In just under a fortnight (on March 4), the National Folk Orchestra of Ireland will perform in the UK for the first time at the Barbican Concert Hall, celebrating the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising. Commissioned by Comhaltas Britain, I have composed a new suite of music for the occasion: Macalla 1916. This new composition tells the story of the Easter Rising and how Ireland has developed since, and is a fusion of traditional Irish music, classical music and music from the Ulster Volunteers which is militaristic in nature. 

The interesting thing about this composition is that only the ‘classical ensemble’ consisting of violins, cellos, double bass, trumpet and French Horn are reading music whilst the rest of the ‘traditional orchestra’ including fiddles, flutes, banjos, concertinas, button accordions, uilleann pipes, harps and percussion are playing by memory only. As you can imagine, rehearsals are interesting.

I only invited the traditional section of the orchestra to the first two rehearsals as I wanted to teach the music by ear. Traditional musicians have excellent aural skills but as a general rule, are not great sight-readers. At the end of the first rehearsal the music was recorded for the musicians as this is the most authentic way for them to learn the music. Traditional musicians by and large are used to playing in the keys of D major, G major and A major and quite a bit of Irish music is modal (flattened 7ths and gapped scales called modes.) Some of the music in this composition is in difficult keys such as G minor and B major, which can very challenging for any traditional musician who is not used to playing in these keys.

The classical ensemble were invited to join the traditional section on the third rehearsal – and rehearsing with classical musicians is totally different to rehearsing with traditional musicians as everything revolves around the ‘dots’. This music is for the most part based on Irish traditional music where the feel and interpretation are paramount to the performance. As a result of this, many of the classical musicians within the orchestra are also traditional musicians, which is very helpful as they instinctively know how to interpret the dots. 

It is very exciting when all genres fuse in a new composition, but problems can arise. For example, traditional musicians who have not practiced or learned their music by ear are totally exposed in rehearsals – they don’t even have the crutch of sight-reading the music. As both the composer and conductor, this can be frustrating! Likewise, classical musicians who are too focused on the notes and not listening to the melody are also frustrating… 

Finally, the inclusion of music from the Ulster Volunteers adds another dimension. I had my own ideas as to how this genre should be arranged and orchestrated, but it was only during rehearsals and interaction with the musicians that I realized that my approach was contrived and not authentic at all. Encouraging the musicians to take charge of the appropriate interpretation and arrangement was extremely rewarding and took the piece to a new level. 

I am really looking forward to the performance in the Barbican as this composition will showcase musicians, traditional and classical performing to the highest level to tell a story which is sacred to our nation.

Michael Rooney will conduct the Comhaltas National Folk Orchestra of Ireland as they play in the UK for the first time at the Barbican on March 4. They will perform the premiere of Macalla 1916, a new suite of music composed by Rooney and commissioned by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann to mark the centenary of the Easter Rising. Visit barbican.org.uk for more information