Paris Chapters

The 'Paris Chapters' project is centred around new commissions based on works by Irish writers who lived in Paris (James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, Oscar Wilde, W.B Yeats etc.) for voice, saxophone and piano.

Irish saxophonist Robert Finegan, French singer Clara Barbier Serrano and British-born Chinese pianist Tia Ling, passionate about this literature, explore the possibilities of contemporary music and the idea of having a programme that can grow over the years and be flexible to suit different audiences and spaces. 2022 marked 100 years since the publication of James Joyces’ ‘Ulysses’ in Paris, making it the ideal time to launch the project and shine a light on this theme.

Along with the new commissions, the programme includes solo and chamber music pieces reflecting the life of these authors in Paris at different times and the songs they would have heard, been inspired by, or wished to hear.

This project was recently presented for 2 nights at the Festival de Lussan 2022, France and at the Irish Embassy's Bloomsday Celebration 2022, London.

The new works currently part of this series include:

'Sirensong' - based on the Sirens chapter from James Joyce's 'Ulysses'

Rhona Clarke (2022)

'Le Jardins des Tuileries' - based on Oscar Wilde's poem

Lise Borel (2022)

'Stream and Sun at Glendalough' - based on W.B Yeats' poem

Denise Ondishko (2022)

'I, of whom I know nothing' - based on Samuel Beckett's 'Unnamable'

Kenneth Edge (2022)