Anna Dennis - Jonas Nordberg - Liam Byrne
Anna Dennis soprano
Jonas Nordberg lute
Liam Byrne viola da gamba
Saturday 25th November 2023 | 7.00pm
The internationally renowned trio of Anna Dennis (soprano), Jonas Nordberg (lute) and Liam Byrne (viola da gamba) perform together for the first time in Ireland to present a truly intimate and captivating musical experience. Travel from the musical landscapes of the Jacobean English drawing room to the sumptuous salons of Venice. Where music, poetry and song intertwine and the warm tones of lute and viola da gamba blend with the enchanting sound of the soprano voice. The programme includes works by Dowland, Monteverdi, Purcell and Telemann.
We are greatly indebted to the funding support provided to Music Network by the Arts Council
Tickets are €28 per person and can be purchased below. The concert commences at 7pm and doors will be closed until the next break in music.
BIOGRAPHIES
Anna Dennis, soprano
Recently awarded Best Singer at the Royal Philharmonic Society’s 2023 Awards, Anna Dennis is one of the UK’s leading sopranos, especially noted for her work in modern and baroque repertoire. Described by the Times as a “delectable soprano and a serene, ever-sentient presence”, Anna studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and from there has brought extraordinary technique, musicianship and versatility to operatic and concert stages worldwide.
Her recordings include Elena Langer’s Landscape with Three People on Harmonia Mundi, the Grammy-nominated Kastalsky Requiem with Orchestra of St. Luke’s under Leonard Slatkin, Handel’s Theodora with Laurence Cummings and the upcoming release of Handel’s Amadigi di Gayla with Early Opera Company under Christian Curnyn.
Jonas Nordberg, lute
Lutenist Jonas Nordberg, a graduate of the Mozarteum University Salzburg and the Royal College of Music Stockholm, is much in demand as a soloist, chamber musician and guest instrumentalist with large scale ensembles. His concert schedule to date has seen him perform in over 25 countries.
A highly regarded chamber musician, successful duos include with soprano Ruby Hughes, focusing on music from the Elizabethan Era and Italian monody, and with viol player Liam Byrne exploring the music of Marin Marais in addition to contemporary music for the orbo/viol & electronics. He regularly performs with leading ensembles such as Concerto Köln, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Concerto Copenhagen, Orfeo 55, Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble, London Handel Orchestra, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Aurora Orchestra, Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and many other period instrument chamber groups. He also works extensively with Swedish chamber ensemble Operabyrån, co-creating chamber operas and semi-staged performances featuring forgotten female composers.
Liam Byrne, viola da gamba
Liam Byrne spends most of his time playing either very old or very new music on the viola da gamba. An obsession with the instrument’s most obscure 16th and 17th-century repertoire is a recurring theme in his work, whether in devising baroque performance installations for the Victoria & Albert Museum, or in collaboration with the Appalachian fiddler Cleek Schrey, or creating new electronic works with Icelandic composer Valgeir Sigurðsson.
Liam is regularly commissioned to create new work. Past highlights include collaborating with Nico Muhly on a sound installation for the National Gallery’s Soundscapes exhibition and being commissioned by Dulwich Picture Gallery to make an immersive work in their Mausoleum, in response to two 17th-century paintings by Gerrit Dou. Liam was also commissioned by the Victoria & Albert Museum to create a site-specific sound installation for their new Courtyard Gallery, which resulted in the 8-hour-long piece Partials, an exploration of the space’s resonance derived entirely from upper partial harmonics played on the viol.
