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LalaithUrwen
Post subject: Celtic Music
Posted: Sat 05 Mar , 2005 7:05 pm
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Anyone else here a fan? Who are your favorites? I'm always looking for new groups/musicians. And do you play?

Not only do I love to listen to it, I love to play it, too. I currently have 2 pennywhistles, a C and a D. (Someone pointed me in the direction of Susatos a couple of years ago, and I love them. They're affordable, but not cheap. They also have a wonderful sound, even though they're made out of plastic. I know. It sounds sacrilegious, but they do sound very good.)

I play in our church's praise band, mostly the clarinet but also the keyboards or flute, once in a while. I've gotten to play my pennywhistles a few times as well, and I wish our music minister would let me play it more often. I'm not terrific or anything, but I've gotten positive feedback. (No one knows what they're called, but they always say that it sounds really cool.)

So, anyway, I was hoping that we might get some discussion going here. :)


Lally

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vison
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Posted: Sat 05 Mar , 2005 11:29 pm
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Loreena McKennit?

She's one of my faves. You should hear what she did with "God rest ye merry, gentlemen". It would blow your sox off.

I'm picky about what I like, although I am a musical ignoramus. She is good, though.


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Alatar
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Posted: Sun 06 Mar , 2005 6:08 pm
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I assume you're referring to Celtic music in general, which I can't really comment on, but traditional Irish music would certainly be an interest of mine. Not in a huge way, it's a little like Jazz that way. Great live, but not what I'd call easy listening for the car or work. I'm more interested in crossover Irish music like the Horslips, Clannad, Paul Brady, even the Corrs. Are you familiar with the Uileann Pipes? They're a sort of Irish bagpipes, but with two elbow driven bellows instead of a mouth blown pipe.

Cheers,
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P.S. Here the penny whistle is known as the Tin Whistle or in the original Irish, a Feadóg (pron. Fadd-oh-g)


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Lhaewin
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Posted: Sun 06 Mar , 2005 10:16 pm
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I love Irish and Celtic music. I have three CD´s of Loreena McKennit. She is fabulous.

I am playing the piano and I´d like to learn to play the Celtic harp. Courses are so far away from my home that I can´t get there regularly. So I am only a listener.

In summer I will go to Ireland for one week and hope to get into some pubs where sessions take place. Not necessarily those made up for the tourists! :roll:

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Alatar
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Posted: Sun 06 Mar , 2005 11:32 pm
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Lhaewin,

Whereabouts in Ireland are you planning to visit. Let me know and maybe I can point you in the right direction. Co. Clare is the spiritual home of Irish Music and there's a few spots that are really worth a visit.

Let me know,

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LalaithUrwen
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Posted: Mon 07 Mar , 2005 3:18 pm
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Loreena McKennit is great. :)

Alatar, I love cross-over groups as well. (Clannad and the Corrs are great; I'll have to check out the others.) One of my favorites is Great Big Sea, a Canadian group that does traditional Newfoundland music and Irish music combined with "rock." They are a fantastic band, if you ever get the chance to listen to them.

I love the Uillean pipes, and I keep saying that's the next instrument I'm going to learn. (Though I'd love to learn the harp, too, Lhaewin.)

I used to call my whistles tin whistles but now that I have two that are made out of plastic I feel stupid calling them that. :roll: People here don't get it either, so I just say penny whistle or whistle. Perhaps I ought to just call them by their Gaelic name and be done with it. ;) That will really confuse them, right?

Alatar, traveling to Ireland (and Scotland and Wales) is my biggest dream. So if I ever get the chance will you point me in the right direction? :)


Lally

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Jude
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Posted: Mon 07 Mar , 2005 3:28 pm
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Anybody else a fan of Altan?


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Alatar
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Posted: Mon 07 Mar , 2005 3:38 pm
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Ah, now Altan are a class act! I'm imressed you've heard of them Jude. Where are you based? The lead singer and her husband are part owners in a pub near my dads homeplace so as you can imagine the sessions in there are pretty awesome. I've also seen them live onstage a few times and they really are superb.

Great recommendation for any other Irish music fans out there.

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Iavas_Saar
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Posted: Mon 07 Mar , 2005 4:32 pm
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I like a lot of celtic music. Do you know the song "Carrickfergus"? I've spent some time in Carrickfergus, which is probably why it's one of my favourites. I also love "She moved through the fair".

My favourite celtic-flavoured song isn't really celtic - it's from the musical "A Beautiful Game", and is called "Gods own Country". It's a lovely, whistful ballad about loving the land you were born in.

