An Irish Colloquy

By Gwen Orel

The regional premiere of Acallam na Senorach: "An Irish Colloquy," performed by the Irish Chamber Choir, under the direction of conductor Paul Hillier, will take place at the Alexander Kasser Theater, in Montclair, New Jersey on October 16 at 3pm.

The English language work by Tarik O'Regan describes St. Patrick's encounter with Cailte and Oisin, the last of Fionn mac Cumhaill's legendary band of warriors.

It fuses ancient folklore and religious history with music that draws on Irish and North African sounds.

A Colloquy, Composer Tarik O'Regan explained, is "a discussion in public."

The medieval narrative is about the summoning of the newly-arrived Patrick and the two warriors of ancient Ireland.

The narrative is not really about proselytizing, it's a cultural handshake. "It's a bit like a summit, but it's in Ireland. It takes place in the entire island of Ireland. The book is made up of 200 tiny stories. It's a narrative map. Each story takes place somewhere in particular."

Acallam na Senorach dates from the 12th century, though the sources date from the 16th.

O'Regan says it is the most important of all the Fenian narratives, a combination truth and fiction.

There was a real Patrick, who had discussions. But this story became a frame to write down the hundreds of other stories.

O'Regan's heritage is North African on his mother's side, and Irish on his father's: "I was very interested in the relationship between North Africa and Ireland."

He used some influences of Irish traditional music: the bodhran is called a bendir in Morocco.

The guitar writing is influenced by the North African oud, and even "Morris dancing" which is "Moorish dancing." So there are two cultures musically in the piece.

Guitar player Stuart French points out that usually, one sees harp and choir together. The guitar part is unusual.

"The storytelling draws you in," he says.