Tenors Win Over America Hearts

The rich full tone of a tenors voice has filled concert halls for nearly three centuries. Therefore it is no surprise when the Irish Tenors tour the country they beckon opera advocates and music-lovers everywhere to hear them sing.
A transition from church choirs, singing competitions to the Operatic performance is not an easy road. Yet, Ireland has managed to train and send forth singers comparable to the Italians.
The Irish Tenors, John McDermott, Anthony Kearns and Ronan Tynan, first came together in 1998 for a concert at the Royal Dublin Society Main Hall.  Their powerful interpretation of traditional Irish ballads and arias precipitated their self-titled CD to the top of the Billboard world music charts.
Shortly there after in March 2001 Anthony Kearns, Ronan Tynan and Finbar Wright captivated millions with songs of longing and remembrance when they taped “The Irish Tenors Ellis Island”. It was produced Daniel Hart, Bill Hughes, Phil Byrd and in association with PBS in New York.
Taped before a live audience and hosted by Actor Martin Sheen the Irish once again won the hearts of the American audience. Anthony was quick to add, ” We sang all the songs that people knew and grew up with.”  The music features popular tunes in Irish neighborhoods: drinking songs, Irish ballads and patriotic songs.
Time and circumstance give way to change and creative development and so it is with the Irish Tenors. John McDermott and Ronan Tynan leaves of absence opened the door of opportunity for Karl Scully. Scully, the newest addition is equally as talented. In a country that thrives on song and dance selecting a tenor can prove laborious. That process not falling on one individual but much rest well in the skillful and trained ears of Veronica Dunne.
Dr. Veronica Dunne is an Irish National Treasure.  She can be credited with the strong foundation upon which the Dublin vocal community was built.  She is a constant presence in the Dublin opera world, a well-respected vocal musician and teacher, a unique and gracious woman.  She is a dedicated advocate of vocal music education and literally hundreds of singers owe their success and careers to Dunne’s gifted teaching.  Ronnie continues to teach aspiring vocal artists.
The opening show for the Winter Tour of the Irish Tenors began in the unlikely place of College Station, Texas. For those of you unfamiliar with this bastion of conservatism in the Brazos Valley, it is home to Texas A&M University. Thanks to the University and the OPAS Guild, who generously support performing arts events for the students, the Irish Tenors, Anthony Kearns, Finbar Wright and Karl Scully performed to a very appreciative and sold out house.
Like the northern wind that blew in that night they swept the audience away.  Maestro, Mr. Arnie Roth, opened the show with the Brian Boru orchestral overture setting the stage for an Irish evening of song with the classic Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears from the acclaimed “Ellis Island” CD.
There was no mistaking the Cork man’s rendition of Isle of Innisfree from the film “The Quiet Man.”  Finbar Wright filled the hall with a wistful Irish accent that all anticipated.
The youthful and brilliant Karl Scully followed with a Song for Ireland anchored by the pure voice of Anthony Kearns singing the traditional Boolavogue. Songs of troubles and politics are sprinkled though out a concert to stir the national spirit.
The first half of the performance was a playful mix of traditional songs and choice selections from the spiritually lifting Sacred CD. Rudder Performing Arts Center lent itself to a cathedral experience of emotion upon hearing Panis Angelicus and Amazing Grace.
The second half of the show was equally entertaining and a delightful experience as well as a brilliant introduction to the Christmas season with a perfect mix of Christmas standards and Irish delights like the Dublin Medley and Fairytale of New York. And the crowd was not disappointed with the classic Danny Boy.
Performing in lavish theaters like the Teatro alla Scala and Bolshoi or a music hall in Texas they are each accomplished vocalist with awards and accolades that few can carry with homespun dignity. They are approachable fellows that have a gift with which a voice and tune can capture the senses of euphoria taking audiences to a timeless place where troubles are forgotten and time is suspended if for only that brief blissful few minutes.
Their repertoire allows them to change their standards and adapt to the moment. So if you wish to take in a piece of Ireland in this month of March visit their website for a concert near you.

