ICE set to play a winter warmer in Ballyvourney
THE Irish Concertina Ensemble (ICE) has announced it will play an eagerly anticipated concert at the Ionad Cultúrtha in Baile Mhúirne on Friday, January 26.
Featuring a line-up of Ireland’s best concertina players, the Ensemble for the first time brings together a quintet of internationally renowned leading exponents of the celebrated Anglo concertina into one single group.
Conceived and directed by Tim Collins, ICE features Collins himself, Pádraig Rynne, Edel Fox, Caitlín Ní Gabhann and Micheál Raghallaigh and was put together in 2014.
In the sleeve notes to their 2015 debut recording ‘Zero’, Collins said he created ICE in order to “explore and experiment with the melodic, percussive, rhythmic and harmonic possibilities of the concertina.”
By creating what Collins described as a “new sonic template” for traditional Irish music on the Anglo concertina, ICE has pioneered and new and exciting performance trajectory for the instrument.
In ‘Zero’, the quintet has created a highly interesting, experimentally arranged repertoire of music that draws from the established melodies of traditional Irish music.
In addition it also draws on material from other traditions in addition to newly composed works written specifically for the Ensemble.
It received hugely positive reviews with Dan Neely of the Irish Echo describing the ‘Zero’ as a “forward thinking and eminently listenable album..... A unique musical vision that brought together under the umbrella of modern studio techniques giving this fascinating project rich results.”
These results are arguably best appreciated on the live stage, with every ICE concert a magical musical experience that will live long in the mind.
Tickets for ICE at the Ionad Cultúrtha from the venue on 026 45733. Pre-booking is advisable as this concert is expected to completely sell-out in advance.
To get a flavour of what to expect on the night people can view some of the Ensemble’s previous performances on YouTube.