'+n.escapeExpression("function"==typeof(o=null!=(o=r(e,"eyebrowText")||(null!=l?r(l,"eyebrowText"):l))?o:n.hooks.helperMissing)?o.call(null!=l?l:n.nullContext||{},{name:"eyebrowText",hash:{},data:t,loc:{start:{line:28,column:63},end:{line:28,column:78}}}):o)+" \n '+(null!=(o=c(e,"if").call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2PreText"):l,{name:"if",hash:{},fn:n.program(32,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:63,column:20},end:{line:63,column:61}}}))?o:"")+"\n"+(null!=(o=(c(e,"ifAll")||l&&c(l,"ifAll")||n.hooks.helperMissing).call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Text"):l,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Link"):l,{name:"ifAll",hash:{},fn:n.program(34,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:64,column:20},end:{line:70,column:30}}}))?o:"")+" 2023 at 2:47pm GMTFormer Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given has suffered a double tragedy after his brother and uncle died within days over Christmas Manchester City and Aston Villa shot stopper lost his brother Kieran on December 23 and his uncle Ambrose Given on Christmas Day singer-songwriter and artist Kieran died peacefully at his home in Altensteig and his funeral took place there on Saturday He is survived by his wife Doris and two sons Joshua and Joel Shay Given brings an end to a 20-year Republic of Ireland careerOpens in new windowAmbrose Given His uncle Ambrose, of Knockagarron, Convoy, died at the Donegal Hospice on Christmas Day and was laid to rest after Requiem Mass at St Mary’s Church, Convoy, on December 28. St Mary’s GAA club in Convoy paid tribute to Ambrose, who they described as a stalwart. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for the wee club,” it said. “The pitch and grounds would not be there without your efforts and our other stalwarts who work tirelessly in the background.” His soccer star nephew, Shay, won 134 caps for Ireland over two decades. He lost his mother Agnes to lung cancer when aged just four and has since raised thousands for Macmillan Cancer Support. Speaking previously about his mother and father Seamus, Shay said: “She told him to take care of the kids and don’t split them up. My dad deserves great credit.” Facebook pageTwitter feedRSS feed@2025 The Irish News Ltd Altensteig Rossini Choir and the Württemberg Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Richard Bonynge – Naxos 8.660205-06 (126 minutes) Although Giacomo Meyerbeer was undoubtedly the greatest French composer of grand opera of the 19th century he was only an adopted son of La Republique the young composer went to Italy to assimilate the art of opera composition During his stay there he wrote six substantial stage-works: Il Crociato in Egitto Emma di Resburgo and the work under review Having laid the foundations for a successful international career he settled in France till the end of his life He changed his name to the more ‘commercial-sounding’Giacomo Meyerbeer and by the year of his death in 1864 he had established grand opera on a firm footing with such epic works as Les Huguenots not to mention Dinorah and Robert le Diable The name Semiramide immediately reminds one of Rossini’s masterpiece and although the two composers tell two very different stories Meyerbeer’s score is characterised by a degree of grandiloquence required by the story of this Babylonian queen The opera is also punctuated by a series of royal appearances in scene after scene and an opulence that is evident in both the high-flown musical language of the main characters and the sheer dimensions of the numbers reaching a peak of extraordinary imaginative power in the first-act finale Premiered at Turin’s Teatro Regio on January 30 but then it disappeared completely from the repertoire This live 2005 recording from the Wildbad Rossini Festival is the first performance for nearly 214 years so it is more than welcome in spite of the usual flaws one generally associates with the taping of live events Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Carl Davis – Naxos 8.557898-99 (126 minutes) Carl Davis is one of today’s most sought after composers Drawing on the work of his early years has been the main secret of Davis’s continued success and although he is now in his 70s he is still as active as ever Throughout his long career the composer has received many prestigious awards but his fame rests on his many compositions for radio and television Davis has even written a unique series of scores for restored prints of silent films and was also responsible for the creation of Sir Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Oratorio But on top of all this ‘commercial activity’ Davis is also a renowned conductor and composer of serious music Aladdin was commissioned by the Scottish Ballet in 1990 who also premiered the work on December 20 This is what the composer had to say on the piece: “Every aspect of the story suggested a dance: the strong characters the power-crazed and sinister Magician and the dreamy Princess who will reveal great courage there are extended pure dance sequences: the cave of jewels is a set of virtually independent solos the court entertainment and several soli and pas de deux and the Princess “The Chinese and Near Eastern elements can be suggested by melodies based on the Chinese pentatonic scale and on the other Adding more after such a detailed comment from the composer himself would be sheer arrogance Let your hair down and simply wallow in the shimmering beauty of this ballet score Absolutely riveting stuff in first-rate sound and colourful presentation bass; the City of Birmingham Chorus and Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Michael Tippett – Naxos 8.557570 (69 minutes) Sir Michael Tippett (1905-1998) is one of the most gifted and most inspiring figures of British 20th century music He grew up in the East Anglian county of Suffolk and in several boarding schools due to his parents’ constant travelling on the continent thanks to which he acquired a facility in languages and a cosmopolitan outlook As a child he studied the piano and was a regular concert-goer experiences that drew the young musician to the art of composition his output covers practically all musical genres and many of his pieces are considered ground-breaking he was imprisoned for three months in 1943 as a conscientious objector but his stock rose with such works as the Concerto for Double String Orchestra and the work under review A Child of Our Time is considered Tippett’s choral masterpiece It is an impassioned outcry against man’s inhumanity to man and has become one of the composer’s most widely known works one which symbolises his extra-musical preoccupations the dramatic and emotional kernel of the work is found in the five spirituals in which the suffering of oppressed nations and peoples throughout history is given a universal language This historic recording was conducted by the composer himself when he was 85 chorus and orchestra an interpretation of heart-wrenching poignancy that penetrates the listener’s very soul this piece is certainly not for the squeamish but its powerful and timeless message is a stark reminder of what should not be happening in a world that babbles much about peace but strives by the hour to sink deeper into the abyss These CDs were submitted for review by D’Amato Record Shop of 98/99 please register for free or log in to your account.