Innovation in Traditional Irish Music

In general, “traditional” music in Ireland is defined as music that comes from a certain region of Ireland and is passed down through the generations from teacher to student (sometimes father or mother to son or daughter) in a continuous line that stretches back into the past. One hundred years ago or more, this was certainly the only way that dance music could be learned. A person’s exposure to the music would come entirely from hearing live acoustic performances from local or traveling musicians. Recordings of the music were not available to large numbers of people until many years later, and sheet music was rare, and considerably more expensive to the average person than it is today. The pace of change and innovation was also slower than it is today, due largely to the singular method of transmission. Style and techniques (even for individual tunes) would survive the transmission process mostly unchanged, resulting in styles that were linked to a family or a small region of Ireland.
The major difference between modern times and this hazily defined traditional period is the accessibility we all have to recordings, radio broadcasts, sheet music books, music festivals, and live performances in distant areas that we can drive to listen to. The individual style of a musician is much more likely to be based on combinations of several sources than ever before- a fiddler might start playing from listening to Kevin Burke recordings and learning to use some of Kevin’s techniques, followed by a few years of instruction from James Kelly, and later several years of touring with the Pogues. The result is that an individual player may choose from several sources what they like to do, resulting in a unique combination of influences on their playing.
A factor often overlooked though, is innovation. Even traditional period musicians were innovative- someone had to invent fiddle rolls, for example. The pace of innovation tended to be slower due to several controlling factors- playing for dancers who have rhythmic needs to be able to dance to a tune, playing so that your melody line fits in with how the other local players play the tune, etc. In modern times, the number of different approaches to the music can be overwhelming- styles from Sligo, Donegal, Scottish highland pipes, Galicia, Brittany, Appalachia, England, and many more regions can cause people to experience information overload. The natural response is to limit the input by selecting which is the most “pure” from the choices.

In some people, the process of selecting a specific tradition to focus on creates a mental block, and the argument that some facets of the music are not just disliked from personal preference, but because they are not part of a traditional line. The problem is that the traditional process has changed now- most living musicians will have heard at least some recordings, and many of us will have heard more recorded performances in our lives than live ones. This results in a fundamental separation of the individual player from decisions about what is good in the music- by appealing to a tradition as an authority, you are in fact weakening your own authority to decide what you do and do not like in the music! There is no logical reason to believe that the styles of traditional players that come from the teacher-student relationship are somehow better than the styles of modern bands with their own approaches to the music. It is all matters of personal preference, of which traditional style is now just one of many choices.
I think that the mental block that comes up around traditionalism can be avoided after examining one of the core facts about the music- it has become far bigger than any one player. No single musician can learn all styles from all traditions and all techniques. The decision to play in a certain style is very personal, and to a large degree arbitrary. The music is such a personal event when you play it, and by all means should include the player (you!) as an integral part of what makes it right and what makes it good. The invocation of tradition as an authority can be a way of saying that you feel you have little or no personal involvement in your music- not true!

By  Dan Biemborn

Anthony Kearns: The Man Behind the Voice

Anthony Kearns is a born entertainer. He may have snagged the title, “Ireland’s Best Living Tenor”, but he’ll jokingly tell you that he’s also got the gift of the gab, “I could rabbit on for hours. I didn’t just kiss the Blarney stone, I swallowed it.” His banter is casual and despite his success, he is not ready to sit back. “If the audience wants me, I’ll keep coming back.”
Along with his fellow members of The Irish Tenors, Anthony first broke onto the American stage when PBS aired a concert from Dublin in 1998. Up until then, the Mediterranean giants Pavorotti, Domingo and Carreras had ruled the world of tenors, but “the darlings of PBS” were fast winning over their audiences. Anthony and “the boys” took songs like “The Wild Irish Rose” out of the pub and gave them a bigger sound–the backing of a 60-piece orchestra. A mixture of toe-tapping songs and flawless arias gave concert performances a new energy, and before long they were appearing on shows such as “Live with Regis and Kelly” and “The Today Show.” This exposure gave Anthony the platform to challenge his vocal range and to branch out as a solo artist. He loves nothing better than trying out new pieces on his fans. “The audience is like a bull, ” he laughs, “you’ve got to wrestle with them.”

