There is a wonderful flow to Galway’s year - from the sounds and smells of the Christmas Market to the last chuckle of the Comedy Festival, each period is marked by a differing attire. From the tweeds of the Races, to the polo necks of Cuirt, to the summery freckled skin of the Arts Festival. Aliens arriving from space to visit would be able to determine what is on by virtue of what people have on.
Galway is a chameleon in the jungle of cities. Ever changing, evolving, for almost five decades or perhaps more, we have been showing a different side to ourselves at different times so that by stealth, we will eventually siphon all the people of the world through here at one stage or another. From Baboro to Cuirt to the Film Fleadh to the Ukelele Festival and the Folk Festival, there is something for all ages and all artistic and cultural tastes.
And now we have something new, an excellent concept that I feel can also become global in the way our events have. Although the world has become a smaller space, there is something al-fresco-ish about consuming culture on the western side of the mid-Atlantic rock on which we live. There is a freshness to the air and an honesty and truth to the culture we create that makes it palatable worldwide.
I was reminded of that this week when while ambling to and from my coffeehouse (s ) of choice, I came upon different groups of people lugging massive cellos around as if they were the tinist of handbags. The sight of cello cases with human legs became a familiar one as more and more people arrived to take in the delights of Cellissimo, the new festival brought to you by those wonderful people in Music for Galway.
Music for Galway is a waluable cultural asset in the portfolio of this neck of the woods. Driven by the powerhouses Anna Lardi and Finghin Collins and others, they have managed to create a truly global musical festival while also ensuring that their packed year-round programme does not suffer in the slightest.
Cellissimo was originally part of the Galway 2020 project having been conceived by Music for Galway in the time before that, and I feel it may well emerge as one of that programme’s most enduring legacies.
This week, Cellissimo is striking a chord with Irish and international music audiences, as many of the world’s most acclaimed classical and contemporary composers, conductors, orchestras, artists, musicians, and performers gather here in our gaff at the edge of Europe to celebrate the power and beauty of the cello.
The cello is beautiful, and like a friendly aunt, you can bring it anywhere and it won’t let you down. It can rock like the hardest rock guitar, and it can sing like the human voice. It might have been the Cinderella of the instrument world in that it might have been outshone by its sisters the violin and the piano, but in recent years, its power to move has become legendary.
And now we have an entire festival dedicated to the interpretation and nuances of one instrument. How cool is that. For that foresight, we thank Music for Galway.
So until the weekend, Ireland’s most exciting new classical music festival will continue to fill the venues, theatres, highways and byways of Galway city and county, with the sounds and stories of classic and contemporary music. You can feast on brand new commissioned works, intimate chamber concerts, sumptuous orchestral galas, pop up performances, community participation, theatre, dance, gaming, masterclasses, talks and more.
I hope that this festival becomes an annual one and that it continues to draw people west as an example of how creativity can conceive the most wonderful concepts.
