Port ná Glór n-Éan

This is a setting of an old Irish saying, a seanfhocail (literally ‘old words’), with its pithy wisdom, imparts that culture, music and literature, outlasts both nature and wealth, which are ephemeral. The metre of the seanfhocail falls naturally into the rhythm of an Irish slip jig, and there are many other references to Irish music and dance in this piece. Singers can relish sound of words, which, when fragmented and repeated, should be reminiscent of the bodhrán—an Irish hand-held drum.