'Who'd Ever Think It Would Come to This?' - A Civil War Cantata with music by Anne-Marie O'Farrell

"Who’d Ever Think it Would Come to This?" is a newly-commissioned cantata based upon material from UCD Archives on the Irish Civil War (1922–23). It has been composed by Anne-Marie O’Farrell to a libretto by Ed Vulliamy, and adapted for performance by Kellie Hughes.

The performers are the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, the chamber choir Resurgam, soloists Colette Delahunt (soprano), Sharon Carty (mezzo-soprano), Dean Power (tenor) and Benjamin Russell (baritone), and conductor Ciarán Crilly.

The cantata forms a major contribution to the canon of new Irish choral/orchestral music, and represents a unique musical response to the Decade of Centenaries.The premiere shall take place on Friday September 30th 2022 at the O’Reilly Hall, UCD.

Events on the day comprise:

An academic symposium on the Civil War (2.00–5.30pm);
An on-stage discussion of the genesis of the work by the creative team chaired by CMC Head of Content, Jonathan Grimes (7.30–8.10pm) 
A full performance of the cantata (8.30–9.30pm).

"Who’d Ever Think it Would Come to This?" is presented by UCD Archives and UCD School of Music. It is supported by Arts Council Ireland, UCD Decade of Centenaries, UCD College of Arts & Humanities, UCD University Relations, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, RTÉ Lyric FM and Resurgam.

Tickets

Tickets are available for the discussion (beginning at 7.30pm) and the full performance (8.30 - 9.30pm), booking here. *Tickets are now soldout*