Free concert at NUIG
Polar Voices – From the Arctic to the Atlantic is the title of a free public concert being hosted by NUIG next Monday, April 18, at 8pm. it will be held in in the Aula Maxima.
The event will consist of performances by members of Ensemble XXI dedicated to the ancient music of the indigenous people of the Russian Arctic, as well as the story of the great Irish explorer, Henry Kellett in the Arctic.
Ensemble XXI, Russia’s first independent orchestra, was founded by Irish conductor, Lygia O'Riordan and Finnish violinist, Pia Siirala during their studies at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory.
Over the last decade, the orchestra has studied the music of indigenous peoples in the Russian Arctic areas of Chukotka and Kamchatka and in Sub Arctic Sakhalin. This resulted in the establishment of Polar Voices, which is dedicated to preserving this music, which has been collected in recordings and film.
“The world is rightly concentrating on the disappearance of ice and creatures in the Arctic as we witness the horror of climate change, yet there is another catastrophe occurring in the Arctic – the disappearance of the cultural treasures of small nations,” observes Lygia O'Riordan. “It can be compared to the white-washing of ancient cave paintings or the destruction of ancient artefacts. In the case of the ancient music from Palaeolithic times, once it goes to the grave with the indigenous Elders it can never be heard again.”
Polar Voices – from the Arctic to the Atlantic presents this music in film and gives accounts from diaries written during the field trips of Polar Voices to the nomads of the Russian Arctic. Pia Siirala will perform her composition for solo violin on indigenous themes, Ulita's Walk.
The performance will also tell the story of the Irishman and British naval officer, Henry Kellett who was one of the foremost Arctic explorers of the mid 1800s. He discovered the two islands, Herald and Wrangel that now make up the Russian National Arctic Park, also known as the ‘Nursery of Polar Bears’.
■ More information from www.ensemblexxi.org/ensem bletimes.htm.