We’re delighted to announce our series of talks for the spring. Martin Dwan’s talk took place last weekend and was blessed with a great turn out. We look forwarded to welcoming new faces and old to the rest of the talks which will be held in our traditional venue, Buswells Hotel.
Date
Time
Presenter
Title
8th February
11am
Martin Dwan
The Inspired and Admired
8th March
11am
Tom Faulkner
Schubert: An Overview
12th April
11am
Gordon Ledbetter
Then and Now
10th May
11am
David Clarke
From Behind the Iron Curtain
John McCormack sings Schubert’s Ave Maria with Fritz Kreisler on violin and Vincent O’Brien on piano.
This recording of Adeste Fideles was made in 1915. It features the Canadian tenor Harry McDonough, the American baritone, Reinald Werrenrath, and the bass, Irish American William F. Hooley.
Although John McCormack made a technically superior recording of Adeste Fideles in 1926 as a result of the arrival of electrical recording our preference is the 1915 version. McCormack was at the height of his vocal powers, and the accompanying singers excel in their supporting roles. The recording stands as a testament to the golden age of vocal recording and for many years was a cherished part of the holiday music tradition.
Happy Christmas to all of our Society members, and to visitors to our website. We hope you enjoy John McCormack’s Adeste Fideles.
Were have the pleasure of welcoming Martin Dwan to deliver our next talk on Saturday 7th December in Buswells Hotel at the usual time of 11am. Martin is the producer/director of the critically acclaimed documentary The Peoples’ Tenor on John McCormack. Tea and coffee will be available and all are welcome.
Martin’s talk will look at some of the artists that inspired John McCormack and others that that he worked with and admired. Artists such as Enrico Caruso, Fritz Kreisler, Mattia Battistini, Amelia Galli-Curci and Claudia Muzio will feature. The talk will open with a rarely seen clip from his 2006 Gala Tribute Concert to John McCormack at the National Concert Hall. It promises to be a lovely tour of the greats from the Golden Era of voices and musicians.
Our next talk takes place on Saturday 9th November at 11am in Buswells Hotel. We are thrilled to welcome Gordon Ledbetter, award winning broadcaster and two-time biographer of John McCormack. Gordon’s talk will focus on the question – what is the essence of singing? He’ll take attendees on a journey through the history of singing to explore some of the many styles of singing that emerged during the 20th century and how opera singers have changed in their approach during the era of recorded sound.
We’re delighted to welcome the return of our Vice-Chairman, David Clarke, for another one of his excellent talks that feature recordings from the wellknown to the obscure. A few new gems are always unearthed.
David Clarke
Although the title suggests the selection of music with be focused on the Irish tenor, this is not so. David’s talk will also include pieces by contemporary artists of John’s, and artists that were great admirers of his and who enjoyed successful careers of their own.
Some of the singers that will feature include Claudia Muzio, Paul Robeson, Richard Tauber, Luigi Alva, Canon Sydney McEwan, Nelson Eddy, Beniamino Gigli and more.
Our latest talk takes place on Saturday 12th October at the usual venue, Buswells Hotel, Dublin. Kick off will be at 11am and all are welcome to join us. Tea, coffee and biscuits will be available as usual.
Eddie Dalton, a committe member of the Society, will give the first talk of our new season on the 14th September in Buswells Hotel. It starts at the usual time of 11am. Tea & Coffee will be provided.
Eddie was a longtime member of the choral group, The Tipp Singers, that was led by Betty Lynch. He also performed with the Cashel Choir and was the regular soloist for its performance of ‘Panis Angelicus’. His talk will be a mixture of reminisces about John McCormack recordings he heard on the radio growing up and their impact on him. Eddie will also intersperse some personal performances of songs that are close to his heart. It promises to be a unique journey down memory lane.
Let’s not forget our President, Gordon Ledbetter, who was master of ceremonies. He shared some fascinating anecdotes and insights related to John McCormack which added greatly to the evening. Gordon is a two time biographer of John McCormack and a talk he delivered at the RIAM a few years ago is well worth checking out. Here.
We also wish to thank our Society members who sponsored the three Bursaries.
Kevin Dwan
Marie O’Halloran
Eamon Duffy
L-r Niall Kinsella, Eva Kavanagh, Emma Power, Donncha McDonagh and Seán Tester
John McCormack was born on this day in 1884. His lyric tenor voice, characterised by warmth, purity, and impeccable diction was combined with a technical precision and emotional expressiveness that made him one of the most compelling artists of the 20th century.
