DAVID ROWELL,
Sir, - In her Irishwoman's Diary (May 1st), Eileen Battersby writes of the forthcoming performance of Dvorak's Requiem by Our Lady's Choral Society. She refers to the society's conductor, Prionnsias O'Duinn, as not recalling this work having been sung in Ireland "in living memory".
For the record, the Guinness Choir performed this work in the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, in 1970 under the baton of Albert Rosen, who was, like Dvorak, a native of Czechoslovakia. Some of our members of long standing (who were very young at the time!) remember this as one of the highlights of the choir's history to date.
Incidentally, the Guinness Choir sang another of Dvorak's works on Good Friday this year, his Stabat Mater, in aid of the Carmichael Institute. We send our friends in Our Lady's Choral Society best wishes for a successful performance. - Yours, etc.,
DAVID ROWELL,
Public Relations Officer,
The Guinness Choir,
St James's Gate,
Dublin 8.