THE John Field Room celebration of the work of Bernard Geary was constructed as a long concert. The music didn't end until almost 11 p.m. but the evening felt much, much longer. This Cork born composer, now in his early 60s is a miniaturist and such a long span could test even some of the greatest masters of the musical moment.

The strength of the most successful miniaturists derives from clarity of character, typically enhanced through imaginative responses to economies of scale and means.

One has only to think of the sharply etched Chansons of Friedrich Cerha (to texts by Gerhard Ruhm) or the astonishing Recitations composed by Georges Aperghis for the actress Martine Viard to recall the substance and vitality that can still be found even at the level of sub 60 second creations.

Geary's concerns, however, are those of an earlier generation, though he is younger than Cerha. There is what could almost be felt to be a spirit of Edwardian sentiment in his music, which surfaces most overtly in some pieces from the 1970s, Song of Maelduin for voice and piano and Two Poems for violin and piano.

But on this simpler level Geary's music is bestrewn with problems. He seems to have difficulty extending his ideas in time. Every motivic idea gets to be heard again, too soon, and to no apparent advantage.

The weakness of the accompanimental patterns set the shortcomings of melodic impulse in cruel relief, and the various strategies of connection - and also disruption - rarely work convincingly.

So much so, that the intentionally pop song like Hurry for choir seemed, as so little in the concert did, to be straight forward, simple and true. Geary dons so many disguises of style, that it would be hard to pigeon hole his work beyond calling it discordantly spiced eclectic.

The performances by the Degani Ensemble did little to ingratiate in music that needs all the help it can get; and in the solo songs soprano Kathryn Smith aimed for a grander mode of delivery than the music could comfortably bear.

In general, it was the singers of Brian O Dubhghaill's Cantairi Oga Atha Cliath who offered the most pointed and focused performances. Dearbhla Brosnan's piano accompaniments were shapely, too.

Anthony Byrne's playing was a lot rougher, though at the start of the 1997 Sonatine for piano (neo classical, a la Poulenc), he got to play what was probably the single most successful movement of the evening.