Gerald Barry Pat O’Kelly
Described as ‘unpredictable’ and ‘anarchic’ as well as having ‘expressive intensity’, it may not be surprising to find Gerald Barry’s compositions have something of a controversial streak in them.
Born in Clarecastle in Co. Clare in 1952, Barry’s introduction to music came from hearing Handel’s opera Xerxes on the radio.
He was immediately ‘switched on’ but, without a piano at home, the local priest suggested he try the church harmonium.
There was no turning back. Barry admits the poor harmonium “didn’t know what hit it”. He also played occasionally in Ennis Cathedral where the sacristan, taking an aversion to his endeavours, would ‘switch off’ the power. Barry was undeterred.
Following his time in UCD the young musician travelled to Amsterdam for organ lessons with the renowned Piet Kee and studied composition with Peter Schat. Moving to Cologne he attended the composition classes of the contentious Karlheinz Stockhausen and Mauricio Kagel and later came under the influence of Friedrich Cerha in Vienna. While he secured organist positions in Cologne, Barry decided his career path definitively lay in writing music.
Credit
One of our leading composers with a prolific output to his credit, Barry’s several operas include a marvellous adaptation of Wilde’s The Importance of being Earnest in which Lady Bracknell is sung by a basso profundo. An excellent production, by Northern Ireland Opera, was seen at Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre as well as in Belfast, Cork and Derry in 2013.
But Barry’s music receives extensive performances throughout Europe and America.
His Organ Concerto, which had its première in Birmingham on March 7, and was heard in London earlier this month, will be part of the RTÉ NSO’s concert on Friday, May 4 with the brilliant UK artist Thomas Trotter at the NCH console. Currently Birmingham City Organist, Trotter is also organ incumbent at St Margaret’s Church, Westminster.
Writing about his concerto, Barry tells us it includes a solo for harmonium – a reminder of his early days in Clarecastle. The Angelus makes its presence felt while the ‘instrumentation’ calls for 21 metronomes.
There is also a fight for atonality against tonality triggered by the photo of a cat with a quizzical expression. Known to the composer and named Blue Gadoo, the feline lives in New York!
Barry’s new work reminds me of another organ concerto – that of John Buckley, which inaugurated the Kenneth Jones instrument in the NCH in 1991. The soloist on that occasion was Peter Sweeney, who played and recorded the colourful work with striking panache. Sadly Peter died on March 18, aged 68.
Dublin-born, he was an outstanding musician whose organ playing had an unusually flamboyant character. Following his degree from TCD, Peter studied under virtuoso Lionel Rogg at Geneva’s Conservatoire where he gained that institute’s top award.
Organist for a while in Dublin’s Gardiner Street, Peter spent 11 years in Christ Church Cathedral. Organ teacher at DIT, he was involved with The Irish Times/RTÉ Music in the Classroom series for over a quarter of a century. May his soul rest in peace.