| Irish Music - September 30, 2006
Gerry and Gilles go live “Sparkling”, “immaculate” and “dazzling” were
words used recently by the national press to describe the music of Gerry
O’Connor, one of Ireland’s most outstanding fiddle players.
His family has played fiddle for at least four generations and Gerry is
able to draw on this wealth of music learned from his mother Rose
O’Connor and also from hand-written manuscripts passed down through the
family.
Gerry breathes new life and intensity into many long forgotten tunes
from his home area in the North East of Ireland.
His unique personal style and splendidly fluid bow-hand combined with
technical virtuosity have brought him to concert stages throughout the
world and have earned him international renown.
December 2004 saw the release of his album entitled Journeyman which
traces Gerry’s musical development and experiences as a skilled
performer in the traditional art of fiddle playing.
Gilles le Bigot originating from Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, and took up the
guitar in 1972 at the age of 13.
He discovered Celtic music through groups such Planxty, Bothy Band and
Clannad.
A self-taught man, he adopted the open tuning method and developed a
guitar-playing style to suit Breton music.
Since the 1980s, this style has gained widespread acceptance and a lot
of guitarists have adopted it.
This 14-track CD has a superb selection of jigs, reels, hornpipes, and a
beautiful slow air. I feel sure you will enjoy this mighty recording of
two masters at work.
The music world has been knocked out with the playing and interplay
between these two fine musicians, reacting to each other’s expertise.
The CD is exclusively available from Copperplate,
68 Belleville Road, London SW11 6PP, UK
Tel/Fax: 020 7585 0357
British contingent in Comhaltas Concert The 2006 Comhaltas Concert
Tour of North America has musicians and dancers from Britain in the
touring group.
Among those in the tour party is Vincent Jordan, a well-respected piano
accordion player known the length and breadth of Britain and Ireland,
who represented Comhaltas in Singapore last March over the St. Patrick’s
weekend celebration.
Also touring is Damien Mullane, the 2005 All-Ireland accordion champion
and current All-Ireland melodeon champion.
Damien, a member of the West London branch of Comhaltas, is a member of
Élan, formed in late 2005 after playing together in sessions in Waxy
O’Connor’s Pub in Leicester Square (session still running on Sunday
evenings). He also plays with young band Cushtie.
Joining them on the tour are dancers Katy and Sarah Flannery. The south
London-based sisters both have their Irish connections in Ballina, Co.
Mayo.
Having trained as step dancers, they are both well-known for their set
and Sean Nós dancing.
Katy, also plays fiddle while Sarah is an accomplished flute player.
Both girls are members of the West London Comhaltas and have won many
prizes for Junior and Senior Pléaráca, Grúpaí Cheoil and Céilí Band
competitions at All-Britain and All-Ireland level.
Dancer Patricia Ward will also join the tour. Based in North London,
Patricia’s family hail from Donegal. She has been dancing from a very
early age and has represented her dancing academy at all the major
feisanna in both solo and team competitions.
As well as being a Great Britain, All-Ireland and World Medal holder,
Patricia has a degree in Irish and media studies.
Carly Adams is a dancer as well as an accomplished singer and stage
performer. As a member of West London Comhaltas, Carly has performed in
the winning Senior Pléaráca groups at the Fleadh Nua in Ennis in both
2004 and 2005.
The other members of the concert group are:
Brendan Reilly (Laois), set dancer
John Barrett (Laois), singer
Phádraig King (Limerick), accordion
Geraldine Ó’Callaghan (Cork), fiddle
Sabina McCague (Monaghan), harp
Siobhán Ní Chonaráin (Limerick), Bean a’ Tí/flute
Ronan Greene (Galway), fiddle
Nora Butler (Tipperary), singer
Donie Lyons (Limerick), singer
Eimear Buckley (Cork), concertina
Phádraig McGovern (Leitrim), uilleann pipes
Daire McGeown (Armagh), banjo
Seána Agnew (Antrim), flute. IN SEISIÚN Most sessions that you
wander along to will see an assortment of fiddles, flutes, tin whistles,
pipes, bhodrans, guitars and banjos.
But the weekly gathering at the Basingstoke Irish Centre focuses the
attention on a single instrument — the piano accordion.
For more than a decade the strengths of this unique member of the
keyboard family have been practised every night at this bastion of Irish
culture in Hampshire.
And it has even provided one individual with a new direction after his
working life drew to a close.
Clareman Joe Warren, like so many others, had always wanted to learn to
play music, but the demands of a job and family never allowed him the
opportunity.
He said: “I was always interested in all sorts of music, but never got
round to learning to play an instrument.
“When I came to retire, it was just the thing to get me interested and I
then realised what I had missed out on over the preceding years.”
Joe took up the instrument eight years ago and found he possessed a fair
level of natural ability.
Now he finds himself passing on his knowledge to others young enough to
be his grandchildren.
On the night that The Irish Post came along, torrential thunderstorms
hit Hampshire so several of the regulars failed to make it along to the
Monday night gathering.
But the club is resourceful enough to turn the situation around and
others took the opportunity to have a first try at the instrument.
Joe explained: “We have four spare accordions — two for adults and two
for youngsters in the eight-plus age group.
“It gives them a chance to try their hand at playing and saves the
parents the expense of having to shell out immediately for an
instrument.
Two people decided to take Joe up on the offer that night — Kildare man
Tom Buckley and centre manageress Kathleen Kelly.
“The weight of the instrument is the first thing to come to terms with —
I should have asked to use one of those set aside for the kids,” said
Kathleen.
After his first try, Tom said: “Getting the air flowing and using each
hand independently will take some time to master.”
Arthur Oljnik is one of the Monday night regulars and first came along
after he moved from Poland to Basingstoke two years ago.
He explained: “My boss is Irish, so it was not very long before I came
to the club.
“There are some similarities between some of the Irish tunes and some
the Polish tunes that I learned back home.
“And I love the craic here, plus a glass (or two) of Guinness.”
Musicians protest at ban on buskers A letter signed by 43 leading
performers of traditional Irish music has expressed concern at Clare
County Council’s plans to expel buskers from the Cliffs of Moher and
then hold auditions for musicians to play at the site next year when a
new visitors’ centre opens.
Performers including Christy Moore, Mary Black, Dónal Lunny and Martin
Hayes say they are concerned “at the intentions of Clare County Council
in relation to the performance of traditional music at the cliffs and
urge the council to establish dialogue with the musicians”.
Some 19 musicians and traders at the cliff are facing injunction
proceedings next month in the Circuit Court.
Filí Amhránaithe Ceoltóir na hÉireann (FACE) representing the performers
say the proposed injunction against buskers “has serious implications
for present and future members of our organisation.
“The council will not communicate with the musicians involved which is
vital to establish a coherent agreement. They are best placed to advise
the council how to manage music at the cliffs in the most appropriate
way.”
One of the musicians to sign the letter is PJ Curtis. The Co. Clare man
said:
“In holding these auditions the council is setting itself up as the
arbitrator of who can and cannot make a living.”
The council’s project leader Ger Dollard said yesterday: “Visitors have
said that they have been bombarded with music and some of the musicians
can’t play very well and the presentation of some of the so-called
musicians leaves a lot to be desired.
“The only way of dealing with this is a court injunction which will
establish the fact that people do not have rights to go to the Cliffs of
Moher to busk.
“Once we get that injunction we will be quite happy to deal with
traditional musicians and people who are genuine quality buskers and
that is what the expressions of interest process is all about.” |
