Ryan Vail - This Open Space (Colmcille 1500 Commission)

A NEW Donegal-inspired composition by an award-winning Irish electronica artist and composer celebrating Colmcille premieres online on Thursday, 7th April.

Ryan Vail was invited by the Regional Cultural Centre (RCC), Letterkenny and Glebe House & Gallery, Churchill to create a new piece of music that would re-imagine Benjamin Britton’s Donegal-inspired ‘A Hymn for St. Columba’.

The Re:Work Electronic Music Commission, which was funded by the Arts Council of Ireland, was commissioned in 2021 as part of Colmcille 1500, a year-long commemoration to mark the 1500th anniversary of the birth of Colmcille.

Originally commissioned in 1962, and dedicated to Glebe Gallery founder Derek Hill, Britton’s composition was premiered outdoors in Churchill, where Columba is said to have preached, but the recording was not easily audible due to the strong wind.

Vail used Britton’s piece as a ‘jumping off point’ and created a complete reinterpretation in a contemporary style using a mix of electronic and traditional instrumentation, entitled This Open Space.

The Derry artist blends the worlds of electronica, folk and classical, always experimenting with combining classical instruments with unique methods of recording and composition.

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This project was made possible with the support of Arts Council of Ireland.