“Watershed is a new song cycle for voice and piano inspired by the natural bodies of water and land in Ireland’s mid-west region and along the Atlantic coast. With music by renowned Irish composer Ailís Ní Ríain and text by Killaloe resident and poet Jessica Brown, it is a song cycle inextricably rooted in place and in nature.
Central to the song-texts—which are taken from Jessica’s superb collection, And Say (Revival Press, Limerick 2019)—are themes informed by the writer’s personal interaction with water and the surrounding landscapes in counties Clare and Tipperary. Musicians Julie Comparini and Yonit Kosovske will tour this new work in throughout Ireland in early March 2022.”
The Watershed song cycle was commissioned by Yonit Kosovske with funding from the Arts Council Music Commissions Award in 2020.
The Watershed album produced by Now and Then Media, was released in November 2021 and features the song cycle, poetry readings, and field recordings of soundscapes along and near Lough Derg in County Clare. Full tour details.
RTÉ Lyric FM’s Culture File Interview between the composer and poet, Jessica Brown on Watershed. Listen to Culture File.
An interview with Ailís and Yoni Kosovske at the Contemporary Music Centre of Ireland to discuss the genesis of Watershed. Listen to Amplify
Watershed concert dates:
Tuesday 1 March 1.15pm:
St Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick
Wednesday 2 March 1.00pm:
O’Donoghue Theatre, NUIG
Saturday 5 March 7.00pm:
St Caimin Church of Ireland, Mountshannon, Co Clare
Sunday 6 March 12.00pm:
Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin
Tuesday 8 March 1.00pm:
Finding a Voice, Old St Mary’s Church, Clonmel
Thursday 10 March 1.10pm:
Maynooth University, Riverstown Hall
Saturday 12 March 1.30pm:
St Canice’s Cathedral, Kilkenny
