Actor Gabriel Byrne is a special guest on award winning singer Christine Tobin’s new album Sailing to Byzantium reading ‘The Lake isle of Innisfree’, ‘The Pity of Love’ and ‘White Birds’, all poems by WB Yeats.

The album to be released on the Trail Belle label follows on from Tapestry Unravelled, Tobin’s acclaimed take on Carole King’s classic album Tapestry. Pianist Liam Noble, who also appears with the Kent-based Irish jazz singer on Tapestry Unravelled also appears on Sailing To Byzantium, which takes its name from one of Yeats’s best known poems first published in 1928. Also joining Tobin who accompanies Byrne on piano on 'The Lake Isle of Innisfree', and who sings and wrote the music and arrangements for the album, are guitarist Phil Robson, flautist Gareth Lockrane on five tracks, cellist Kate Shortt, and bassist Dave Whitford. 

Gabriel Byrne, known for his roles in such films as Into The West and The Usual Suspects before he became a film actor was a teacher at Christine’s school Ardscoil Éanna in Dublin where he taught the young singer-to-be Spanish and drama.

The full track listing is ‘When You Are Old’, ‘The Lake Isle of Innisfree’, ‘The Song Of Wandering Aengus’, ‘The Wild Swans At Coole, ‘The Fisherman’, ‘The Pity of Love’, ‘The Second Coming’, ‘In Memory of Eva Gore Booth’, ‘What Then?’, ‘Sailing To Byzantium’, ‘Byzantium’, ‘Long-legged Fly’ and ‘White Birds’. The project began in 2010 when the National Library of Ireland in Dublin contacted Tobin to ask her to give a talk on Yeats’ work. While the talk didn’t happen, instead Tobin set music to four Yeats poems and performed them in the Library’s Kildare Street base, with Phil Robson and Liam Noble. Late last year Tobin entered the studio to record the album, and some songs were premiered to strong reviews at the London Jazz Festival. Sailing to Byzantium is to be released in June.

– Stephen Graham

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Photo of Christine Tobin: Tim Dickeson