The women left behind in 1916

Following her acclaimed concert at Solstice with Benedict Schlepper Connolly and Garrett Sholdice as part of Solstice exhibition ‘In Darkness Let me Dwell’, singer Michelle O’Rourke returns this week to perform ‘Songs of the 1916 Widows’ with the Robinson Panoramic Quartet. Written by composer and curator Simon O’Connor, and commissioned and presented by vocalist Michelle O’Rourke, Left Behind is a new collection of songs to mark the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising. Drawing on the experiences of the wives of prominent rebel leaders, O’Rourke and O’Connor have created a unique suite of compositions that offer an emotional, human perspective on a narrative that is too often told in baldly male heroic terms.
Beginning life as simple vocal/piano pieces, these songs have been transformed with the addition of O’Connor’s former bandmates from Dublin rock band The Jimmy Cake. This small ensemble brings a volatile, dramatic energy to the retelling of the stories of Lillie Connolly, Grace and Muriel Gifford, Agnes Mallin and others.
“So much of our engagement with history is purely political, and so rarely we allow ourselves to read between the lines to find human realities,” says O’Connor. “Sinead McCoole’s book Easter Widows, the key historical reference for this work, allowed us to empathise with and understand the human cost, the real life narratives of the revolutionary period.”
“More so than any art form, music places us squarely in this emotional space,” adds soprano Michelle O’Rourke. “With these songs, we hope to give life to some of these feelings, these emotions and the sense of loss felt by many women and children who were left behind by men who were dominated by what they felt was a higher calling.”
Simon O’Connor’s musical life began late as a teenager in punk bands, developing to solo electronic music, theatre composition and avant-rock groups, most notably as founding member of seminal Dublin indie band The Jimmy Cake. A student of Donnacha Dennehy and Kevin Volans, his music increasingly focuses on melody, harmony and an approach that may be described as a new tonalism. Michelle O’Rourke is a singer based in Dublin. Her natural sound, unaffected expressivity and technical ability make for an interpreter of rare dynamism. Michelle combines her classical training with an adventurous eclecticism and a passion for collaboration.