Hands down, Anthony is first to admit that he loves being the center of attention. At an early age, he had the natural lilt for sean nos songs and would belt out music on his mother’s button accordian in the family kitchen. “Sean nos songs are ornament to yourself. They are not strict, they have no rules.” At every given opportunity, young Anthony would jump at the chance to perform and never shied away from leading his classmates in song, “I suppose my lungs were in training from an early age when I headed my class and blew into the melodica.”
When he entered F.C.J. Bunclody Secondary School, he joined the orchestra and soon headlined the annual musicals and masses. Little did he know that this learning ground would help him grapple with all future pre-show jitters. “I learnt to control my nerves when I competed as a sixteen year old in Feis Ceoil and Scor na nOg.” But this is not to say that Anthony ate, slept and drank music, ” Like any teen growing up in Ireland, I played hurling and football and like any other teen I got into trouble.”
When it came to deciding which career path he should take, sensibility ruled, ” I knew I wanted to sing but at the end of the day, I had to take jobs for the sake of pay.” Anthony studied hotel management at Cathal Brugha Street, Dublin and then went to work at the Grand Hotel, Wicklow.  There he took up the microphone once again and earned himself the nickname, “The Singing Barman.” Itching to break into the music scene, he moved back to Dublin and bided his time selling cell phones and fax machines. “I’m a man of all trades but a master of none of them,” he jokes.
His lucky break came knocking in 1993 when a radio show held “Ireland’s search for a tenor.” The “American Idol” type competition was held in conjunction with the release of the new ten-pound note, the “tenner.” Singers battled it out down phone lines until the preliminaries. The public wagered in Anthony’s favor and despite being the only one without professional training, he walked away with the first prize. The buzz that the competition generated landed him a spot on Ireland’s longest running chat show, “The Late Late Show”–the same program that somersaulted U2 into the public eye. Anthony’s musical talent caught the attention of singing coach, Veronica Dunne, and under her instruction his voice grew and developed. “It’s very much like soccer.  You’ve got to practice to make the goal and in singing, you’ll eventually hit that range.”
Work came fast and awards began to couple up next to his early wins at Feis Ceoil. Richard Baker from the BBC invited him to perform opera cruises and Anthony went onto win the Dermot Troy Trophy in 1995 and the Waterford International Festival of Light Opera, for his portrayal of Frederic in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance. Life was changing quickly for the Wexford native but his star quality was about to open an even bigger door. Music producer, Bill Hughes had been watching the young singer and asked him to audition for “The Irish Tenors.” Within two weeks, he was standing before 6,000 people as a member of the new classical trio. “Singing with the other guys raises the bar. We don’t compete with each other but you don’t want to go unnoticed,” he says.
His first taste of the States came when he and the boys played Madison Square Garden before 15,000 fans in 1999. “It was smashing. We were treated like rock stars.” Since then he has globe trotted as far as the Sydney Opera House, sang at Bono’s 40th birthday bash and performed at the funeral of former President Ronald Reagan. But when asked which event stands out above the rest, he talks about his first solo performance in the U.S. “The most memorable performance was at the Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts. It was my first solo concert and I was accompanied by the piano.” Irish tenor, John McCormack also played at the Mechanics Hall and Anthony’s range is often compared to the legendary great’s versatility. He can bounce between different genres of music and plans to include Russian opera to his repertoire. “I will need training, of course, for the pronunciations of the language but I pick up sounds easily.” Anthony’s love for opera is insatiable and when he has time to unwind he likes nothing better than to listen to vocal classical music on his iPod.
Anthony realizes that his fans allow him to keep doing what he loves best. “After a performance there is little time to stand and stare. I stay to meet and greet the audience and then it’s back to the hotel to rest before getting on the road the following day.” The U.S. in many ways has become a home away from home for Anthony, “I bought a place in Florida,” he says and whenever he has downtime, you’ll find him, “hanging out by the pool, relaxing and having dinner with friends.” Anthony Kearns is set to return Stateside this Fall for eight solo concerts and later rejoins “The Irish Tenors” for their winter tour of the U.S. hm

