Edwin Hillier - Bríatharogaim (2016) by edwinhillier published on 2017-09-21T16:51:20Z for Countertenor, Bass Clarinet, Baritone and Bass Flute Premiered by members of EXAUDI and Talea Ensemble at Royaumont, 9/9/2016 Bríatharogaim, or “word oghams” are two-word kennings found in Early Irish and Scottish literature, and explain the meanings of the letter names of the Ogham alphabet. Bríatharogaim takes as its principal inspiration the ogham inscription found upon the Newton Stone at Culsalmond, Aberdeenshire. Rather than interpret one of the many attempted translations of this inscription, the work responds directly to the relevant ogham letters themselves, through use of kennings (pronounced according to Scottish Gaelic), and through derivation of numerical and proportional information from the ancient inscription. Whilst the stone’s individual characters remain largely intact, their collective meaning is now completely eroded, leaving behind only traces and fragments, whose meaning we can only seek to grasp.
