Tales of classical greats is music to the ears of library audience
ENNISCORTHY library played host to an informative and entertaining event when Dr Noel Culleton outlined some of the renowned composers featured in his new book, ‘They Made Great Music’.
Dr Culleton held the capacity audience spellbound for an hour as he gave insights into the amazing lives and music of his chosen great composers ranging from Ludwig van Beethoven, ‘the greatest of them all’, to Franz Liszt, ‘inveterate womaniser and towering figure of 19th century music’.
Dr Culleton began by looking at the theme music from ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’. Outlining its inspiration he then moved from composer to composer and told of their amazing lives and gave samples of their best-known music.
The illustrator of his new book, UCD graduate David Mahon, assisted Dr Culleton on the night by acting as sound engineer.
Mr Mahon, who is an architect from Barntown and just back from New Zealand, also projected larger-than-life caricatures that he had drawn of the composers onto a giant screen provided by Jarlath Glynn, manager of the library.
Dr Noel selected 11 composers, from 33 featured in his book, to outline for the audience on the night. They were Richard Strauss, Verdi, Mozart, Rossini, Berlioz, Haydn, Beethoven, Bizet, Liszt, Mendelssohn and Gounod
He said most of them were ordinary people who created music up to 200 years ago that is still heard today on television and radio, in movies, and on Vimeo and YouTube.
The audience was told the composers’ music influenced everything from jazz and rock to country music.
They were also informed that the great composers got their own inspiration from reading books and poetry and from contemporary stage plays during their lives.
Throughout the night there were repeated rounds of applause from the audience which included Wexford football and hurling legend, Ted Morrissey, from Camross.
Among the other people in attendance were Ted Hayes, author of ‘Sailor, Airman, Spy’, Phil Murphy, editor of Ireland’s Own Anthology of Short Stories, and Jim McGovern, author of the new book ‘Stand up, Speak Out’, which will be launched at the Riverside Park Hotel Enniscorthy on Wednesday, February 20.