Manannan Mac Lir and Other Tales

A few years back, I went trekking on the Dingle and Kerry ways on the west coast of Ireland. I spent my nights in small villages where I would do improvised, impromptu solo violin concerts in the churches and Cathedrals. I made field recordings of these concerts and used them in an earlier release called “Gray Skies on the Edge”. Last year, I took some of that material and scored it for orchestra. Manannan Mac Lir (Irish god of the sea) is the result of that process. The recording includes me playing improvised solo violin, piano, and electronics joined by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Péter Illényi. This is part of a full album recorded in Budapest 6 months ago. The album is set for release on all streaming platforms on May 8th 2026.

Richard Carr is a violinist, composer, and music educator. He holds a Doctorate in music education from Columbia University. He studied composition with Donald Martino and Jonathan Kramer as well as violin at New England Conservatory with Eric Rosenblith.

He has recorded numerous albums under his own name and with artists such as Bill Laswell, Fred Frith, Bootsy Collins, Sly & Robbie, The Swans, Milt Hinton, Bucky Pizzarelli, John Pizzarelli Jr., American Contemporary Music Ensemble, Caleb Burhans, Clarice Jensen, Alan Dawson, Howard Alden, and Karl Berger.

He has performed with James Williams, Kenny Davern, Doc Cheatam, Jay McShann, Jamal Nasser, Major Holley, Mike Nord, Georg Hofmann, Steve Gorn, John McDermott, Adam Rudolph and Brooklyn Raga Massive. He has regularly toured the US, Europe, Japan, and Mexico over the past thirty years. He is a former radio host on WDST in Woodstock, NY. In the 1980’s he lived in Boston and played sectional violin with the Boston Philharmonic.

An avid hiker and mountaineer, he has traversed the world’s mountain ranges including the Rockies, Sierras, Alps, Dolomites, Himalayas, Andies, and the Darran Mountains.untain ranges including the Rockies, Sierras, Alps, Dolomites, Himalayas, Andies, and the Darran Mountai