- Gerald Barry
Gerald Barry (born
April 28 ,1952 ) is an Irishcomposer .Born in Clarecastle,
County Clare ,Republic of Ireland , he studied withKarlheinz Stockhausen andMauricio Kagel . His music is notable for its inherent use of real thematic development. Although , paradoxically, Barry's music shifts between blocks of thematic material, often without any reason or preparation. There is an element of humour in his music, using titles such as '_____' and 'Bob', ending in unexpected places and shifting from avant-garde styles to rhythms reminiscent of Irish folk music. His operatic style seems to be modelled on that of G.F.Handel and his theatrical gestures often embrace sexual and erotic themes in grotesque or bombastic ways. Quite often the structure of Gerald Barry's music happens at a medium-high level, such that long streams of similar durations and dynamics switch suddenly to a different type as though 'changing gear', with the pathos being in the contrast and in the micro-resemblances of harmonic/melodic material across the boundaries of these contrasting regions. Like Handel andMozart he often conceives of material independently of its instrumental medium, recycling ideas from piece to piece as in the reworking of "Triorchic Blues" from a violin to piano piece. He is a particular specialist in writing for the bass voice; see "The Conquest of Ireland' and 'Beethoven' - his latest work setting some of the letters of Beethoven to his 'Immortal beloved'. Barry's word-settings are particular and could be described as somewhat revolutionary in gesture.His works include:
Operas
* "The Intelligence Park" (1990)
* "The Triumph of Beauty and Deceit", originally written for television (1991-2)
* "The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant" (2005) to the play byFassbinder (also, independently, the basis of a film of the same name)Selected other works
* "The Conquest of Ireland"
* Sur les Pointes
* "The Eternal Recurrence", a setting ofNietzsche for voice and orchestra
* "Wiener Blut"
* "Dead March"
* Piano Quartet 1 and 2 (for the Ives Ensemble)
* Chevaux de Frise
* Water Parted (for theSiobhan Davies ballet company, broadcast on BBC television in 1995)Two of his operas and much of the chamber music have been recorded and distributed by NMC records in the UK and Ireland. "The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant" is recorded on the RTE label and available through Amazon.co.uk
ources
* [http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.operone.de/komponist/barry.html&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=4&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3D%2522Gerald%2BBarry%2522%2BApril%2B28,%2B1952%26start%3D10%26hl%3Den%26ie%3DUTF-8%26c2coff%3D1%26sa%3DN "operone"]
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