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Dulra
Dulra
Artist Details Caitríona O'Leary and DúlraCategory: Ensembles
This unique ensemble is made up of musicians from both Irish traditional and early music genres. It performs authentic Irish music from both the oral tradition and from 17th and 18th century sources. Photo - Hanno Meier
Biography
Singer Caitríona O'Leary formed Dúlra in 1998 to perform Irish song in a new way. Using her performance experience of medieval music, she has applied many of its principles to her own native music. The result is a shimmering liquescence of melody, unhindered by a rigid tempo or conventional harmony, structured, rather, on the rhythm of the Irish language and the flow of the modal line. The stark simplicity of this delicately floating melodic line is enhanced by the uncluttered accompaniment by the distinguished instrumentalists of Dúlra who are steeped in both Traditional Irish and Early Music backgrounds.
SHOW FULLBIOGRAPHY
The group’s standing room only performances have been enthusiastically received by audiences and critics. Caitríona O’Leary and Dúlra have recorded two CDs: “Dúil; Irish songs of Love and Nature” (EMI/Virgin Classics) and “I am Stretched on Your Grave” (BMG/Deutsche Harmonia Mundi. The CDs were released in 2000 and 2001 to excellent reviews in the international press. They were also featured on the Aer Lingus inflight entertainment channel and topped bestseller lists for many months (number one in Dublin's Tower Records' classical department, and number three in Germany's prestigious JPC catalogue).Caitríona O’Leary and Dúlra present two shows: “We brought the Summer along with us” and “To Love and Lament”. Both programmes feature songs and instrumental dances from 17th and 18th century sources and from the living, orally-transmitted traditional repertoire dúlra is the Irish for "elements" and the name expresses the group's commitment to peeling away cluttering layers and finding the core of the music. Also evoked is green, budding nature, bursting with potential and life.
Reviews
“seamless, ethereal sean nós voice” The Irish Echo“It is singing a cappella that Caitríona O’Leary is at her most moving and where she best presents a very rare and very lovely repertoire.” Le Monde de la Musique
SHOW ALLREVIEWS
“[O’Leary’s] caressing tones…fit seamlessly into a consistent fabric of sound and expression” The Wall Street Journal “The gentle tones of Caitríona O’Leary were lovely” The Boston Globe “Do not hesitate for a second! Caitríona O’Leary has one of those incredibly crystalline voices that roots you to the spot” La Vie “downright angelic” St. Louis Post-Dispatch “Her singing style, clear articulation, and beautiful soprano voice – with or without accompaniment – are brought to great effect in these and all the songs in Dúil” Irish Music Magazine “I relished the flavors of the individual voices and characters…the focused calm of Caitríona O’Leary” Boston Bay Windows “Spreading a poignant pall over the proceedings, O’Leary’s lamenting voice rose and fell flawlessly, entrancing the audience with heart-wrenching songs.” The Irish Echo “Vocal grace, majestic formal fluidity, from traditional Irish ballads to early music: a disc (Dúil, Irish Songs of Love and Nature), which unites tradition and sensuality” Geo “Here is a disc (Dúil, Irish Songs of Love and Nature) that revels in the joy of singing and of making music and the joy of being alive” La Marseillaise “Wonderful interpretation by Caitríona O’Leary and her band” Femme Actuelle “The clear voice, like a flowing river, and gracious silhouette, of Caitríona O’Leary has also accompanied the ensemble Sequentia and the Harp Consort” Valeurs Actuelles “[O’Leary] creates an elegiac atmosphere with her clear voice and authentic Gaelic pronunciation” The Plain Dealer
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