Fauré and Stanford concert to take place at historic Mayo Abbey

A special concert celebrating Irish and European classical music will take place at Ballintubber Abbey on Sunday, November 22, as part of this year’s EU Presidency Cultural Programme in Mayo.

Supported by Mayo County Council, the concert will be presented by Cór Mhaigh Eo and Louisburgh Voices, beginning at 4.45pm in the historic abbey.

The choirs, conducted by Kathy Quinn, will be joined by soprano Pauline Graham, baritone Owen Gilhooly-Miles, the acclaimed ConTempo String Quartet and organist Michael Quinn for a performance of Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem.

The programme will also feature Jules Massenet’s Méditation, alongside music by renowned Irish composer Charles Villiers Stanford.

The ConTempo Quartet will perform the first movement of Stanford’s String Quartet No. 2, while Owen Gilhooly-Miles will sing the second of the composer’s Bible Songs, A Song of Trust.

The concert will explore the connections between Irish and European classical traditions, with Professor Harry White, Emeritus Professor of Music at University College Dublin and a noted scholar of Irish musical history, delivering a talk offering further insight into those cultural links.

The event will be introduced by Catherine Gagneux, Honorary French Consul for Connaught.

Cór Mhaigh Eo was established in 1994 and performs a wide range of choral music. The choir has appeared at venues and festivals throughout Ireland, including the National Concert Hall in Dublin and the Cork Choral Festival, as well as performing in Italy, Spain and Latvia.

In 2019, it was selected to represent Connaught in An Island Sings, a new choral work by Elaine Agnew.

Louisburgh Voices is a mixed-voice choir established by Pauline Graham and Michael Quinn in 2018. Its performances have included Purcell’s opera Dido & Aeneas, Vivaldi’s Gloria and a Medieval Christmas programme at Holy Trinity Church in Westport.

The choir has also performed at the Mary Robinson Climate Conference in Ballina, Ballintubber Abbey and the Michael Davitt Museum.

The ConTempo String Quartet was established in Bucharest in 1995 and has been Ensemble-in-Residence for Music Connects in Galway since 2003.

Through its work in the region, the quartet has delivered music education programmes and developed strong connections with artists and communities across the county. It is internationally recognised for its interpretations of classical and romantic repertoire, alongside its work with contemporary composers, including Irish artists Jane O’Leary, John Kinsella and Gráinne Mulvey.

Tickets for the concert cost €25 and are available through the Ballintubber Abbey website and from the Clew Bay Hotel in Westport.