Ciarán Farrell facts for kids

Ciarán Farrell (born 1969, Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish composer. He has been writing music since 1997. That's when he finished his studies at Trinity College Dublin. Ciarán creates music for many different things. This includes orchestras, musical groups, choirs, and solo instruments. He also writes music for TV shows and movies.

Early Life and Musical Training

Ciarán grew up in a home that loved music. When he was young, he learned to play the piano and the clarinet. He studied these instruments at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. As a teenager, he started playing the guitar. Later, he studied classical guitar at the Dublin Institute of Technology Conservatory of Music and Drama.

He earned his music degree from Trinity College Dublin. Ciarán also took special classes in Italy. He learned from the famous composer Ennio Morricone at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana.

Composing Music for a Living

Ciarán Farrell has been asked to write music by many important groups. These requests are called "commissions." He has received commissions from the BBC and RTÉ Performing Groups. He also worked with RTÉ lyric fm. For this, he wrote music for the RTÉ Concert Orchestra with actor Barry McGovern.

He has also written music for specific musicians. These include saxophonist Gerard McChrystal and the Smith Quartet. Singer Katie McMahon and guitarist John Feeley have also asked him to compose. Ciarán has even worked with Irish dance companies. These include Cois Ceim and Irish Modern Dance Theatre.

Ciarán has created music for many TV and film projects. These include the shows Divine Magic and Eyes on the World. These shows were seen all over the world. He also worked with channels like C4 and the Discovery Channel. In his early career, he wrote music for commercials. This included campaigns for Heineken and Shell.

His first album of his own music was Perfect State. It was released by RTÉ lyric fm in 2007. Less than three weeks after it came out, it reached No. 13 on the HMV classical charts in Ireland. Soon after, it climbed all the way to No. 1! This album features performances by top musicians. They include the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and guitarist Craig Ogden.

His second album, Jolt, came out in 2011. It features Irish guitarist Damien Kelly. Just a week after its release on iTunes, it hit No. 1. It topped the Irish classical iTunes charts.

In December 2012, a new album of solo guitar music was launched. It was called 'New Frontiers'. Guitarist Damien Kelly performed the thirteen songs on this album. It includes unique music for bottleneck slide guitar. It also features music for guitar with digital delay effects.

Ciarán's music can be found on many other CDs. This includes Pluckblow by Gerard McChrystal and Craig Ogden. He wrote the title song for Katie McMahon's album Shine. His original solo guitar version of "The Shannon Suite" is on John Feeley's album E-Motion.

Music Albums (Discography)

Ciarán Farrell's music has been released on several albums. Here are some of them:

Redbrick Duo

This album features the Redbrick Duo. That's guitarist Damien Kelly and flautist Jessica Lipstone. They play Ciarán Farrell's three-part piece called Three Piece Suite.

New Frontiers

Released in 2012, this album is called New Frontiers. Ciarán Farrell composed all the music. Damien Kelly plays the guitar on every song. This album includes special music for guitar with bottleneck slide and digital delay.

Jolt

The album Jolt came out in 2011. Ciarán Farrell wrote the music, and Damien Kelly plays the guitar. This album features songs like "Wild Stream" and "Air Travel."

Perfect State

Perfect State was released in 2007 by RTÉ lyric fm. This album includes some of Ciarán's most famous works. It features the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. It also has performances by Craig Ogden and Gerard McChrystal.

Pluckblow

On this album, Gerard McChrystal (saxophone) and Craig Ogden (guitar) play Ciarán's music. They perform an arrangement of his three-part work, The Shannon Suite.

E-Motion

Guitarist John Feeley plays a special version of Ciarán's music on this album. He performs the original solo guitar version of The Shannon Suite.

Shine

Singer Katie McMahon chose Ciarán Farrell's song Shine as the title track for her album.

Contemporary Music from Ireland – vol. 5

This CD from the Contemporary Music Centre in Dublin features a piece called Source. It's from Ciarán's larger orchestral work, Hopkins on Skellig Michael. The RTÉ Concert Orchestra performs it.