The Island of Saints and Scholars
Clare,
Galway, Conemara, Sligo, Dublin
The instruments
A trip to Ireland often reserves the pleasant surprise
of an encounter with musicians playing simply for
pleasure, their own or that of their close friends. That
is when one regrets not having brought along a cassette
recorder !
This record is devoted to traditional music, such as
it is practised in Ireland today following successive
revivals and the country's recent history. The leading
groups of the 70's and 80's had many followers and
instrumental music is flourishing as never before.
Music is an inherent part of life in Ireland. In many
cases, a musician's first musical experience is within
the family circle. One frequently comes across whole
families involved in traditional music, song and dance.
The phenomenon of the singing pubs appeared in the
sixties and was followed by that of the traditional music
sessions.
Today, more and more pubs invite a few musicians
(particularly during the summer) who find themselves
playing around a table or, occasionally, on a small
stage. Over the past few years the practice of paying one
or two musicians, who lead the session and who are likely
to attract other players, has developed. Spontaneous
sessions still take place of course, generally in the
country and outside the summer holiday period ;
simple encounters between musicians and an occasion for
the public to hear the music ! Some musicians also
play for the booming record industry and in groups which
export this music to the United States, Australia,
Europe...
The tremendous enthusiasm for traditional music in
County Clare is concentrated in its capital, Ennis -
a haven for a great number of musicians from all over
Ireland.
Kevin Crawford, James Cullinan
Kevin Crawford is the finest example of the above
: he left his native England to go to a wedding in this
area and never returned home ! Kevin who is one of
the most promising flute players of his generation,
wonderfully sociable and of incomparable energy, is very
much in demand in the area. He plays with The Moving
Cloud and has recently brought out a solo CD ("D
Flute Album"). James Cullinan is a fiddle player
from the Ennis area.
Martin Ryan, Marcus Moloney, Seán Fitzpatrick
English domination was first established in the port
towns of Ireland. Despite this, traditional music is
still alive in these towns, as witnessed by this trio
(accordion, banjo, guitar). Martin and Marcus are from
Limerick, while Seán is from the Falls Road in Belfast,
the famous Catholic area of the city. They play three
reels in which their exuberance is surpassed by a
distinctive cohesiveness.
Eithne Ní Donaile, John Weir
Eithne is a young harp player from Ennis, who learned
by ear in the sessions. This musical background, unusual
for a harpist, led her to appreciate the role of the
accompanist, whereas most harpists are, above all,
soloists.
John is a native of Belfast and lives in Ennis with
his wife Eithne. His calm style and his tunes are closer
to his adoptive region, County Clare.
Garry Shannon, Maurice Griffin
Garry is one of a very well known family of musicians
from Corofin, in west Clare. He is very creative in
exploring new ways of playing the concert flute.
Maurice's sisters, solo step dancers, gave him the
taste for percussions. From dancing, Maurice moved on to
play the bodhrán and the bouzouki. All bodhrán parts on
this recording are played by him.
John Lyons
John lived in Kanturk, County Cork, until the age of
20, when he emigrated to England. He has now lived in
County Clare for 20 years. It was in England, for the
well known TOPIC record company, that John made his first
record. His mother sang traditional songs but was known
chiefly as a good dancer. John plays the accordion and
considers that nowadays singers are not enough in demand
in sessions in Ireland.
Michael Collins, Tim Collins, Eithne Ní Dhonaile,
Maurice Griffin, Denis Liddy, Garry Shannon, John Weir
This is an informal group, created for the occasion.
All of the musicians live in Ennis and play together from
time to time, when they meet at family gatherings for
example (Michael and Tim are brothers), at sessions and
also in small bands.
Seán Talty
Now we come to Miltown Malbay, County Clare. This
little town, with its market and its shops is the centre
of the surrounding rural community. It is also the
birthplace of the famous piper Willie Clancy and the
location of the Summer School dedicated to him. Seán
Talty, son of Martin Talty, who was a musical companion
of Willie Clancy, has always lived in this town. Seán
started to learn the tin-whistle around the age of 5 and
at 17 got his first practice-set. Although during his
childhood the music of West Clare was his environment, it
was only little by little that Seán felt the importance
of preserving the style and the tunes of his area. On his
uilleann pipes, dating to the 19th century, Seán plays a
slow-air, A Stór Mo Chroí ("love of my
heart") and a reel, The Beauty Spot.
 Paul Dooley
Paul Dooley is a harp player, born in Dublin, now
living in Ennistymon.
Paul is one of the few musicians who play in the
manner observed by Bunting in 1792 at the Belfast Harp
Festival. This consists mainly in playing with the nails
on metal strings. Paul made his own harp, modelled on the
most ancient harp in existence in Ireland, and even in
Europe, that of Brian Boru (last High King of Ireland),
which is now in Trinity College Dublin.
