ONE of the most consistent features of the musical calendar in Ireland is the Cork International Choral Festival, which takes place each year in May in Cork, Ireland's second city, which is located on the south coast. Over many years, the festival's commitment to the development of contemporary choral music has provided a showcase for Irish and international composers to hear their work performed before large and enthusiastic audiences. According to festival director John Fitzpatrick, 'we have one of the most open-minded and discerning audiences in the country. The composition and performance of contemporary choral music has always been central to the activities of the Cork International Choral Festival'.

The Festival was founded by the late Professor Aloys Fleischmann, formerly professor of music at University College Cork, in 1954 and in 1962 the Seminar on Contemporary Choral Music, which is now a central feature, was held for the first time. Each year the Seminar commissions three composers (including one from Ireland) to write new works which are performed, analysed and discussed over three days. The list of previous commissions looks like a roll-call of some of the most distinguished European composers of the last thirty years, with names such as Boris Blacher, Ton de Leeuw, Elizabeth Maconchy, William Mathias, Nicholas Maw, Darius Milhaud, John Tavener, William Walton and Egon Wellesz. Commissioned Irish composers include Gerald Barry, Seóirse Bodley, John Buckley, Brian Boydell, Rhona Clarke, Frank Corcoran, Raymond Deane, Séamas de Barra, Eibhlis Farrell, Aloys Fleischmann, Marian Ingoldsby, John Kinsella, Philip Martin, Eric Sweeney, Gerard Victory and James Wilson. In total, the Seminar has been directly responsible for commissioning over one hundred choral works.

In contrast to the seniority of the composers selected for the Seminar, the Seán Ó Riada Memorial Trophy competition, which takes place during the main competitive section of the festival, provides funding for four Irish choirs to commission a setting of an original text in Irish by a young Irish composer. The competition was initiated in 1976 in recognition of the work of the Irish composer Seán Ó Riada (1931-1971) and appropriately reflects Ó Riada's interest in the Irish language. An important aspect of the competition, says John Fitzpatrick, is that aspiring composers are assured of a major platform and a large listening public for their works. In the longer term, music composed for the competition over the years has resulted in a sizeable body of accessible choral music in the Irish language. Past winners of the Ó Riada Trophy when they were at an early stage in their careers include Jane O'Leary, Jerome de Bromhead, Michael Holohan, Rhona Clarke, Michael McGlynn, Kevin O'Connell and Marian Ingoldsby. As a result of the example offered through the Ó Riada competition, Irish choirs have become quite familiar with the commissioning process and a number of them have developed a healthy policy of commissioning works for their Festival repertoire every year, thus giving a vital opportunity to composers.

The Contemporary Music Centre library contains a comprehensive collection of Irish choral music, including many works commissioned for the Cork International Choral Festival, and we will be happy to supply scores on an inspection basis, together with worklists, biographical information and programme notes.

The following works commissioned for the Seminar on Contemporary Choral Music and the Ó Riada Memorial Trophy are available from the Contemporary Music Centre:

Boydell, Brian: Two Madrigals (1964). satb [div.]. Mouth Music for Ten Voices (1974). ssssaattbb.

Buckley, John: Scél lem duíb (1981) ssssaattbb. He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven (1996). saatb.

Byers, David: Rhymes (1980). satb.

Clarke, Rhona: Suantraí Ghrálinne (1983). ssa. Rorate Caeli (1994). satb [div.] /ssa.

Corcoran, Frank: Dán Aimhirgín (1973). satb.

De Barra, Séamas: An Tonn (1981). satb. Magnificat (1983). ssatb. Song of Pan (1989). satb.

De Bromhead, Jerome: Bláth an Aitinn(1976). satb. Iomramh (1978). satb. Joy (1982). S Bar soli, satb.

Deane, Raymond: ...e mi sovvien l'eterno... (1987). satb [div.].

Farrell, Eibhlis: Exaudi Voces (1991). SATB soli, satb.

Fleischmann, Aloys: Poet in the Suburbs (1973). satb [div.]. Games (1990). satb, hp perc.

Flood, Philip: At that hour (1990). satb.

Geary, Bernard: The Trumpet (1984). satb [div.].

Gibson, John: Siollabadh (1976). satb/sab.

Holohan, Michael: Bagairt na Marbh (1982 rev.1986). satb. Sos (1984 rev.1986). satb.

Ingoldsby, Marian: Díomá (1988). satb. Urnaí don Mhaighdean Mhuire (1993). satb. Regeneration (1995). satb [div. with soli].

Kinsella, John: Three Children's Songs (1977). satb+perc. Dawn (1986). satb.

Martin, Philip: Three Gaelic Lyrics (1985). satb.

Mawby, Colin: Nonsense for Gombeens (1990). satb [div. with soli].

O'Connell, Kevin: Fáilte don éan (1988). satb.

Ó Riada, Seán: Ceathramhaintí Rágsamhla (1962). satb.

Potter, A. J.: Ten Epigrams (1967). satb [div.].

Sweeney, Eric: Gloria (1972). satb. Memorials (1993). satb.

Victory, Gerard: Quartetto (1965). satb, speaker. Trois Chansons de Verlaine (1978). ssaa. A Musical Instrument (1992). sa [div. with soli].

Wilson, James: Xanadu (1971). satb cel. Keats on Keats (1993). ssatb.