Ailís Ní Ríain wins World new music prize
StreetSong, an electro-acoustic outdoor sound installation, by Ailís Ní Ríain has been awarded joint first prize at a competition at the International Society of New Music’s (ISCM) World Festival in Stuttgart.
The Irish composer’s piece, commissioned by the Contemporary Music Centre of Ireland (CMC) earlier this year, was one of 200 works from 30 countries submitted to the
Short Cuts: Beauty competition.
The competition run by ZKM/Centre for Art and Media, Karlsruhe sought concepts of beauty from different cultures and was open to creative people throughout the world working with computer music.
StreetSong was one of three sound installations which played throughout the month of June in the CMC’s Old City/New Music project in Dublin, which marked the centre’s 20th anniversary this year. Girls on Film caught up with Ailís Ní Ríain to find out more:
What was your inspiration for StreetSong ?
"My initial idea was to flood a street in the Old City area of Temple Bar with an Irish Sean Nos song, presenting it in a new way. My inspiration came primarily from the commission brief: it needed to be an outdoor sound installation in a public area that played continuously for a month. It also needed to reflect, in some way, the Old City/New Music aspect of Dublin's old Temple Bar area which is now the city's cultural quarter and centre of a hectic night life. The resulting piece, although different from my original idea, still captured the essence of old Dublin and its streets of song. I now hope to plan a large scale version of StreetSong."
Is there anything different to consider when creating an outdoor sound installation as opposed to another type of installation?
"Yes, there are a number of things to consider when creating outdoor sound installations. In this case StreetSong was 'exhibited' quite near a block of city apartments and this caused some concern as the sound level can not exceed a certain level and disturb the local residents; simultaneously, it has to be audible for the passers by. Then there is the actual positioning and precise location of the work as well as the season to consider.
On the musical side, there are numerous considerations such as trying to avoid overly complex contrapuntal lines and electronic 'effects' as often they simply won't quite carry in a public outdoor space.
All in all it is quite a discipline because you can be limited by these factors. Having said that, more people heard StreetSong than any other of my forty compositions, simply because it was easily accessible to all, which is very important when trying to develop audiences for this kind of music."
How important is it for you to have won this prize?
"Very! The ISCM is a very prestigious international New Music Festival and anything that exposes your work to a world-wide audience can only be a benefit. I can't express how important that is. I hope it leads to further work, interesting collaborations and opportunities."
What are your plans for the future?
"I have a number of projects planned for the future. I am currently finishing a new composition called 2 Steep 4 Sheep (some hills are) for Harpsichord and a prerecorded CD for Harpsichordfest on 14th October at Manchester University Cosmo Rodewald Concert Hall.
I am collaborating with an exciting Danish experimental video artist called Sophie Hjerl and the Danish music trio Voz Nueva to create a new piece of work – Tomorrows – combining live classical music and film. This will tour Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
I have also been asked to programme a concert of my own work in March 2007 with pieces from other composers that have interested me. This is for The National Concert Hall, Dublin, Ireland. They have also commissioned a new piece from me to be premiered at this concert.
I am also a writer and my first play BEATEN will be premiered (funding pending) towards the end of 2006."