mass. USA "A wild and magnificent song cycle," - Libby Purvis, writing in The Observer UK"Granuaile is an astonishingly beautiful work," - Staten Island Advance, NY "The suite for singer, piper and orchestra, which was transmitted live on radio, was received enthusiastically. The audience demanded two encores." - Sunday Tribune-Dublin
"It isn't every day that a uilleann piper gets a standing ovation in London's Festival Hall, so the fifteen minute standing ovation was a rare occurrence indeed." - Evening Herald "... It was Shaun Davey's Brendan Suite which was the unchallenged highlight of the evening." - The Stage "Shaun Davey's symphony transported me along with some 1,500 others in the audience to the wild shores of the ocean." - Quest France "A work of beautiful lyricism." - Le Soleil, Quebec "This professional critic enjoyed the whole work for its nearly hour long duration with complete absorption...(at the end) the whole audience rose immediately to its feet in applause." - Irish Times "Enthralling, momentous music, the Brendan Suite is a tremendously moving, even awesome piece of music to hear performed live." - Belfast Telegraph "Davey writes splendid music." - The Gramophone "One couldn't help coming away elated from the performance," - Staten Island Advance, N.Y. "..the artistic director of the Edinburgh Folk Festival deserves a medal for having moved heaven, earth and sundry bank accounts to mount last Sunday's Scottish premier of Shaun Davey's Brendan Voyage and Granuaile. Whatever it cost, it was worth all that and more!... Amid the power of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the delicious proximity of Liam O'Flynn's uilleann pipes I wasn't so much drinking from the cup as swimming in it." - Observer, Scotland
"Shaun Davey's Siege Symphony will leave alasting cultural mark on the city and the music world...the audience rose to cheering standing ovation...Bereft of partisanship it is lacedwith tributes to humanity, nobility, bravery heroism - yet acknowledges passion, stoicism and sacrifice." - Ulster Newsletter "The most important musical occasion of the year happened at the National Concert Hall last night with the Dublin premiere of Shaun Davey's 'Relief of Derry Symphony'... which fully merited the spontaneous standing ovation from the capacity house!" - Irish Press "Davey's work burst out from the conventional patterns of symphonies, with musical excitements unfolding at a rate and beauty to increase one's heartbeat." - Cork Examiner "The music does not fit into any one genre, it borrows and combines many...given life by a treatment which is direct and at times very dramatic, employing considerable and effective use of stagecraft." (Irish Times). "Musically, it was a milestone, for the symphony combined the classical and traditional to produce a work of tenderness and power." - Sunday Independent "Shaun Davey's international fame as a composer is due largely to his debut work, The Brendan Voyage, but at last night's RTE Proms concert devoted to his music, the highlight was unquestionably the less widely renowned Relief of Derry Symphony. Composed nearly ten years after The Brendan Voyage, the Relief of Derry Symphony is far more musically sophisticated. Unfortunately it's not performed as often as its predecessor - probably due to the fact that it requires, as presenter Mike Murphy pointed out, an enormous orchestra, extra trumpeters, three soloists and a pipe band. It was commissioned by the Derry City Council to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Siege of Derry in 1689. Last night's outing featured the National Symphony Orchestra and the Army pipe band along with uilleann piper Liam O'Flynn, singer Rita Connolly, and sax player Gerard McChrystal - all three of them consumate musicians. Davey himself came out at the end to a thunderous stomping of feet - well deserved." - Sarah McQuaid - Evening Herald |
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