A new work by Ronan Guilfoyle will be premiered by guitar legend John Abercrombie and the Callino Quartet at The Mermaid.

As part of the Mermaid Commissions series, the Mermaid Arts Centre in Bray, Co Wicklow and RTÉ Lyric FM have co-commissioned Ronan Guilfoyle to write the work for Abercrombie together with the Callino Quartet, his brother Conor Guilfoyle on drums, and the composer himself on bass.

The premiere takes place at Mermaid Arts Centre on Saturday 9 April at 8.00pm and will be recorded live by RTÉ Lyric FM for later broadcast.

The composition, Renaissance Man, was inspired by Guilfoyle’s father's love of classical music and modern jazz. Forty minutes in length with six movements, the work could be called a chamber concerto for guitar. Though it is tightly structured, there is room for John Abercrombie to improvise. The bass and percussion also improvise and each element of the group -- guitar, strings, bass and percussion -- is integral to the overall sound.

This is the third time Ronan Guilfoyle has written a piece using strings as an integral part and he refers to it as ‘in the cracks’ music that defies categorisation.

It is rare, however, for him to compose in a programmatic manner as he has done here. All of this music is about his father, with every movement inspired by some memory in particular. The work was composed at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre with a collection of photographs of his father on the desk in front of him to prompt memories and new ideas.

For performance details, please visit the Calendar.

Posted: 2 April 2005