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After years of performing together, Pianist/Composer James Hurley and Tenor Dean Power decided to bring their heritage to the concert stage. Their homelands - Newfoundland and Ireland - are two islands on opposite sides of the Atlantic which share a unique and close cultural history rich with art, literature, story-telling and music.
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James began by arranging Newfoundland Folksongs and composing music for two poems from the Newfoundland artist Duncan Major; compositions which were received with enthusiasm. Dean then started selecting poetry from Ireland, drawing from the works of WB Yeats, James Joyce, Thomas Moore and Fanny Parnell. James crafted them into musical compositions, and this became the first installment of "The Great Irish Poets Songbook." The pieces retain the popular and earthy elements of folk music while exploring the wide range of expressive capabilities that is possible with voice with piano accompaniment, resulting in a sound that is both fresh and familiar.
Despite living in different countries and pursuing their independent careers, the duo collaborates to shape the new pieces into works of art. James's unique compositional language, strongly influenced by his background in improvisation, creates a vivid new world for these powerful and iconic texts. Dean has helped edit the pieces to crystalize a form that works perfectly for the voice. The music presents a duo that emerges as a unified voice.
Since 2022, more than 40 songs have been composed, and premiered across Europe and Canada. The Great Irish Poets Songbook continues to tour in 2025, with upcoming performances in Paris, Dublin, St. John's and around the island of Newfoundland.
Songs of the Great Irish Poets Songbook
James Joyce (1882-1941)
Chamber Music (36 Songs)
1. Strings in the earth and Air
2. Deeper Blue
3. Watcher of the Skies
4. Star
5. Goldenhair
6. How Sweet it Is
7. My Love is in Light Attire
8. Green Wood
9. Winds of May
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10. Bright caps and Streamers
11. Bid Adieu
12. What Counsel
13. Go Seek her out
14. Arise my Dove
15. From Dewy Dreams
16. Cool is the Valley
17. Because your Voice
18. O Sweetheart Hear You
19. Be Not Sad
20. Dark Wood
21. He Who Hath
22. Sweet Imprissonment
23. This Heart
24. Silently
25. Lightly Come
26. Shell of Night
27. Mithridates
28. Gentle Lady
29. Dear Heart
30. Love came to Us
31. Out by Donneycarney
32. Rain has Fallen
33. Now O Now
34. Sleep Now
35. Noise of Waters
36. I hear an Army
Thomas Moore
(1779-1852)
1. The Mid-Hour of Night
2. The Last Rose of Summer
3. The Minstrel Boy
4. Meeting of the Waters
5. Come O'er the Sea
W.B. Yeats
(1865-1939)
1. Easter 1916
2. The Lake Isle
3. Song of the Wandering Aengus
4. Leda and the Swan
5. September 1913
6. Salley Gardens
7. Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven
8. Wild Swans at Coole
9. When You are Old
Fanny Parnell
(1848-1882)
1. Hold the Harvest
2. After Death
Susan Langstaff Mitchell
(1866-1926)
Oscar Wilde
(1854-1900)
Katharine Tynan
(1859-1931)
1. Carrick
1. Requiescat
2. Ballad of Reading Gaol lines 1-42
1. Comfort
A word about the poetry and the selection process
These songs have a broad range of styles and lengths. All texts stay true to the poem; no words have been omitted or altered. Some of the songs are quite long (Easter 1916 is about 9 Minutes) while others are short. Winds of May from Joyce's Chamber music is over after a dashing 45 seconds!
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Some of the poems are quite well known, others less so. The songbook is constantly expanding, and new songs will be added as they come into existence. We are interested in finding new material so please reach out if you have a suggestion!
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Some of the listed songs are partial works of the whole. Notable is Oscar Wilde's Ballad of Reading Gaol. The work is simply massive, however composition is in progress. Currently the first completed parts encompass the first 42 lines of the poem. As other pieces are completed, that number of lines will be extended further.
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The songs listed on this page are the core of the Great Irish Poets Songbook. There are other compositions which have been completed that fall into the parameters of other projects (one of which is called the Great Newfoundland Poets Songbook), or Falk song arrangements. These catalogues will be made available elsewhere as time goes on.