Cassidy was born in Claremorris, County Mayo, Ireland. He received a BSc in applied mathematics from the University of Limerick in 1985 and supported his early compositional activities with a day job as a statistician and technology analyst.[1]
He is known for his narrative cantatas – works he has written for orchestra and choir based on Irish mythology – and for the aria ‘Vide Cor Meum’ originally composed for the film ‘Hannibal’, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Anthony Hopkins. The libretto for the latter aria was taken from Dante’s first sonnet in ‘La Vita Nuova’.[2][3]
The Children of Lir, released in September 1993, remained at number one in the Irish classical charts for a full year. It was the first cantata written in the Irish language.[4] The BBC later produced an hour-long documentary on the piece. Famine Remembrance, a commissioned piece to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Irish Famine, was premiered in New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral in 1996. In June 2007, the piece was performed at the opening of Toronto's Ireland Park with the President of Ireland as a special guest.[5]
Other albums include Cruit (arrangements of 17th- and 18th-century Irish harp music with Cassidy as the soloist) and Deirdre of the Sorrows, another cantata in the Irish language, recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Tallis Choir. In 2004, Immortal Memory was released as a collaboration between Cassidy and Lisa Gerrard.[6]
Cassidy now divides his time between Los Angeles and Ireland, where in addition to his concert work he has scored films and documentaries. He is a relative of the singer Sibéal Ní Chasaide[7] who sang his composition Mise Eire at the official government commemorations of the 1916 Rising.[8][9]
Cassidy's song Proclamation was played at the inauguration of Joe Biden in Washington DC on 20 January 2021.[10][11][12][13]
Patrick Cassidy is a knight of the Order of the Star of Italy, conferred by the President of Italy, and bestowed with the title of Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia (Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy.[14]
Recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to Culture/Arts Alumni Award 2007 the University of Limerick UL[15]
In Claremorris, County Mayo, a road was renamed Patrick Cassidy Road in 2022 as a way of honouring Patrick Cassidy. This choice was made after receiving public submissions.[16][17]
In 2010, Cassidy's Funeral March was used in the trailer for The Tree of Life. In 2011, he recorded a new setting of the Latin mass with the London Symphony Orchestra and London Voices.[20]
