Piece Comment

Review of Patsy McNamara's Legacy- Doolin Tales 2


Simple and unadorned to the point of perhaps being too spare, Elizabeth Hart repeats a story told to her of how the choice made by an ancestor at a crossroad changed the family history. Ireland has always been a place where actual events seem to come with readymade metaphors built directly into them, like something in the blood. So this uncluttered story of the cost and eventual reward of pride comes with symbolism attached, but never emphasized. It's simply something that happened and once it happened, everything was different. The presentation is dry and attention must be paid to programming on either side, probably well chosen music, to avoid overwhelming the piece.