Grá agus Bás- the new recording of works by Donnacha Dennehy.

Nonesuch releases its first recording of music by Donnacha Dennehy, Grá agus Bás, 29th of April in Ireland, May 2 in the UK and May 3 in the US. The album includes the title piece, which translates as Love and Death, as well as the composer’s song cycle That the Night Come. The Dublin based Crash Ensemble which Dennehy co-founded performs both works, conducted by Alan Pierson. Irish singer Iarla O’Lionáird is the soloist for Grá agus Bás, while American soprano, Dawn Upshaw is featured on That the Night Come. Written especially for Iarla O’Lionáird and the Crash Ensemble, Grá agus Bás is inspired by a number of Sean Nós songs. The work explores the themes of love and death in a non-narrative context. That the Night Come, written for Dawn Upshaw and the Crash Ensemble, comprises six settings of poems by W.B. Yeats. Dennehy says: “Yeats’ repeating obsessions with unattainable love, his longing for the fullness of experience, his anger at fleeting happiness, and the certainty of time’s ravage and death are obsessions that I share.”

For more on this album release visit: http://www.nonesuch.com/albums/gra-agus-bas

For more information on the Crash Ensemble visit: http://www.crashensemble.com/