THE BRENDAN VOYAGE

The Brendan Voyage Suite for uilleann pipes and orchestra.

The Brendan Voyage Suite is regarded in Ireland as a groundbreaking, crossover work of cultural significance. Composed by Shaun Davey in 1980, it is the first, daring musical meeting between an Irish solo uilleann piper and a classical symphony orchestra. This confrontation of two separate traditions develops into a triumphant collaboration, telling the story of explorer Tim Severin's epic voyage across the Atlantic in a leather boat, a replica medieval voyage which proved that the 6th century Irish Saint, Brendan may have reached America before Columbus or the Norsemen. The voice of the medieval boat is represented by the uilleann pipes of Liam O'Flynn, the seaworld of the Atlantic by the symphony orchestra.

The Brendan Voyage Concert Performances. Following it's first live performance at Tombee de la Nuit, Rennes and the Lorient Interceltic Festival in 1982, The Brendan Voyage has been performed in concert halls around the world, including The Sydney Opera House and The Royal Albert Hall, London. It has been performed by Liam O'Flynn with;- the ECO at the Royal Festival Hall, London, the SCO in Edinburgh, the Ulster Orchestra in Belfast, the Munich Radio Orchestra, the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, the Staten Island Symphony Orchestra, on tour with the RTECO in Cologne and at Seville Expo 1994; at the Tonder festival, Denmark [2004]. Has also been performed by youth orchestras in Ireland and Australia. Continues to be performed by the RTE Concert and Symphony Orchestras, and has for several years featured in the Irish school curriculum. Most recent performance with the Northern Sinfonia in Newcastle [2005]

Brendan Voyage running order; [duration;45 minutes]

1] Brandon Creek; the starting point of the voyage, a remote harbour on the north-west of the Dingle peninsular, Co. Kerry, Ireland.

2] The Brendan Theme; the boat sets sail for the first time.

3] Jig; Water under the keel; at speed off the West coast of Scotland.

4] Journey to the Faroes; mists and currents, calls of seabirds.

5] The Cliffs of Mykines; a perilous approach to land, around high cliffs teeming with seagulls, and through a dangerous tide-rip.

6] Reel; Mykines Sound; the boat is swept headlong down a narrow channel.

7] Journey to Iceland; a tranquil passage, communion with whales and the fish of the deep.

8] The Gale; the boat battles with, and survives, a ferocious Greenland storm.

9] Labrador; freezing fog and pack ice; 'Brendan' is damaged but survives.

10] Newfoundland; journey's end and triumphant arrival

The Brendan Voyage Concert Requirements;

8 woodwind, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba,

Tymps + 3 percussion, drumkit, bass guitar, piano, harp,

Suggested minimum strings; 14/12/10/8/6;

Uilleann pipes soloist + amplification for pipes.

Critical Appraisal; 'The critical and popular success of The Brendan Voyage was as ground-breaking as the music itself. Over the years its power as a single, self-contained suite for Uilleann pipes, Orchestra and Rhythm Section has remained undiminished while the progress of the Celtic Music Renaissance has confirmed not only it's author's visionary genius but the status of this one work as an absolute cornerstone for so many subsequent developments.

Subsequent years have seen others paint on the pallet of Davey's dream, but in my view there is still only one master of the form. Regularly lauded as a populist with integrity, a visionary, a serious artist, an unsung hero at the very dawn of the current Celtic music explosion, Shaun Davey is all of these things and more....'

Colin Harper, Q Magazine, August 1997

WORK IN PROGRESS