The De Cuellar Suite is a new composition written by Scotstown’s Michael Rooney, featuring over 60 musicians and dancers from Ireland and Galicia, Spain. The Dublin premiere of this suite will be held in Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin on Saturday 26th January at 8PM as part of the Temple Bar Trad Fest. Tickets can be purchased at http://www.templebartrad.com (€13/€11). This concert will celebrate the interconnectivity between Irish and Spanish culture in one of Irelands most impressive buildings. Michael Rooney’s amazing score is augmented by a short narrative and stunning choreography.
The compositions are based on the amazing story of Captain Francesco de Cuellar, who was one of the few survivors from the three Armada ships that floundered on Streedagh Strand, Co. Sligo in 1588. The composition follows the Armada’s engagement with the English fleet, their defeat and subsequent desperate struggle to return to Spain by sailing north around the Scottish and Irish coasts, where many of the ships were wrecked in an exceptionally stormy Autumn. The compositions depict de Cuellar’s adventures and struggle to survive as he makes his way from Streedagh through north Sligo and Leitrim, eventually escaping to the Spanish Netherlands where he penned this famous account of his adventures
The suite is comprised of 11 movements reflecting Galician, Irish, and Scottish traditional music rhythms which are wonderfully performed by a unique orchestra comprised of traditional and classical musicians from Ceol na nOg Sligeach and a Central Folque Santiago playing an amazing array of instruments.