By Pat-Ann Durcan

CD Review

Ifacably Irish
Colin Worley (2008)
The subtitle of this wonderful album is “Fun for the Practice Run” and it lives up to its name!  Colin Worley plays keyboard with a bright and brassy tone, accompanied by a well-integrated drum track.  He also composed or arranged all the tracks except the six trad sets, and his tunes are as excellent as his playing.  The two arranged tracks show his imagination and versatility.  One, a treble jig, starts with Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” and progresses to an adaptation of Pachebel’s “Canon”.  The other, a hornpipe, starts with a hint of “Waltzing Matilda” and trips on down the yellow brick road with the song from “Wizard of Oz.”  If you’re looking for music that’s fun as well as strict in its timing, you’ve found it.
Colin Worley says on the cover that this music is for advanced dancers and the track list bears him out.  There are two reels, two slip jigs, a single jig, two slow treble jigs and three hornpipes as well as the set dances, “St. Patrick’s Day,” “Blackbird,” “Garden of Daisies,” “Job of Journeywork,” “Three Sea Captains” and “King of the Fairies.”  It’s a pleasure to find a single jig on this and other new albums (they were often omitted from the oldest albums) especially one as enjoyable as the cascading notes of this one make it.  Highly recommended!

Feisworld Volume 2
Stephen Walker (2008)
This fine album is a worthy continuation of the well-regarded first volume.  Walker plays keyboard with a bright, brassy sound accompanied by a significant drum track.  Although some dancers compare this style to the calliope used for circus music, many appreciate the freshness of this treatment.  Many of the tunes, including a complete track of reels and another of slip jigs, are his own compositions and very fine.  Walker has expanded his musical offerings on this album to include a single jig (mistakenly labeled as the fourth slip jig track) and a light jig.  The light jig track takes some listening to: although it’s unmistakably in double jig format, his style mellows it and smooths out the bounce which is characteristic of light jigs.  Great for when you want something different but unexpected in what may be the most traditional of the dances.
Feisworld V2 includes four tracks of reels, three of slip jigs, three of slow heavy jigs and three of slow hornpipes, confirming its aim at the advanced dancer.

Catriona McKay STARFISH
Compass Records
Contemporary Scottish harp with fiddle, guitar, bass and strings.
Starfish is a gorgeous and mesmerizing album of adventurous and mysterious contemporary Scottish music that features the harp on noticeable lead. Catriona’s music blends elements of folk, jazz, classical music and Scottish tradition and presents a delightfully sexy exploration of the limits of the Celtic harp. On Starfish, Catriona is backed by solid guitar, fiddle, bass, and string work, as well as subtle electronic treatments.
Well known on the Scottish music scene as a member of the leading Shetland band Fiddlers’ Bid, Catriona McKay has recently began touring in the US and has been featured at several key festivals including Boston’s Irish Connections and Milwaukee’s Irish Fest. She is a fearless contemporary explorer on the Scottish harp, having collaborated with a wide array of folk, jazz, classical and experimental artists, as well as co-designing the new Starfish McKay harp, featuring an alternative tuning pattern and featured extensively on Starfish.
Featuring: Donald Grant, Fionan “Fionomenal” De Barra, Matt Baker, Alistair MacDonald, Seamus Egan and Red Skies.

THE CELTIC TENORS
HARD TIMES
Tayberry Records
Release Date:  June, 2009
Reminiscent of parlor music and family gatherings before the electronic explosion, the Celtic Tenors, embark on an American expression of folk music. Listening to this music never gets old.
The Celtic Tenors (Matthew Gilsenan, James Nelson, Daryl Simpson) have established themselves as the most successful classic crossover artists ever to emerge from Ireland.  Their new release, Hard Times, continues to break down common perceptions of Irish tenors with a collection of roots-based harmony-driven songs by writers such as Stephen Foster and Bob Dylan.
The Celtic Tenors have consistently thrilled fans with an eclectic mix of classical, folk, Celtic, and pop.  Their new foray into Americana will be no different.

