Since childhood, Irish poet W. B. Yeats (1865–1939) was preoccupied with questions of declamation. In the 1880s he began to practice "chaunting" his work, assisted by the actress Florence Farr and using a “psaltery” (medieval dulcimer-like instrument). Their performances look back to Irish minstrels and ancient Greece and forward to twentieth-century composers Arnold Schoenberg and Harry Partch.
William Brooks traces this history, reconstructing Yeats’ readings in performance and through technology.

Everlasting Voices, by William Brooks written for the Irish duo Sound-Weave, will be presented September 20, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. Find more information at music.illinois.edu.

Hosted by: Composition/Theory Division of the School of Music

In conjunction with: Department of Dance, Department of English, Global Crossroads Living-Learning Community, Culture Ireland, Irish Arts Council