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| 'The Relief of Derry Symphony' was commissioned by Derry City council to commemorate the famous siege of 1689, a turning point in Irish history. It was composed by Shaun Davey for orchestra, uilleann pipes, solo female vocal, soprano saxaphone, with pipeband and auxiliary trumpets drawn from the local community. This melodic and descriptive symphony was conceived against a background of the early years of the Northern Ireland peace process. The live recording was made at the premiere performance in Derry Guildhall in 1990.
2nd movement; Conceived as a series of military assaults; for the climax of the battle sequence, a detachment of pipers and drummers enter the hall to join the orchestra. 3rd movement; soloists enter; the first half is a musical elegy led by the uilleann pipes; the second half is the song ‘The White Horse’, based on a vision which brought nightly comfort to the City. 4th movement; features a concertante part for soprano sax built upon the foundation of a gradual crescendo which leads to en extended orchestral celebration, led by the brass, which represents the lifting of the siege; concludes with an evocation of churchbells and a musical prayer for peace.
The Relief of Derry Concert performances; premiere performance and live recording with the Ulster Orchestra, conductor Gearoid Grant, in Derry Guildhall, 1990, followed by a very successful reciprocal performance in the National Concert Hall, Dublin, with the Irish National Symphony Orchestra, in 1991, sponsored by Cooperation North. Performed with the same orchestra in 1996 at the RDS, Dublin, excerpts performed at the Waterfront Hall, Belfast in 2000.
Relief of Derry Symphony; Concert requirements; 8 woodwind, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, Tymps + 4 percussion, piano, harp, Suggested minimum strings 14/12/10/8/4; Pipeband and 4 '12 offstage trumpets from the local community; Solo female vocal soloist; Uilleann pipes soloist; Soprano Saxophone soloist; Organ; Amplification for vocal and pipes.
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1st movement; A series of long graceful fanfares, developing into a sense of ominous foreboding; at the end of the movement the offstage pipeband is used to evoke the arrival of the besieging forces. I