The Connemara Suite
Tayberry Records
Composed by Bill Whelan
Irish traditional music has no bounds. As free as the wind the indigenous sound transcends into the classical world providing a surreal music sequence that is magic. Whelan teases the listener with classical forms that include distinctly Irish styles as well as a dance percussion presence.
Composer Bill Whelan’s name may be synonymous with Riverdance—the seven-minute composition that went on, as a full-length production, to take over the world of musical theatre—but his wide-ranging career has been him play as a member of famed Irish group Planxty, produce artists ranging from U2 and Kate Bush to Patrick Street, and compose award-winning theatrical, film, and television scores, as well as many highly acclaimed orchestral works.
The Connemara Suite, performed by the Irish Chamber Orchestra, conducted by David Jones, features Zoe Conway (solo fiddle), Morgan Crowley (vocal and lilting), Colin Dunne (dance percussion), Fionnuala Hunt (solo violin), and Michele Mulcahy (harp) met Whelan’s personal challenge to “write for traditional musicians within the framework of a chamber orchestra.”  The result is neither strictly traditional nor strictly classical yet uniquely blends the best of both.

The Greenfields of America
Released January, 2009
Mick Moloney: tenor banjo,
mandolin, guitar, vocals
John Doyle: guitar, bouzouki, vocals
Athena Tergis: four and
five string fiddles
Robbie O’Connell: guitar, vocals
Billy McComiskey: button accordion
Legends gather to record iconic set. Formed in 1978 by musician and musicologist Mick Moloney, THE GREEN FIELDS OF AMERICA were the first group on either side of the Atlantic to bring together Irish vocal, instrumental, and dance traditions to the concert and festival stage. Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts a record five times, the group has performed at a variety of leading venues and events including Carnegie Hall, Wolf Trap, The Smithsonian Institution, The Festival of American Folklife, Milwaukee Irish Fest, and The National Folk Festival. They have been featured on the soundtrack of PBS’ Out of Ireland as well as on the American Public Television production Absolutely Irish.
The current line-up of Moloney, John Doyle (Solas, Eileen Ivers, Tim O’Brien), Athena Tergis (Broadway’s Riverdance), Robbie O’Connell (Aengus,The Clancy Legacy), and All-Ireland Champion Billy McComiskey promises to maintain the “supergroup” status.

Hush
Pauline Scanlon
Compass Records
Released: August 2009
As the vocalist with the Sharon Shannon Band, Pauline Scanlon has entranced audiences the world over with her distinctly delicate intensity. She also contributed a song to Sharon’s 2003, platinum selling (Ireland) album Libertango, Pauline’s vocals sitting comfortably alongside those of Sinead O’Connor and Kirsty MacColl.
On Hush, Pauline Scanlon is joined by former Lúnasa guitar force, Donogh Hennessy, John R. Burr, Stuart Duncan, Kenny Malone, Darrell Scott, Danny Thompson and Garry West as she performs a collection of traditional Irish songs destined to become new classics.

Track listing
1    Wearin’ The Britches
2    The Lambs On The Green Hills
3    The Demon Lover
4     Farewell My Love, Remember Me
5     In Shame Love, In Shame
6     Dearthearín ó mo Chroí
7     Rain And Snow
8    When You And I Were True
9    The Green Fields Of Canada
10     The Flower Of Magherally-O
11     The Boys Of Barr Na Sraide

Center for Irish Programs, Boston College

Center for Irish Programs, Boston College
Gaelic Roots Music, Song, Dance, Workshop and Lecture Series

Series Director: Séamus Connolly, Sullivan Artist-in-Residence
Thursday, March 18 – Connolly House, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Cape Breton Music and Dance: Concert by Kimberley Fraser and Troy
MacGillivray.
Each a highly sought-after performer and teacher of both fiddle and piano,
Kimberley Fraser and Troy MacGillivray have brought the traditional music
and step dance of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia to audiences as far as
Afghanistan, where they performed for the Canadian Forces base in 2008.
Kimberley’s album, Falling on New Ground, won the 2008 East Coast Music
Award for best Roots/Traditional Album of the Year. Troy MacGillivray’s
album Live at the Music Room won the East Coast Music Award in 2008 for
Instrumental Recording of the Year. Performer info:
http://www.kimberleyfraser.com and http://www.troymacgillivray.com

Jimmy Rankin Solo Answers Call Of The Wild

Much of the Rankin Family band’s success was arguably due to the excellent song writing and soulful vocals of Jimmy Rankin. If you’re a fan of the band’s award winning ten CD catalogue and are looking to hear the Mabou, Cape Breton musician at his best push the old material to the side and turn your attention to the songs Rankin’s sung since striking out on his own.

