Gortnamona

This classic Irish ballad, written at the time that the barbershop style was in formation over in America, is ideally suited to this genre. Not only does its flowing melody fit perfectly in barbershop harmonies, the tone of its lyrical narrative - sentimental, nostalgic, attaching human love to a Romanticised Irish landscape - also calls for the emotional colour and poignancy those chords evoke.

It needs to be sung with a generous and flexible rubato, giving plenty of space for the phrases to breathe, especially at the ends of phrases - much as it is sung in its performance tradition outside barbershop indeed.

It was due to be premiered at the IABS Convention in 2020, but that was cancelled, and instead excerpts were used in this lockdown project. I'll add a video of the complete song as and when I have one!