C5B38BB2-F4D7-42D6-A12E-78826A6921C2

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IDC5B38BB2-F4D7-42D6-A12E-78826A6921C2
TitlecodeX510012
Title NameCaoine
Marketing CopyName derived from the laments once sung by the professional wailing women of Ireland; also inspired by the folk fiddling tradition of the Shetland Islands. Recorded by Michelle Makarski, ECM Records.
InstrumentationViolin Solo
Commission(not set)
Dedication(not set)
Program Notes"Caoine" (pronounced keen) is the Gaelic word for the wail or dirge sung by professional mourners in old Ireland. This traditional form (and Hartke's piece) consists of a repeated refrain and verses derived from it. The composer drew his inspiration from two aspects of old Irish folk music: from its modes and from the articulation of traditional fiddling. The speech-like texture of the music is striking. Its lugubrious rhetoric moves from heightened expression to expanded and compressed lamentation. Certain passages of this piece, concentrated despite its extreme range and astringent intervals, recall the devil's jagged violin passages in Stravinsky's Histoire du soldat, as if the mourners were dispatching the deceased with a touch of schadenfreude: "We are still alive!"
Title Brand2
Year Composed1980
Copyright Number(not set)
Copyright Year(not set)
Duration7
Ensemble Size1
Date Created2008-10-31 20:33:02.000000
Date Updated2025-09-30 20:33:02
Inhouse Note5 yr term agreement.
Bsc Code(not set)
Text Author(not set)
Premier Performance Memo(not set)
Recording CreditsRecorded by Michelle Makarski on ECM Records, CD 289 449 957
Review"Caoine is a fascinating, almost mystical composition by Stephen Hartke, inspired by the visionary Celtic tradition. In the hands of [Michelle Makarski] it is already a little masterpiece." --La Repubblica
Awards(not set)
Title Category10
Title Movements(not set)
Title Grade(not set)
Set Series ID(not set)
Title Instrument Category TextViolin
Title Sub Category Text(not set)
Title Sub Category101
Title Instrument Header56
Title Grade Text(not set)
Clean Urlcaoine-x510012