Jimmy is set to offer his latest solo effort Edge of Day to a devoted fan base and love-at-first-listen converts on May 1st. In conversation, Rankin is candid about the differences between writing as part of a group and the intimidating pleasure of writing for oneself.
“There’s definitely a sense of freedom, that’s for sure. I can do pretty much whatever I want to do, although I did that with the Rankins anyway,” Jimmy said in a recent interview.
“With my thing, my solo records, it’s definitely wide open. I guess it was a combination of a sense of liberation and a sense of…I don’t know if intimidation is the word, but you pretty much have to rely on yourself and the people you’re working with. With the Rankins, you had four or five other people to fall back on and ask questions and make decisions with.”
Relying on himself seems to be working well for Rankin. 2002’s Song Dog hollered in no uncertain terms that Rankin, the solo artist, had arrived. The album was met well by the music community and fans alike. Followed Her Around, co-written with fellow Cape Bretoner (and now Grammy winner) Gordie Sampson, received East Coast Music Award for Song of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, and a Canadian Country Music Award for Roots Artist of the Year. With a successful first album and critically acclaimed second disc, Handmade, under his belt, it seems unlikely that Rankin will ever look back. It’s for the best: the tack of his career, Rankin says, has satisfied him and his fans – both old and new.
“The records are definitely a change in direction, especially Song Dog, the first one. It’s a different style. I grew up listening to a lot of different styles of music, and Song Dog was definitely a good indication of that eclectic mix of music. It reflects a lot of the music I listen to and it definitely came through on that record. I definitely have loyal fans from those days, but I’ve made new fans along the way too.”
Those fans have been waiting in anticipation for Edge of Day. Recorded in Nashville during the spring of 2006, Rankin found himself unable to finish the mastering of the record until January, due to his commitment to the recording of a new Rankin Family CD and promotional tour. Proud of his latest offering, Rankin says he’s eager to see the recording reach listeners. Looking back at the creation of Edge of Day, Rankin insists that the project’s long completion time served him well.
“Usually with me, with my first two solo records, I basically went from mixing them to mastering them. Once you master them? That’s it. It’s pretty much signed, sealed and delivered. With this project I had a lot of time between the final mixes and the mastering. It doesn’t necessarily mean that I had time to re-do stuff, but I did have time to think about how if I did want to re-mix it, could be done. I lived with it for a while. I’d leave the disc for a bit and I’d go back and maybe go back and listen to it a month later. When I re-listen to it, it just sounded fresh to me. It didn’t make me want to cringe. It’s a very good sign when I can go back to something after a period of time of not listening to it and then listen to it and still think that it’s right. It’s gonna be something I listened to years down the road. If it was right for the time, it’s gonna hold up for me. One thing that I really like about this record is the songs. Half of the record is a co-write that I’ve written with other artists, and I feel that I’ve got some really great songs here.”
The great songs that Rankin and his co-writers were able to pen came to sound all the better under the guidance of musician-producer Colin Linden of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings. Rankin says that he couldn’t be happier with the results Linden helped him to churn out.
“He’s a skilled musician, songwriter and producer. He has a very organic approach to recording. He just assembles the band and basically goes for it.” said Rankin.
“With my other records, I spent a lot of time perfecting vocals and doing vocal overtakes. With this one it was basically singing live with a band, and maybe going in to do a couple of takes after we had the track. Going for the moment – going for the take: I think that’s the way Colin works, and I enjoy it. I’m a live performer and when you’re performing live you only get one shot at it. You don’t have the chance to go back and fix it. You go for it. You’re in the moment.”
Here’s hoping that Rankin’s career host more such moments for the world to enjoy.

