GERALD BARRY La Jalousie Taciturne for string orchestra
Gerald Barry La Jalousie Taciturne for string orchestra (1996) [12']
"Exuberant and brilliantly monstrous" is how Rachel Beaumont of The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden describes Gerald Barry's music. La Jalousie Taciturn for string orchestra was commissioned by The Irish Chamber Orchestra and first performed by them in Enniskillen directed by Fionnuala Hunt. The title is taken from Francois Couperin's 13th Ordre, one of the "folies francoises" which describe costumes worn by guests at a masked ball - in this case "taciturn jealousy in a dove-grey costume". Barry's work juxtaposes sections contrasting sharply in dynamics, register, timbre and texture. Each section is defined by direct, bold rhythms and well-defined melodic lines, which seem to echo fragments of melody from music of past centuries.