Grá, (Irish for Love), is a beautiful original composition by David McKeown, arranged as a duet for two Alto Saxophones.

This duet is inspired by the Irish sean-nós style of singing. Originally sung unaccompanied in the Irish Gaelic language, in more recent times the melodies have been adapted as instrumentals, harmonised and given accompaniment. The songs are most often about love and loss and Grá aims to capture this melancholy mood.

Grá is written for players at an intermediate standard and upwards. Expressive throughout, the first part of the melody is played above a drone. Simple accompaniment then builds towards a climax before the melody slips away like a distant echo. Players can add their own appropriate ornaments and variations to the melody if they wish. Grá has a performance time of a little over three minutes. Click the link above to hear a full performance of the Clarinet version of Grá on Youtube.