The Dock is supporting cellist, Eimear Reidy and singer and composer Fionnuala Maxwell in a collaborative Artist Support Residency, where both musicians will develop old traditional songs into new performance pieces, with a particular focus on ballads that cast women into stereotypical roles. Both artists will explore the ‘how’ and ‘if’ of whether the cello and voice can complement each other within this genre, investigating ways to create new material which showcases the diversity and strength of women which is often overlooked within the patriarchal world of ballad-making.
Over the ten-week collaboration period, both musicians will respond to the canon through a process of experimentation with accompaniment styles, harmonies, variation and voice, with the intention of creating new musical compositions by responding in new ways to the older material. This collaborative process will naturally infuse new energy, new ideas into this genre with a refocus on the gender imbalances inherent within this musical canon. This collaborative residency at The Dock will provide the much-needed time and space that is vital for any creative explorations, which in turn will naturally enrich the artists’ individual practice - and with the exciting prospect of the development of new material through the collaborative combined investigations of both these artists.
