Lisa O’Neill has announced two very special ‘Symphony for the Moons‘ orchestral shows this winter. The first takes place on November 16th at Dublin’s National Concert Hall, accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra and later on December 11th at London’s Barbican, accompanied by the Britten Sinfonia. Lisa has revealed that songs from Same Cloth or Not, Pothole in the Sky, Heard a Long Gone Song, and All of This is Chance will feature, “…and maybe even introduce the beginning of something new as we reach the end of another year.”
Both dates have lunar connections that Lisa touches on below, in which she also shares her first symphony experience, courtesy of John Williams and Steven Spielberg – Spielberg apparently re-cut the end of the film to match Williams’ music, although Lisa’s memories, not surprising for any young child at the time, lies with the Flight Theme:
“The first time I heard the sounds of a symphony was while watching the film ‘ET’. I was an infant.” explains Lisa, “My eyes were young, my ears were young and my imagination was getting born. As far as I was concerned, there was no separation between the picture, the music and the feelings that this story evoked in me. It was all one. Like many children in the 1980’s, I had fallen in love with this extraterrestrial and this music was the language of the heart taking flight. It conjured in me feelings of adoration for one who is different, a taste of love, of letting go and of hope all rolled into one symphony, John Williams’ sublime ‘Flight theme’.
“In my innocence, I had no knowledge of strings and horns, of keys and drums. I didn’t know composers or conductors existed. I didn’t know that John Williams or Steven Spielberg existed, but ET did exist. Thinking back on it now, how and why as children we were all so immensely moved and impacted by this Alien’s flight via the moon? I am convinced it was the music, it was the vibrations of the symphony that pulled at our heartstrings and gave us wings and left an imprint of awe in us. It was not digital. It was the real thing. Real things have lasting affects. Music is after all a universal language, with or without words it has the power to transport us on a cellular level to the celestial heavens and the underworld.
“I never dreamed then, that I would someday become a songwriter. Nor did I think that I would ever have the chance to bring my own ideas to a symphony orchestra, or that someone would someday write a score for songs that began as tiny seeds in my human heart.
“At Shane MacGowans 60th birthday in the NCH in 2018, I met and worked with multi instrumentalist Terry Edwards. He was the musical director for that extraordinary one off concert in celebration of Shane and his songwriting. Later that year we worked together again, revisiting Tom Waits Swordfishtrombones album. Certain seeds fell onto fertile ground and the winds have taken us to an exciting moment, where in recent months, Terry Edwards has been writing an orchestral score for a collection of my original songs. I am sincerely over the moon to be working with him.
“November 16th falls on a full moon and I will be performing at the NCH in Dublin with the National Symphony Orchestra. The Celts called this ‘The Reed Moon’, comparing it to the mournful music made by wind instruments and to the ghoulish sounds of the spirits being drawn into the underworld. In many ways, it marks the beginning of the end.
“December 11th falls around the Cold Moon which is final full moon of the calendar year. My only gig in London this year brings me back to the Barbican where on this night I will be performing with the Britten Sinfonia. The Cold Moon is symbolic of a death and rebirth cycle and is otherwise known as the Long Night Moon. On both nights, we will visit songs from my studio albums, Same cloth or not, Pothole in the sky, Heard a long gone song, All of this is chance and maybe even introduce the beginning of something new as we reach the end of another year.”
‘’All Of This Is Chance’ is an epic canyon of sense and sound… a timeless piece of work, wholly unbound by style or genre, a universal shot of medicinal magic.’’
Danny Neill, KLOF Mag
Symphony For The Moons Tour Dates:
November 16th – ‘Symphony For The Reed Moon’ at The National Concert Hall, Dublin – ticket link here
December 11th – ‘Symphony For The Cold Moon’ at The Barbican, London – ticket link here