Mai-Dun

Mai-Dun is an orchestral work composed in 1921 by John Ireland (1879–1962). He called it a symphonic rhapsody; another description might be tone poem. In 1931, he arranged it for piano four hands.[1][2]

This article is about a musical composition. For places sometimes called Mai-Dun, see Maiden Castle (disambiguation).

In British Celtic, "Mai-dun" means "great hill". Ireland's piece is a musical evocation of a notable iron age fort: Maiden Castle, Dorset, nearby the house of the English novelist and poet Thomas Hardy (1840–1928) whose name for the place Ireland adopted.[3]

It has been said that, "ancient sites with echoes of the supernatural, including the Channel Islands, inform some of Ireland’s few orchestral pieces"; and of Mai-Dun itself that, "it is a strong piece, aggressive at times, resourcefully scored, and Ireland’s imagination was ignited by the largest hill-fort in England, dating from 3000BC, and its violent history."[3]

A typical performance takes about 12½ minutes.[4]

References
  1. "List of works – J to M". The John Ireland Trust. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  2. Mai-Dun: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
  3. "John Ireland". The Gramophone. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  4. John Ireland: Mai-Dun, symphonic rhapsody for orchestra at AllMusic. Retrieved 1 May 2015.

Further reading
  • Richards, Fiona (2020). "John Ireland's Mai-Dun: Composite Influences." In Michael Allis and Paul Watt, eds., The Symphonic Poem in Britain, 1850-1950 (Woodbridge, UK: The Boydell Press), pp. 278-304. ISBN 978-1-78327-528-1


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