Sir, – Richard Pine (December 20th) is unduly flustered over the title of the Association of Irish Composers' new series of concerts, The Irish Canon. He writes, "By exercising a prescribed standard of judgment, a canon excludes more than it includes".
All concert series, just like all art exhibitions or poetry anthologies, are limited by what they can include. Selections have to be made somehow. The use of the word canon may be unwise, but the initiative is one that should be applauded.
Mr Pine, it has to said, is missing the wood for the trees. This is the first concert series I am aware of that is entirely made up of Irish works; and value selections are made by highly-acclaimed musicians such as Kate Ellis, Cora Venus Lunny and Bill Dowdall, rather than by committee, as some other organisations do – with predictably banal results.
The Association of Irish Composers in my view is doing an unprecedented amount of work on a very slim budget (made up of mainly members’ fees). They certainly would not have the luxury of programming Irish orchestral works. That responsibility lies firmly with RTÉ, which, in comparison with the AIC, has failed in recent years to programme new Irish music in any meaningful way. – Yours, etc,
SIOBHÁN CLEARY,
Warren Road,
Boyle, Co Roscommon.