Summer with 4 in a Bar: 'Animal Crackers', Maynooth
Schedule
Sun, 07 Jun, 2026 at 05:00 pm
UTC+01:00Location
St Mary's Church, Parson St, Maynooth, Kildare, Ireland | Kildare, KE
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4 in a Bar and Speak Up, Sing Out Choir present: 'Animal Crackers' – a summer afternoon concert of animal-themed vocal and choral music.'Most of the time, when composers write songs about animals, they’re not really talking about animals at all. The animals are stand-ins for ourselves: our wishes, our failings, and our absurdities. The trout is in danger of being caught by the fisherman, just as an innocent girl may be trapped by a man. The deer yearns for running streams in the same way that the soul longs for the divine. The blackbird becomes a symbol of the civil rights movement. As for Josquin’s cricket or Arcadelt’s swan… perhaps it’s best not to go into too much detail in a family-friendly programme note.
But sometimes the animal itself really is the star of the show. Janequin fills 'Les Chants des Oiseaux' with exuberant imitations of birdsong, while Rossini’s celebrated 'Duet for Two Cats' presents exactly what the title promises: a completely straight-faced operatic duet performed entirely in “meows”.
4 in a Bar’s new programme gathers together a menagerie of musical animals from across five centuries, ranging from Renaissance madrigals and sacred music to music hall comedy, jazz, and Disney classics.
Some songs raise more questions than they answer. We never discover why that old lady swallowed a fly, or why the Gnu insists on pronouncing the 'G', or what exactly Tom Lehrer has against pigeons.
Humans have always looked at animals and seen reflections of themselves. In this concert, we invite you to do the same.'
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Where is it happening?
St Mary's Church, Parson St, Maynooth, Kildare, IrelandEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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