Three’s Company
for symphony orchestra, with solo harp, cello and snare drum
by Anne-Marie O’Farrell.
Three’s Company was written as part of the RTÉ NSO and CMC Composer Lab project 2018. It was premiered on 1st May 2018 at the RTÉ Radio Centre by the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gavin Maloney with soloists Andreja Malir, harp; Richard O’Donnell, percussion; and Martin Johnson, cello. The three soloists perform in a concertante role with the orchestra. The piece contains various musical signatures representing my family, ranging from the choice of solo instruments, to the use of the initials A, C, and S, drawn from the octatonic scale which forms the basis of much of the harmony for the work. I have long been interested in the question of timbral interplay between harp and orchestra, and here I explore the possibilities of placing not one but three instruments in conversation with a large symphony orchestra.
