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THE LYRIC FEATURE

FREDERICK MAY JPEG Image Name: FREDERICK MAY JPEG

Described as ‘a gentle, difficult, combative soul’, Frederick May composed against a personal background of deafness and mental illness. He ‘led the way for the rest of us’ according to Brian Boydell and his Prison Songs and String Quartet are both groundbreaking works. After studying in London and Vienna he returned to Dublin, but his later years are shrouded in obscurity. With contributions from Garech Browne, Seoirse Bodley, John Kinsella, Colm Tóibín, George Morrison and archive interviews with the composer himself. Presented by Máire Nic Gearailt.

The critically acclaimed CD ‘Sunlight and Shadow: The Orchestral Works of Frederick May’ is available nationwide and online from www.rte.ie/shop.

Produced for RTÉ lyric fm by Celia Donoghue

(First broadcast: 10th June 2011)

RTÉ lyric fm, Friday 26th August, 7.02pm-8pm