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Jude
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Posted: Mon 07 Mar , 2005 4:50 pm
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Alatar wrote:
Ah, now Altan are a class act! I'm imressed you've heard of them Jude. Where are you based? The lead singer and her husband are part owners in a pub near my dads homeplace so as you can imagine the sessions in there are pretty awesome.
I'm in Canada - I heard them on CBC radio (like BBC, but Canadian :D) and liked what I heard so much I had bought one of their CDs by the end of the day.

So you know them? Tell them Jude from Canada says hi!


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LalaithUrwen
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Posted: Tue 08 Mar , 2005 5:21 am
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Oooh, a new group to research. Thanks, Jude! :) (Makes note and runs off!)

Iavas, yes, I know Carrickfergus. :) It's one of my favorites to play, though it's terribly difficult to pick favorites. I'm quite fond of Harvest Home, mostly because I have it memorized and it sounds quite cool when played as fast as possible. ;) Amhran na Leabhar or The Song of the Books is my favorite slow ballad, I think.



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Alatar
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Posted: Tue 08 Mar , 2005 9:32 am
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A really good album to get if you're at all interested in Irish Music is "Bringing it All Back Home". It's the soundtrack from the Irish TV series which traces Irish music from it's roots through to modern day. The series is also available on DVD as far as I know.

One of my favourite Ballads is Kilkelly. The lyrics were based on letters from a father in Ireland to his son in America (Boston I think) that were found in an attic.

Here's the Lyrics if you're interested. I can get an MP3 if you want also.

Kilkelly
by Peter Jones

Kilkelly, Ireland, 18 and 60, my dear and loving son John
Your good friend the schoolmaster Pat McNamara's so good
As to write these words down.
Your brothers have all gone to find work in England,
The house is so empty and sad
The crop of potatoes is sorely infected,
A third to a half of them bad.
And your sister Brigid and Patrick O'Donnell
Are going to be married in June.
Your mother says not to work on the railroad
And be sure to come on home soon.

Kilkelly, Ireland, 18 and 70, dear and loving son John
Hello to your Mrs and to your 4 children,
May they grow healthy and strong.
Michael has got in a wee bit of trouble,
I guess that he never will learn.
Because of the dampness there's no turf to speak of
And now we have nothing to burn.
And Brigid is happy, you named a child for her
And now she's got six of her own.
You say you found work, but you don't say
What kind or when you will be coming home.

Kilkelly, Ireland, 18 and 80, dear Michael and John, my sons
I'm sorry to give you the very sad news
That your dear old mother has gone.
We buried her down at the church in Kilkelly,
Your brothers and Brigid were there.
You don't have to worry, she died very quickly,
Remember her in your prayers.
And it's so good to hear that Michael's returning,
With money he's sure to buy land
For the crop has been poor and the people
Are selling at any price that they can.

Kilkelly, Ireland, 18 and 90, my dear and loving son John
I guess that I must be close on to eighty,
It's thirty years since you're gone.
Because of all of the money you send me,
I'm still living out on my own.
Michael has built himself a fine house
And Brigid's daughters have grown.
Thank you for sending your family picture,
They're lovely young women and men.
You say that you might even come for a visit,
What joy to see you again.

Kilkelly, Ireland, 18 and 92, my dear brother John
I'm sorry that I didn't write sooner to tell you that father passed on.
He was living with Brigid, she says he was cheerful
And healthy right down to the end.
Ah, you should have seen him play with
The grandchildren of Pat McNamara, your friend.
And we buried him alongside of mother,
Down at the Kilkelly churchyard.
He was a strong and a feisty old man,
Considering his life was so hard.
And it's funny the way he kept talking about you,
He called for you in the end.
Oh, why don't you think about coming to visit,
We'd all love to see you again.


That song always makes me cry.

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Lhaewin
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Posted: Tue 08 Mar , 2005 9:32 am
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I don´t know Carrickfergus, but Altan and also Clannad.

I´ve got a tin whistle too and it is not a plastic one. In Ireland we used to go to a famous music store in Roundstone and bought two Bodhrans. I don´t know if I will get there next summer, but will certainly try and have a look at the harps.

Lally, you can go hardly wrong in Ireland. It is beautiful almost everywhere. I am "swooning" for Ireland and I am dreaming of living there ever since.

ETA: Alatar, we posted at the same time. This song is beautiful and I´d like to listen to the music. Thank you for posting the lyrics.

