Olagon: a Cantata in Doublespeak
Sheet Music

SKU: NX.CDR-174

By Dan Trueman, Eighth Blackbird, Gallicantus, Iarla O Lionaird, Laura Gill, Michaela McDonagh, Paidi O Lionaird, Paul Mudoon, Peadar O Lionaird, Sean O Lionaird, and Treasa Ni Mhiollain. By Dan Trueman and Iarla O Lionaird. Classical. CD. Cedille Records #CDR 174. Published by Cedille Records (NX.CDR-174).

UPC: 735131917421.

Olagon: a Cantata in Doublespeak is the newest album from multiple Grammy Award-winning chamber ensemble Eighth Blackbird. The project finds the innovative new-music sextet collaborating with vocalist Iarla O Lionaird of the Irish supergroup The Gloaming; Princeton-based composer-fiddler Dan Trueman; and Pulitzer Prize-winning Irish poet Paul Muldoon. A modern retelling of an ancient Irish epic, Olagon depicts -- not without irony and humor -- a privileged "power couple" mired in envy, greed, and adultery, descending into criminality and addiction as Ireland's "Celtic-Tiger" economy collapses in the early 21st century. Trueman's score combines elements of the traditional music of Ireland, Norway, and America with the raw urgency and sonorities of contemporary classical music. Muldoon's text interweaves verses in English and Irish Gaelic, seasoned with word-play and wit. O Lionaird, whom The Guardian calls "one of the most dramatic voices in contemporary music," sings the text in the unique and highly ornamental Irish style known as sean nos. The production incorporates the gorgeous young voices of students of acclaimed Irish sean nos singer Treasa Ni Mhiollain, who also makes an appearance. Eighth Blackbird is "one of the smartest, most dynamic contemporary classical ensembles on the planet" (Chicago Tribune). Olagon is the new-music sextet's ninth Cedille Records album. Four of their previous Cedille recordings won Grammy Awards in the Best Small Ensemble/Chamber Music Performance category.