OTHER SIDE OF THE TRACKS with Eimear Reidy on 'She Came Through the Window to Stand by the Door'

We spoke with Eimear Reidy about the release of her latest album She Came Through The Window To Stand By The Door, a collaborative effort with Natalia Beylis.

Eimear Reidy was selected as one of IMC's 30/30 artists. She is a cellist with a diverse musical practice ranging from Historical Performance Practice to Sound Art. In collaboration with Natalia Beylis, Eimear has just released her latest work She Came Through The Window To Stand By The Door, which is available here.

Read what Eimear had to say about the album, along with the inspiration behind it and her plans for the future.

Could you tell us about the inspiration behind She Came Through The Window To Stand By The Door?

We had written music for chamber organ and cello before and we thought it would be really exciting to write a piece for church organ and cello. We had the opportunity to try this out at Hunter’s Moon Festival at St. George’s Church, Carrick on Shannon.

There is a beautiful Telford organ there which is the second oldest organ in Ireland. We really wanted to explore the full scope of that sound.

The first track ‘Pour Upon The Sky’ was influenced by 18th century music particularly the rhetorical style of 18th century opera. The second Track ‘Whistling Dust’ is an exploration of the use of overtones created by the various organ stops. The cello sort of flits around this ever growing landscape created by the organ.

Musically speaking, how do you go about taking the steps from initial inspiration to a finished piece?

Musical ideas tend to have a will of their own.If you play with an idea and get to know it really well, it’s tendencies and it’s possibilities, in other words if you collaborate with the idea the finished piece will reveal itself through time.

What is the most important thing to you when making music?

I don’t know if there is one thing that is the most important to me. I have a few priorities. One is good and open communication and exchange with the other musicians. It’s a joy to play with musicians who are open and generous in their playing. I was told by one music teacher ‘never lie to the audience’ and this is extremely important to me, that you are sharing something of yourself and doing that in a sincere way.

How would you compare this album to projects you worked on in the past?

I don’t know if I would compare it to other projects but I can say that we had a lot of fun making this album and really enjoyed the sound in the church and the entire process.

What are your artistic plans in the near future?

We are planning to tour with this album both in Ireland and internationally so watch this space.