Violinist, composer, and improviser Richard Carr steps into mythic territory with Manannán mac Lir, a sweeping new work inspired by the Irish god of the sea. Performed with the Budapest Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Péter Illényi, the piece merges neoclassical orchestration with Carr’s expressive, improvised solo violin—rooted in place, history, and personal experience.
The composition traces back to Carr’s time trekking the Dingle and Kerry ways along Ireland’s west coast. During those journeys, he spent evenings in small villages, offering impromptu solo violin performances in churches and cathedrals. Field recordings from those intimate, echo-filled spaces later formed the basis of his earlier release Gray Skies on the Edge.
Last year, Carr revisited that material and reimagined it for orchestra, transforming raw, reflective fragments into a fully scored work. Manannán mac Lir is the result—a piece that feels both ancient and immediate, where the solo violin moves freely above a rich orchestral tide, echoing the power and mystery of the sea itself.
This single marks the first release from this new orchestral chapter, with more to come, and stands as a striking convergence of landscape, mythology, and lived musical ritual.
