Music by William Byrd, Ellis Gibbons, Padraig Pearse, Shaun Davey and several other Elizabethan

For their traditional summer concert 2026, the Goethe Choir presents a world premiere cantata ‘Greenwich Parley – An Elegy of Two Queens’ about the historical meeting of Queen Elizabeth I and Grace O’Malley.

1593 saw the meeting of Queen Elizabeth I of England and Grace O’Malley, the alleged pirate Queen of Ireland. They were the most powerful women in the British Isles at the time. Both were political and military leaders. Although their politics were different, their personalities may have been quite similar. After all, they were both women with the strength, courage, and charisma to rule in a world of men.

The piece combines classical Elizabethan choral music with traditional Irish pieces, plus some choral works by Shaun Davey. It also includes a professionally narrated description of both queens’ lives and their meeting. Instrumental accompaniment will be by Uilleann Pipes, Whistle and Harp.

Bryn Terfel ‘Te Deum’ from Tosca with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, live at the National Concert Hall; Goethe Choir, Dublin Handel Zadok, the Priest;