CD Review

Hornpipe Volume 10 Issue 5

An Nollaig-an Irish Christmas

Compass Records

The Grand Dame of Irish fiddlers, Eileen Ivers, cast her spell on us once again with her 2007 release of cherished Christmas tunes.

Irish-American born, the daughter of Irish immigrants, Eileen Ivers grew up in the culturally diverse neighborhood of the Bronx, New York. She has been a sensation since her first performance at 8. Since then she has been as sought after as the London Symphony Orchestra; the National Symphony at The Kennedy Center; the Boston Pops; the musical stars of Riverdance; The Chieftains; Hall and Oates: Afrocelts: Patti Smith, Paula Cole: Al Di Meola: and Steve Gadd, the founding member of Cherish the Ladies.

It is a rare that one is witness to the talent and spectacular artistry of an individual, one who influences, explores and reaches new frontiers with the Celtic fiddle. Yet, Ivers, is firmly rooted in tradition with her CD, “An Nollaig-an Irish Christmas.”

“So much about Christmas involves the traditions surrounding the celebration of the glorious birth of Christ.” Ivers writes in the CD’s introduction. This is a rich mix of old traditions and with each song of the CD she fondly recalls her family gatherings. Her rendition of The Wexford Carol, and Hark the Herald Angels Sing infuses a joyful 6/8 and new playful interpretations.

This is a beautiful compliment to any Christmas collection.

Evergreen

Alison Brown Quartet with Joe Craven

Compass Records

Alison and the band dropped into Compass Studios last fall to record their favorite tunes from the Winter’s Eve Holiday Program. The result is Evergreen.

Just released, this 11-track collection includes fun and imaginative reworkings of holiday classics with that distinctive ABQ sound. Fiddler andmandolinist, Joe Craven, is the special guest throughout. The University School of Nashville Middle School Chorale joins the band on two tracks.

This unique recording is perfect for the acoustic music fan on your holiday shopping list. There are a number of musical influences at work here, including: bluegrass, jazz, and Celtic music; but when taken as a whole, isn’t any one of those specific genres.

This is a Christmas coffee-table CD to play when guests arrive for that Christmas afternoon coffee and a fabulous addition to your Christmas collection.

A Boston Globe reviewer noted that Alison “… has taught her banjo to sing, whether humming winkingly behind themelody or delivering it with a breathy humanness that is as technically awesome as it is melodically seductive.”

Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion

By Edward O’Donnell

Hornpipe Volume 10 Issue 4

On October 29, 1884. Republican candidate James G. Blaine seemed all but certain to win the presidency. With the election only one week away, he was campaigning in New York City, wooing the vital Irish Catholic vote. Everything was going his way until a Presbyterian minister, speaking at a pro-Blaine event that evening, denounced the Democrats as the party of “rum, Romanism, and rebellion.” When Democratic newspapers ran the phrase as a banner headline the next day, Blaine’s campaign suffered a mortal wound from which it could not recover.

In 1884 James G. Blaine was one of the most well-known American politicians. Born in Pennsylvania into a family with roots stretching back to Ulster, he grew up to be a school teacher and later a lawyer. In the mid-1850s he moved to Maine where his career in law and as a newspaper editor eventually led him into politics. Elected to the House of Representatives in 1863, he rose rapidly to become Speaker in 1869, a position he held until 1876.

Blaine sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1876 and again in 1880, but was dogged by charges of corruption. Still, he was a gifted orator and a charismatic personality. By 1884, with the corruption allegations grown stale, there was no denying him. He won the party’s nomination on the fifth ballot.

Opposing Blaine was another man who could trace at least part of his family’s history back to Ireland, Grover Cleveland. As a man with a sterling reputation for good government and reform from his years as mayor of Buffalo and governor of New York, Cleveland seemed the perfect choice for the Democrats to run against the tainted Blaine. But he had weaknesses Blaine hoped to exploit. For one, he was a free trader in an era when most workers favored a protective tariff. Irish workers in particular viewed free trade as a pro-British policy. Cleveland’s reform policies as governor had also antagonized Tammany Hall and the word on the street was that the powerful political machine would do little to help him win his home state.

