An Afternoon with Declan Flannery

Recital notes from Declan:

Over the past couple of years I’ve finished a variety of original compositions, many of which all have something in common, that being that they are inspired by pre-existing artistic works. While working on each and everyone of the pieces in this programme I drew inspiration from works of literature, paintings, poems, and even comic books! The way that art inspires art has always fascinated me, and I wanted to capture the emotional impact that these works had on me, while also recontextualising their themes and emotional content in my own style.

Evergreen is inspired by a story written by a close friend of mine, and the piece reflects the tumultuous and often jarringly varied emotions the characters in that story go through. The central theme is first presented in 5/4 time, an innately unbalanced time signature that has a sense of unease about it. The harmonies feature unresolved suspensions and the piece initially presents itself as happy, but also somewhat restless. Over the course of the composition these elements begin to relax, the 5/4 gives way to a more familiar 4/4 and the harmonic language becomes more consonant until the piece finally comes to ease.

Nighthawks was written immediately after I discovered the famous painting by American artist Edward Hopper. The original painting depicts a New York diner, and was finished in January of 1942, just weeks before America joined the Second World War. It has an ominous quality to it, and the contrast between the bright but near deserted diner, with the utterly still streets outside is haunting. My piece attempts to capture these same feelings of isolation and emptiness, and I also drew inspiration from Satie’s first Gymnopédie which is occasionally given the nickname ‘Midnight in Paris’. While Satie’s Paris is full of light and life, Hopper’s New York is dark and lonely. The harmonic language is also heavily inspired by both the dissonant classical music of the 20th century, and the jazz traditions that New York has long been a home too.

Purple Tulips was inspired by a comic penned by another friend, and like Evergreen it is an exploration of contrasting emotions. Unlike Evergreen though Purple Tulip’s relatively short inspirational material means I attempted to set the entire work to music, creating a sort of musical retelling of the entire narrative. Juxtaposition of emotions is again very important here, and the piece seeks to pit these warring emotions against each other, from crushing melancholy to genuine relief.

Thanks for the Fox–cryptic names are a speciality of mine!–was also inspired by a friend’s writing, and was composed as a sort of challenge to myself, the idea being to compose a piece using almost no thematic material other than a single, simple melody. Nearly the entire piece revolves around this same melody and its fragments which come and go and change and modulate through various guises, creating an exercise in restraint but also in imagination. The result I think is quite effective.

Finally, The Magpie’s Gift was also inspired by the writing of a friend, who in turn took inspiration herself from the iconic short story ‘The Gift of the Magi’, by O. Henry. The original story is the tale of a couple trying to scrape together the funds to buy each other Christmas presents, it’s a classic tale that captures the spirit of the holiday season impeccably. Like Purple Tulips due to the short length of the original material this piece is intended to be a complete musical retelling of the narrative. The piece attempts a sort of instrumental word painting throughout, conjuring relevant imagery from the titular Magpie portrayed by the high solo melodies throughout, to the chorale like section that might bring to mind Christmas Carols.

Declan's Biography:

Declan Flannery is a classical pianist, conductor, and composer originally from and currently based in Newcastle upon Tyne. Declan attended the university of Southampton where he received his bachelor’s degree, studying piano with David Owen Norris and Samantha Carrasco, conducting with Robin Browning, and composition with Ben Oliver. Declan is a frequent performer across the North East and further afield both nationally and internationally, giving over a hundred recitals and other performances each year on average whether it be as a soloist, accompanist or within various ensembles.

As a performer, Declan is known for the variety of his programmes which will often include both classical favourites as well as lesser known contemporary works like those of the 20th century composer Alberto Ginastera, whose music Declan has received significant acclaim for his interpretations of. During the first year of his degree Declan was identified as one of the outstanding talents in the department, and was selected to make his concerto debut with the Hartley Loop Orchestra at the Turner Sims concert hall, performing Mozart’s D Major concerto after J. C. Bach as part of ‘The Loop Project’.

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