John’s English language recording of Handel’s ‘Care selve’ from Atalanta (‘Come my Beloved’) showcases these qualities, qualities that would see him being widely regarded as one the 20th century’s finest exponents of the composer’s music.
Seán Tester – Recipient of the BVOF | RIAM John Pollard Bursary
A tenor from Drogheda, Co. Louth, Seán studied Drama, Dance and Singing at the Drogheda School of Performing Arts and has a strong background in choral singing as a dedicated member of St. Peter’s Male Voice Choir, Drogheda.
In recent years, Seán’s vocal interest turned to opera and classical singing which led to his completion of the Recital Artist Diploma at RIAM. In the world of opera, Seán has been engaged by the Irish National Opera Chorus for INO’s productions of Rossini’s ‘Guillaume Tell’, Gounod’s ‘Faust’ and Puccini’s ‘La Bohème’.
Seán has also made his tenor soloist debut in Handel’s ‘Messiah’. Seán immensely enjoyed his time as a participant in “Celebrating the Voice” with international star mezzo-sopranos Tara Erraught and Angela Brower. 2023 saw Seán as a recipient of the BVOF|RIAM John Pollard Bursary; seeing him continue his studies with principal voice teacher Owen Gilhooly-Miles and coach Dearbhla Collins on the Masters in Music Performance (Vocal Studies) at RIAM.
More recently, Seán made his tenor soloist debut in Orff’s ‘Carmina Burana’, Beethoven’s ‘Choral Fantasia’, D’Astorga’s ‘Stabat Mater’ and Haydn’s ‘Die sieben letzten Worte des Erlösers am Kreuz’. Seán made his international role debut in Switzerland where he performed the role of “Rodolphe” in a production of Rossini’s ‘Guillaume Tell’ at Nouvel Opèra Fribourg/Neue Oper Freiburg. Seán made his North American singing debut representing RIAM performing at the 33rd Ireland Funds Emerald Isle Ball in The Breakers Palm Beach, Florida.
Join us at the Whyte Recital Hall on Saturday the 15th June to see Seán Tester perform along with our bursary award recipients. FREE ADMISSION.
Pianist and conductor Niall Kinsella has established himself as one of Ireland’s most exciting, versatile and sought-after musicians. He has been described as “a meticulous collaborator” (BBC Music Magazine) and “a first-class calling card as a knowledgeable and profound song accompanist” (Merker, Austria). He has performed as a song-accompanist extensively across Europe, in Austria, France, Spain, Hungary, Czech-Republic, Italy and United Kingdom, in venues such as Wiener Musikverein, Wiener Konzerthaus, Mozarthaus Wien, The Liszt Academy, Budapest, St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, and National Concert Hall, Dublin.
As a conductor, he was appointed as RTÉ Conductor-in-Training 2014-15 and has conducted several major choral works including Handel Messiah, Mozart C Minor Mass, Haydn Stabat Mater, Duruflé Reqiuem, Orff Carmina Burana. Niall made his debut conducting the RTÉ Concert Orchestra in September 2023 in a sold-out concert of Rodgers & Hammerstein, which was also broadcast on RTÉ lyric fm.
Niall’s debut CD John F. Larchet: Complete Songs & Airs was released internationally on Champs Hill Records (UK) in 2020 and was described as “a long overdue recording given John F. Larchet’s remarkable contribution to musical life in Ireland” (John Bowman, RTÉ Radio One) and that “it is hard to imagine [Larchet’s] complete vocal output being given a better representation than it receives here” (Journal of Music). His second CD, Schubert’s Women, for Austrian label Gramola Klassik was released in 2021, with critics praising the “polished music-making of fine repertoire” (BBC Music Magazine) and remarking that “Kinsella’s perspective is so fresh and fruitful” (The Whole Note, Canada). Niall is Artistic Director of Irish Songmakers, and has also curated a recital series at St Martin-in-the-Fields, London.
Niall studied at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Dublin, furthering his postgraduate studies in lieder accompaniment and chamber music at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, with Professor Barbara Moser. He completed his studies in Lieder accompaniment at the Franz-Schubert-Institut, in Baden-be-Wien, Austria, and at the International Summer Academy of the Mozarteum University, Salzburg.
Join us at the Whyte Recital Hall on Saturday the 15th June to see Niall Kinsella perform piano accompaniment for our other bursary award recipients and guest singer. FREE ADMISSION.
John McCormack Society 