Tales of the glens: a thesis recording project of works for piano solo, and piano with storyteller by Philip Hammond

The outcome of this recording project is a recorded album of piano works by Irish composer- Philip Hammond. I collaborated with Hammond to choose a selection of his solo piano works that are in someway tied to or inspired by the Glens of Antrim and its people. I have spent the past eight years regularly visiting this region of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, as a tourist, researcher, and performer, and I have been forever changed by the people I have met there. It was thus my endeavor to record an album of music that aurally portrays this place for the listener. The music recorded, through thematic reference, inspiration, and use of traditional melodies, centers in focus on the Antrim people, folklore, and landscape. With his extensive oeuvre for the instrument and prominence as a composer in Ireland, Hammond’s rich color palette and deeply pianistic writing was the perfect medium for this project. The centerpiece of the album is an innovative multimovement work for pianist and storyteller titled Tales from the Sea of Moyle. I commissioned and worked jointly with Hammond and two of Ireland’s most renowned bearers of the storytelling tradition, Liz Weir and Colin Urwin, in the creation of this piece. In addition to exploring the possibilities of collaboration between art forms, the album also contains three premiere recordings of Hammond’s solo repertoire. It will reach a broad audience connecting to both the musical and folklore community in the USA as well as internationally.