The album was released on Diatribe Records on 11th October 2021, and was celebrated by a launch event at the Contemporary Music Centre, Dublin on October 10th 2021.
Celebrating the diversity and depth of compositional talent working in Ireland today, A Terrible Beauty showcases the new works created as part of our ongoing commissioning scheme.
The release features a broad cross-section of leading Irish composers, including compositions by John Buckley, Greg Caffrey, Rhona Clarke, Frank Corcoran, Kevin O’Connell, Jane O’Leary, Iain McCurdy, Simon Mawhinney, Ryan Molloy, Gráinne Mulvey, and Amy Rooney. A Terrible Beauty was recorded at the state-of-the-art Sonic Lab in the Sonic Arts Research Centre at Queen’s University Belfast, where HRSE is currently Ensemble in Residence.
The disc takes its name from Greg Caffrey’s eponymous trilogy, which emerged over a seven-year period of Hard Rain’s concert giving, inspired by the poetry of W.B. Yeats. A Terrible Beauty, which also exists in an orchestral version, was lauded as a “recommended work” by illustrious composers Magnus Lindberg and Erkki-Sven-Tüür and it is presented here in its entirety on CD for the first time.
You can now order a copy below