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Jaeniver
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Posted: Tue 08 Mar , 2005 7:47 pm
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I've got an irish pennywhistle myself, a C. and too have quite a broad selection of Clannad, The Poor Clares and The Corss. although the cors are starting to loose the real irish feeling for me.

love Ireland to been touring round the south or Ireland and it was amazing! :D

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Alatar
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Posted: Wed 09 Mar , 2005 2:59 pm
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Lhaewin,

You can hear a 30 second sample of Kilkelly and other tracks from "Bringing it All Back Home" at the following link:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... 4?v=glance

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tinwe
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Posted: Mon 14 Mar , 2005 3:50 am
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I can’t call myself a huge fan of Celtic, mostly because I don’t know that much about it, but I do love a lot of it, especially the more traditional stuff like jigs and reels. My interest in it comes mostly from my love of Bluegrass, which was heavily influenced by the Scots-Irish settlers of the Appalachian mountains. A couple favorites of mine are The Chieftains and De Dannon.

Alatar, I asked you some time ago about a group called The Waterboys and you said they were more Scottish than Irish. Mike Scott, who is for all intents and purposes The Waterboys, is in fact Sottish, but the two albums I mentioned, Fisherman’s Blues and Room To Roam, were recorded in Ireland, in a town called Spiddal, with mostly local musicians. Curious if you’ve ever heard of this town?


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Alatar
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Posted: Mon 14 Mar , 2005 9:43 am
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Hi Tinwe,

Yeah I know Spiddal, it's just outside Galway. To be honest I wasn't aware of that. I just assumed that since Mike was Scottish and became famous playing in England that that's where the albums were recorded.

Just to clarify, I am by no means an expert on Irish music. I have a passing interest because it's part of my heritage, but I couldn't tell you the last time I actually went to a Feis Ceol that wasn't a session in a pub.

Incidentally are you familiar with Davy Spillane the Uileann Pipe player?

Alatar

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tinwe
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Posted: Mon 14 Mar , 2005 7:00 pm
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There’s actually a song on Room To Roam called Spring Comes to Spiddal..

Quote:
SPRING COMES TO SPIDDAL
The lights are on in Standun's and a spell has been broken
The roadside teahouse door is wide open
A sign on the wall says "American also spoken"
as spring comes to Spiddal

The village girls go walking by without their coats
The Irish gaelic college is alive again with folk
Farmers gather talking, freed from winter's yoke
as spring comes to Spiddal

A towerist with a telescope
and a funny looking German bloke
and a billy goat
all invoke
the summer soon to bloom...

On a soft and fresh Atlantic air a mist of pollen floats
On Galway Bay I spy a gaily painted fishing boat
There's a rustle around the boreens and a song on every throat
as spring comes to Spiddal

(note. "towerist": scottish for tourist
"boreen": little Irish back road
"Standuns": a towerist shop in Spiddal)

Spiddal March 1988
On "Room To Roam"
It just sounds like such a neat place, I'd love to visit some time.
Alatar wrote:
Just to clarify, I am by no means an expert on Irish music. I have a passing interest because it's part of my heritage, but I couldn't tell you the last time I actually went to a Feis Ceol that wasn't a session in a pub.
What’s a Feis Ceol precious, eh what? We wants to know!
Alatar wrote:
Incidentally are you familiar with Davy Spillane the Uileann Pipe player?

Alatar
Sorry, no. I’ve been lucky to find the few things that I have, entirely on my own, most of which I’ve already mentioned. But part of the reason I’m here is to learn. Who is this Piper you speak of?


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*Alandriel*
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Posted: Tue 15 Mar , 2005 12:17 pm
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Oh – Celtic music! :D I love listening to celtic music (so relaxing and 'moody') though I'm by no means an expert lol. I have a few 'compilation' CD's I play over and over when the mood strikes
e.g. Celtic twilight

Lally: you play celtic music yourself?! That's fantastic!

Lhaewin: going to Ireland? Lucky you :D I'm sure if you ask around or check out the local listings when you're there (newspaper ;) you'll find great places.

Alatar: that sample of Kilkelly was very nice :) thanks!

Loreena McKennit & Altan – seems like I'll be checking those out sometime ;) Thanks for the recommendation.
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Alatar
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Posted: Tue 15 Mar , 2005 2:22 pm
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Feis Ceol is simply translated as "Music Competition" but it's the haven of Irish music in Ireland. They last whole weekends with loads of different categories for fiddle playing, bodhrán, accordian, flute, tin whistle and all the rest. The biggest section is for Irish Dancing, which has reached ridiculous levels here. When you see a 7 or 8 year old child wearing a €1000 dress and a €200 Ringleted Wig getting her knee socks glued to her skin to keep them up you really have to wonder where it all went wrong!

I avoid that particular aspect of "National Pride" like the plague.

That said, I suppose it's similar at the top level of any kids competitions. Why people insist on living vicariously through their kids is beyond me.

Anyway, enough ranting! Here's Davy Spillane's homepage:

http://www.davyspillane.com/

And here's some samples:

Have a listen to Equinox for a good example

Alatar

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