Aistear na Sionianne (Shannon's Journey) - CL/BSN/PN (PDF)

ABOUT THE MUSIC

Aistear na Sionianne (pronounced “AH-shter nah SHIN-nuh-nah”) was commissioned by the Palm Trio (Peter Geldrich – clarinet, Shannon Lowe - bassoon, and Joshua Pifer - piano) for the International Clarinetfest in Dublin, Ireland in August 2024.  The inspiration for the piece came from both the River Shannon (Ireland’s largest river) and the name of the group’s bassoonist.  

The myth of the creation of the River Shannon has many iterations, but most involve a young girl named Sionianne (or Sionane - the spellings of the name can vary greatly) visiting a spring (Connla’s Well) to seek wisdom and magical powers by eating the “Salmon of Wisdom” found in the waters.  The story varies greatly in what happens after that, so I chose to take the inspiration of young girl who starts at the spring and then follows the river through Ireland where she finds joy in dancing, friendship, and love.  It begins at the bubbling spring, which grows in size and volume.  I wrote several tunes set above the flowing figures meant to evoke Irish dances.  In the middle of the piece I borrowed the beautiful traditional Irish tune “She Moved Through the Fair,” and set it over the still flowing figures in the piano.  The piece returns to the dancing tunes of the beginning, then eventually concludes with a fast, exuberant coda.