The main city of the West, Galway is always full of
life thanks to a large student population.
Maureen Fahy, Élís Egan, Chris Kelly
(members of the Reeltime
band)
Maureen and Élís play the fiddle and button
accordion. Their instruments have sounded in harmony for
years. Maureen also plays with the Templehouse Céilí
Band, one of the best céilí bands (bands specializing
in playing for dancers). Chris Kelly played jazz and rock
music before meeting Maureen. He and Élís also play
with the well-known Frankie Gavin.
It is amongst the wild landscapes of Connemara that
the Irish language and the traditional style of singing
are best preserved.
Bríd Ní Mhaoilchiaráin / Róisín Nic Dhonnacha
For Bríd and Róisín, both from Carna, in south
Connemara, Irish is the mother tongue. Although still
adolescents, both have won numerous competitions. With
Táiliúr An Mhagadh and Na Páiréir Á Saighneáil,
Bríd gives us two examples of her fluid and richly
ornamented style of singing. Róisín plays the
tin-whistle. The influence of her musical environment,
made up of excellent singers, comes through in her
playing, such as the slow-air Róisín Dubh, this version
of which is sung in her family.
It is in Sligo, the capital of county Sligo, that one
meets those musicians from the surrounding countryside
who have not emigrated to the United States or England.
The region, which musically speaking, includes the north
of County Leitrim, the north of County Roscommon and the
west of County Mayo, was made famous by the musicians
who, having emigrated to the United States, made the
"Sligo" style universally popular through their
78' recordings of the 1920's.
Kevin Mc Tiernan, Michael Carroll
Kevin Mc Tiernan and Michael Carroll have been musical
companions since their childhood days in County Leitrim,
in the fifties. Their houses were wellknown for their
evenings of music and dance. The only music available to
them at that time was Irish music, as electricity was
installed relatively late. They have always played for
dancing and find that the tempi required by the dancers
are faster and faster.
Dublin has been a source of musicians for a very long
time. Thomas and Ivan are part of the new generation.
Their instruments combine beautifully, producing a sound
where the fiddle and the uilleann pipes may scarcely be
distinguished.
Harp, Uilleann Pipes, Fiddle, Tin-whistle
Concert flute, bodhrán, Concertina, Accordion
The harp is the most representative instrument of
Ireland - the young Republic having chosen it as its
emblem. During the Middle Ages Irish harpists were
renowned throughout Europe and later the harp became the
favourite instrument of the Irish nobility. The earliest
repertory is little known because the Irish harpists did
not write down their music. The decline of the instrument
began in the 17th century with the repression enforced by
the English occupiers.
This is Ireland's most characteristic instrument. No
other bagpipes in the world have reached the same degree
of complexity. Uilleann pipe players were amongst the
first musicians to live from their music. The bagpipes
were virtually forbidden by the English, which resulted
in encouraging their use ! As it was forbidden to
play standing up, the Irish adopted bagpipes that could
be played sitting down and quiet enough to be played
indoors. The "full-set" usually has seven
pipes, the main one, called the "chanter", used
to play the melody, rests on the players thigh most of
the time. Two fingerings are used : "open"
fingering which produces tied notes and staccato or
"closed" fingering which produces detached
notes. The "open" fingering is used when the
musician lifts the chanter - to maintain the tuning.
As the musicians fingers are busy with the chanter, the
regulators are operated with keys which are activated
with the edge of the player's right hand, producing an
accompaniment in the form of simple notes or chords. The
other three pipes are drones, tuned with the keynote of
the chanter.
The fiddle is the name given to the violin in Ireland,
to differentiate it from the instrument played by the
classical musicians. The main difference is in the way of
playing. The bowing style (which varies from region to
region) is of capital importance for the rhythm. The
ornamentations, inspired by uilleann pipe playing, are
very distinctive.
This is a small metal flute with a cylindrical bore.
Its low cost and apparent simplicity have made this
instrument very popular in Ireland. Here again, the
technique and ornamentations are greatly inspired by the
uilleann pipes.
The concert flute used in Ireland is derived from the
instruments used by the classical musicians in the 19th
century. The instrument is made in ebony and sometimes
has silver keys. Nowadays, copies of the ancient
instrument, adapted to Irish music playing, are used more
and more frequently.
The bodhrán is a hand drum played with a stick with
expanded ends. The left hand is used to change the tone
by varying the tension of the skin.
The concertina is a small hexagonal accordion,
particularly popular in county Clare. A single reed
(vibrating sliver of metal) is used for each note,
producing a very precise sound and its lightness makes it
very easy to handle.
The accordion is very often a small instrument with
two rows of buttons, separated by a semi-tone (C # -
D or B - C). The larger piano accordion is also
popular.
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