Arts and Entertainment
Irglova (right)and Glen Hansard (left) celebrate with their 2007 Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Once only a supporting act, Irglova takes center stage
By by Steve LaRochelle ’14
February 16, 2012
Marketa Irglova met fame for the first time at a relatively young age, but she never truly felt like she had earned it by herself.
She was 19 when the world came to know her as the quiet, timid and pensive Czech pianist in the film Once, for which she (along with collaborating Irish rocker Glen Hansard) earned an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
In 2007, Irglova and Hansard captured the hearts of thousands of American viewers when they performed “Falling Slowly” at the Academy Award ceremony. Irglova and Hansard fit together perfectly as a duet Irglova’s gentleness effectively counterbalanced Hansard’s emotive abrasiveness- and after the Oscars, “Falling Slowly” became an international sensation.
Irglova also garnered an abundance of praise for her acceptance speech, in which she impressed the crowd with her genuine humility in the face of such an honor.
“[This award] is such a big deal not only for us, but for all other independent artists and musicians that spend most of their time struggling,” the totally unknown, classically trained Czech pianist told a room full of the America’s best-known and wealthiest artists. “The fact that we’re even standing here tonight is just to prove that no matter how far out your dreams are, it’s possible. Fair play to those who dare to dream.”
In 2009, Hansard and Irglova parlayed their newfound fame into another highly successful album. Their collaboration had always been called The Swell Season, so they returned to that name for their first major release after having made it big.
The album, entitled “Strict Joy” met both critical acclaim and commercial success. But all was not perfect in the lives of Irglova and Hansard.
Spin magazine insightfully declared that “If Hansard and Irglova’s roles in the hit Irish-indie film Once unintentionally told the tale of their real life falling in love, their second album as The Swell Season weaves the story of their falling out of it.”
Hansard and Irglova’s fleeting romance, sparked during the passionate journey that was the creation of Once, ended during production of “Strict Joy.”
Two and a half years later, Irglova tells reporters that she and Hansard are still “friends” and that they still enjoy collaborating together musically.
But in late 2010, The Swell Season temporarily disbanded and Irglova began her own solo project. In 2011, she released her first solo album, Anar. The songs from this album are the ones that she will bring to Hamilton’s own Filius Events Barn as part of the CAB Acoustic Coffeehouse series on February 16.
Anar was an opportunity for Irglova to forge her own musical identity without the help of Hansard. Hansard, who is actually more than a decade older than Irglova, brought a lot of musical experience into their partnership. Naturally, he had the tendency to domineer.
“Now I guess I am the leader of this project,” Irglova told PBS in December. “That is a new role for me.
Irglova had never written her own album before, which provided a unique challenge to her in the creative process.
“That could be daunting,” she added, “but I think it’s only daunting when you’re afraid of failing somehow. Writing the album proved to be a very creative time in my life. I had only written maybe 2 to 3 songs a year before then, and suddenly I wrote this entire album in less than a year.
Irglova went on to explain the origin of the album’s title, Anar, which comes from the Farsi word for pomegranate.
“A pomegranate is perceived in all the religions of the world as a symbol of fertility. It’s a very feminine symbol. I feel that this record has a very feminine energy, you know, and without Glen’s dynamic and the passionate energy that he brought to our collaboration, I feel that my music is now very soft and gentle, feminine.”
Irglova will grace the Events Barn with Anar’s feminine energy beginning at 9 p.m. on Thursday, February 16.