Who better to write – or talk – about this piece than the man of letters who produced the words, Sean O’Brien. Apropos of the – then – impending repeat performance at the Newcastle Poetry Festival 2017, O’Brien gave an interview on the subject. As to me, I probably said […]
Río Bravo is a piece for large chamber ensemble, of eleven minutes’ duration. It was commissioned by Joel Sachs for his New Juilliard Ensemble. The size and makeup of the ensemble are similar to those in Notes from Underground, the work I wrote in 2015 to poems by Sean O’Brien. […]
Friday 4 December 2015Interval in the evening concertRadio broadcastBBC Radio 3 Interview by Sarah Mohr-Pietsch with Agustín Fernández and Sean O’Brien, including extracts from Notes from Underground recorded by Royal Northern Sinfonia, Voices of Hope and Benjamin Appl, conducted by Clark Rundell.
This project is attracting some public attention. Several weeks before the date I heard the première was nearly sold out. The local press has given it some coverage, a number of Twitter accounts have mentioned it, and last Saturday’s The Guardian (10 October 2015) printed an excellent article by Sean […]
My latest project is Notes from Underground, a song cycle for baritone, chamber choir and large chamber ensemble. The words are by Sean O’Brien, an award-winning poet also based in the Northeast of England, and also a professor at Newcastle University. The work is a commission from Durham Book Festival […]
Saturday 7 November 2015 at 1910Sean O’Brien and Agustín Fernández discuss Notes from UndergroundNorthern Rock Foundation HallSage Gateshead BBC Radio 3 Freethinking Festivalin association with Durham Book Festival http://www.sagegateshead.com/event/sean-obrien/
15 October 2015 at 1900Gala Theatre, Durham Notes from Underground (première)(words by Sean O’Brien)Commissioned by Durham Book FestivalRoyal Northern SinfoniaConductor: Clark RundellVoices of Hope, directed by Simon FidlerBaritone: Benjamin Appl Programme also includes:Britten, Hymn to St CeciliaMahler, three movements from Das Lied von der Erde (Schoenberg’s version)