Following a period of notable success, including a recent appearance on national television in an episode of 'The Piano', national radio support in Ireland, and widespread critical acclaim online for his previous works, composer and pianist Gerard O’Donnell is set to release his much-anticipated new album, ‘In Honour of the Moon’, on June 20th, 2025. This profound collection features a cycle of nine original nocturnes, inviting listeners into an evocative world of shimmering quietude, deep-seated ancestral memory, and the boundless realms of nocturnal imagination, all under the constant, watchful presence of the moon.
‘In Honour of the Moon’ unfolds as a meticulously structured journey in three movements. The cycle commences with the title track, In Honour of the Moon (Part 1), a bold and ceremonial threshold that establishes the harmonic language for the entire programme, its notes rising like stone markers. From this powerful invocation, the listener is drawn through the vaporous, motif-driven soundscape of Ghost, a piece that honours the Irish tradition of perceiving the departed not as lost, but as intimately present. The journey continues, exploring the fragile, pre-dawn beauty in Porcelain, and delving into a tender, political longing with Should England Sing, where cultural memory and quiet reflection intertwine.
The heart of the album finds solace and wonder in nature and folklore. He by Water offers a stoic, elemental meditation, where water acts as a mirror, stirring something deep and ancestral. This is followed by the mischievous and folkloric I mo Mharbhcholadh (“In My Death-Sleep”), a piece that recalls moonlit Gaelic gatherings, alive with tales of faery folk and ancient spirits, passed between laughter and song. The narrative returns with the lyrical intimacy of In Honour of the Moon (Part 2), a gentler, more personal response to the initial theme, as if the moon itself has drawn closer. The cycle then surges towards its emotional and technical zenith with Solstice, a pagan-classical epic capturing the raw, ecstatic power of the longest night yielding to emergent light. The final nocturne, In Honour of the Moon (Part 3), brings the odyssey to a poignant close. Familiar motifs resurface, transformed, echoing the beginning but imbued with a renewed urgency and profound warmth, leaving the listener changed.
O’Donnell’s compositions expertly weave the precision of classical form with the immersive qualities of ambient textures and the soulful resonance of Irish folk traditions. This creates a distinct narrative sensibility that encourages and rewards deep, attentive listening. ‘In Honour of the Moon’ is more than an album; it is both a heartfelt tribute to the enigmatic night and a quiet, introspective act of remembering—of discovering who we become when the world stills and the moon watches on.
"O’Donnell’s playing is precise and deeply expressive." – Hot Press
About Gerard O’Donnell
Gerard O’Donnell is a composer and pianist known for his evocative soundscapes that navigate classical forms, ambient textures, and the rich wellspring of Irish folk traditions. His work often explores themes of memory, nature, and the liminal spaces between worlds.
TRACKLIST:
In Honour of the Moon (Part 1)
Ghost
Porcelain
Should England Sing
He by Water
I mo Mharbhcholadh (“In My Death-Sleep”)
In Honour of the Moon (Part 2)
Solstice
In Honour of the Moon (Part 3)
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‘In Honour of the Moon’ unfolds as a meticulously structured journey in three movements. The cycle commences with the title track, In Honour of the Moon (Part 1), a bold and ceremonial threshold that establishes the harmonic language for the entire programme, its notes rising like stone markers. From this powerful invocation, the listener is drawn through the vaporous, motif-driven soundscape of Ghost, a piece that honours the Irish tradition of perceiving the departed not as lost, but as intimately present. The journey continues, exploring the fragile, pre-dawn beauty in Porcelain, and delving into a tender, political longing with Should England Sing, where cultural memory and quiet reflection intertwine.
The heart of the album finds solace and wonder in nature and folklore. He by Water offers a stoic, elemental meditation, where water acts as a mirror, stirring something deep and ancestral. This is followed by the mischievous and folkloric I mo Mharbhcholadh (“In My Death-Sleep”), a piece that recalls moonlit Gaelic gatherings, alive with tales of faery folk and ancient spirits, passed between laughter and song. The narrative returns with the lyrical intimacy of In Honour of the Moon (Part 2), a gentler, more personal response to the initial theme, as if the moon itself has drawn closer. The cycle then surges towards its emotional and technical zenith with Solstice, a pagan-classical epic capturing the raw, ecstatic power of the longest night yielding to emergent light. The final nocturne, In Honour of the Moon (Part 3), brings the odyssey to a poignant close. Familiar motifs resurface, transformed, echoing the beginning but imbued with a renewed urgency and profound warmth, leaving the listener changed.
O’Donnell’s compositions expertly weave the precision of classical form with the immersive qualities of ambient textures and the soulful resonance of Irish folk traditions. This creates a distinct narrative sensibility that encourages and rewards deep, attentive listening. ‘In Honour of the Moon’ is more than an album; it is both a heartfelt tribute to the enigmatic night and a quiet, introspective act of remembering—of discovering who we become when the world stills and the moon watches on.
"O’Donnell’s playing is precise and deeply expressive." – Hot Press
About Gerard O’Donnell
Gerard O’Donnell is a composer and pianist known for his evocative soundscapes that navigate classical forms, ambient textures, and the rich wellspring of Irish folk traditions. His work often explores themes of memory, nature, and the liminal spaces between worlds.
TRACKLIST:
In Honour of the Moon (Part 1)
Ghost
Porcelain
Should England Sing
He by Water
I mo Mharbhcholadh (“In My Death-Sleep”)
In Honour of the Moon (Part 2)
Solstice
In Honour of the Moon (Part 3)
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