Patrick Cassidy (composer)
Cassidy was born in Claremorris, County Mayo, Ireland. He received a Master's Degree in Applied Mathematics from Limerick University, and supported his early compositional activities with a day job as a statistician.
He is best known for his Narrative Cantatas—works he has written for Orchestra and Choir based on Irish Mythology. The Children of Lir released in September 1993 remained at number one in the Irish Classical Charts for a full year. It was the first Cantata ever written in the Irish language. The BBC later produced an hour long documentary on the piece.
Famine Remembrance, a commissioned piece to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Irish Famine was premiered in New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral in 1996. A recording of the piece was released the following year.
Other albums include Cruit, arrangements of 17th- and 18th-century Irish harp music with Cassidy as the soloist and Deirdre of the Sorrows, another Cantata in the Irish language recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra and The Tallis Choir.
In 2004, Immortal Memory was released; a collaboration between Cassidy and Lisa Gerrard who won a Golden Globe Award for Gladiator.
Cassidy now lives in Los Angeles with his family, where in addition to his concert work he has scored and collaborated on films and documentaries. Notable credits include Hannibal, Veronica Guerin, Confessions of a Burning Man, Salem's Lot, King Arthur, Layer Cake, Che Guevara, Ashes and Snow, Kingdom of Heaven, and The Front Line.
The aria Cassidy wrote for Hannibal, Vide Cor Meum, is the only piece by a living composer on Warner Classics 2006 compilation 40 Most Beautiful Arias.
In June 2007, Famine Remembrance was performed at the opening of Toronto's Ireland Park with the President of Ireland as special guest.
In 2010, "Funeral March" was used in the trailer for the Terrence Malick film, The Tree of Life.
In 2011 Patrick recorded a new setting of the Latin Mass with the London Symphony Orchestra and London Voices.
In 2011 he composed the score for the Jonathan Hensleigh film Kill the Irishman.
Discography
- 1993 - The Children of Lir - London Symphony Orchestra and Tallis Chamber Choir
- 1997 - Famine Remembrance
- 1998 - Deirdre of the Sorrows
- 2004 - Immortal Memory - with Lisa Gerrard
- 2006 - Ashes and Snow - with Lisa Gerrard
References
- Sources consulted
- Endnotes
External links
- Patrick Cassidy.com - official website
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