Kilkenny Arts Festival | Scarlatti & Shaw

Chamber Choir Ireland returns to Kilkenny Arts Festival for a meeting of old and new, performing Scarlatti’s Salve Regina and Magnificat, along with the Irish premiere of a new commission by Pulitzer-winning composer Caroline Shaw. Shaw’s How to fold the wind is inspired by origami, using speech, inhaled notes, wordless melodies and innovative vocal effects, as the individual voices fold together into a complex whole.

This online concert marks the long-anticipated return of Chamber Choir Ireland Artistic Director Paul Hillier to the country, following over a year of travel restrictions.

How to Fold the Wind was co-commissioned in 2019 with funding from the Arts Council by Chamber Choir Ireland and Kilkenny Arts Festival, together with Carnegie Hall (New York), Ars Nova (Copenhagen), and Bella Voce (Chicago). It was originally to have received its world premiere at last year’s Kilkenny Arts Festival by Chamber Choir Ireland under the direction of Paul Hillier. The world premiere was moved to Copenhagen in October 2020, delivered by Paul Hillier & Ars Nova, and CCI is delighted to finally present the Irish premiere at this year’s festival.