Music To My Ears
by Russell J. Beaton

Every once in a while, a dancer on stage at a feis has real trouble starting to the music. Someone tries to help by counting off the introduction, but there is still a problem. When I ask the dancer what is wrong, I sometimes hear, “But, that’s not the right song”! Aha! The problem is not just with starting to the music. The problem is more a lack of comfort with a variety of tunes and musical styles. What will help this child to conqueror his or her dependence on a particular tune, or more precisely with a particular musician’s interpretation of that “right” tune?

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Volume 7 Issue 5

Ireland & The Harp: Music of Angels

The ethereal sound of a harp’s haunting melody has marked ages in courts of king and Ireland conqueror with a regal presence. During the golden age of the harp in the 15th - 17th centuries no court in Europe was without a harper. Singularly unique few instruments match the harp’s appeal as an acoustical accompaniment to a bard—keepers of history and tradition.

By tradition it is an indigenous instrument that has been elevated to symphonic status, perhaps not as popular as say the violin but non-the-less a treasured art. The modern definition of a harp is an instrument with a plane of strings running perpendicular to the sound box or resonator. This separates harps from lyres, violins, guitars and hammered dulcimers, all of which have strings parallel to the soundboard.

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Volume 7 Issue 4

Tommy Fleming: Voice of Hope Debuts in North America
Album Releasing August 9, 2005

International recording artist Tommy Fleming, whose discography includes five multi-platinum albums, enters the retail landscape with the introduction of his first North American album TOMMY FLEMING VOICE OF HOPE. His angelic voice is so beautiful and pure it can only be described as a flutter from heaven. Tommy has a mesmerizing vibrato in his voice giving every song he performs an extraordinary sound. When asked about his musical style, the friendly 30-something Irish artist admits, it’s not opera or rock ‘n’ roll. “In fact, I’m not really traditional. I’m just a singer who loves a...

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Volume 7 Issue 2

CD Review: Play On by Celtic Fiddle Festival

By David Armstrong

Here’s an offering that stands out from most fiddle-centric albums. Celtic Fiddle Festival is a project by four of the most creative and respected players in Celtic music and their collaboration is a spectacular synthesis of Irish, Breton, and French Canadian fiddling styles blended with verve and sensibility. All of this requires a little explanation, so get a copy of the album, put it on the player, and read this review as you listen along. If don’t have a copy yet, read the review anyway. Then get the album.

As I was saying before I interrupted myself, the players are Kevin Burke, Christian LeMâitre, André Brunet, all on fiddles; and Ged Foley, who is one of the few guitarists good enough to play with each — let alone all — of them. Even if you don’t recognize any of these names, it is likely that you have heard them before. Kevin Burke has played with The Bothy Band, Planxty, Patrick Street and Open House. He’s a master of the Sligo style and has had a profound influence on the past two generations of Irish fiddlers and crossover stylists in North America. Christian LeMâitre is one of the most important exemplars of the Breton (French Celtic) style. During his tenure with Kornog he pretty much reinvented the genre and his popularity as a solo artist — especially in Europe — firmly reestablished Breton music and dance forms as popular culture well beyond its northern France roots. André Brunet is one of the founders of La Boutine Souriant, the French-Canadian band which almost single-handedly brought traditional Quebecois music out of the backwoods and onto the center stage it so richly deserves. Ged Foley is a multi-instrumentalist who has played with The Battlefield Band, Jez Lowe, The House Band, and Patrick Street. If it turns out that you really haven’t heard of any of these bands, all I can tell you is that now you’ve got a list of great Celtic bands which should eat up your discretional cd-buying budget for a while.

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