And then there was Cleveland’s personal life. In July 1884, shortly after winning his party’s nomination, Cleveland found himself besieged by the press. A woman had come forward claiming that she had been Cleveland’s mistress in the mid-1870s and that she had given birth to his illegitimate son. To the horror of his handlers, Cleveland came clean and admitted the story was true.

Suddenly the election was Blaine’s to lose. Republican newspapers made the most of the story and hundreds of clergymen denounced Cleveland as unfit for the office. Republican hecklers dogged him everywhere he went with the damning ditty, “Ma, Ma, where’s my Pa?” Democrats resurrected the Blaine corruption allegations and the campaign descended into one of the most vicious in all of American history.

Under these circumstances, Blaine seemed destined to gain thousands of swing votes among the Irish in key states like New York. But he would have to work them, for the overwhelming majority of Irish Americans in the nineteenth century voted Democratic. For them the Democratic party represented tolerance in a society rife with anti-Irish and anti-Catholic nativism. It also was the party of compassion and social welfare (official and unofficial) in an era of harsh urban poverty. Conversely, the Irish generally saw Blaine’s Republican party as the party of wealth and bigotry. One misstep and the Irish would either stay home on election day or cast their votes for Cleveland.

Blaine took no chances and campaigned hard in states with large Irish populations, especially New York. Everyone in the Gilded Age America knew the importance of winning the Empire State. Carry New York, said the strategists, and the White House would be yours.

And so it was that frontrunner James G. Blaine was in New York City on October 29, just a week before the election. That evening he was to meet a group of clergymen and receive their endorsement as the man more morally qualified than Cleveland to be the next president. But the carefully orchestrated “family values” PR event quickly turned into a disaster. The featured speaker failed to show up, so the assembled clerics turned to Rev. Samuel Burchard, a man widely known for his gift of oratory. Burchard did not disappoint, delivering both a ringing endorsement of Blaine and a spirited attack on Cleveland and the Democrats.

Few in the crowd even noticed his wonderfully alliterative phrase, “rum, Romanism, and rebellion”—probably because they agreed with him. Blaine himself was not moved to say anything to distance himself from the remark. But to a reporter for a pro-Cleveland newspaper, the offensive crack had the “comeback” written all over it. The next morning Democratic newspapers carried the story under screaming headlines. Before long it was a national news story, with some accounts stating that Blaine himself had uttered the words. The next Sunday, just two days before the election, Democrats distributed in front of New York’s Catholic churches hundreds of thousands of handbills decrying Blaine as a nativist.

By then Blaine had denounced Burchard’s intemperate words, but it was too little too late. Thrown on the defensive, his campaign never recovered. In one of the closest elections in recent memory, Cleveland carried New York by a mere 1,149 votes and the national popular vote by just two tenths of one percent. How many votes Blaine lost due to Burchard’s bigoted remark will never be known, but it was surely enough to cost him the election. HM

HIBERNIAN HISTORY WEEK

Oct 24, 1880: The Ladies Land League is founded in New York.

Oct 25, 1920: During the War for Independence, Lord Mayor of Cork, Terence MacSwiney, dies in a British prison after a 74-day hunger strike.

Oct 26, 1931: Eugene O’Neill’s play Mourning Becomes Electra opens at Guild Theatre in New York City.

HIBERNIAN BIRTHDATES:

Oct 24, 1911: FBI chief, Clarence M. Kelley, is born in Kansas City, MO.

Oct 26, 1914: First child star of the silver screen, Jackie Coogan, is born in Los Angeles.

Oct 30: 1892: Nationalist and organizer of the Blueshirts, Eoin O’Duffy, is born in Castleblayney, Co. Monaghan.

Readers may contact

Edward T. O’Donnell at

odonnell@EdwardTODonnell.com

Padraig Harrington wins 2nd straight British Open And PGA Championship

Ireland’s Padraig Harrington has stepped up and filled the void left by Tiger Woods. After his brilliant play in July at the British Open, where he claimed back-to-back wins, he took control of the Professional Golf Association’s tournament in the last four holes to become the first European player to win the PGA Championship since 1930 win by Tommy Armour of Scotland.

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CD Review

Aidan O’Rourke
Sirius

Aidan O’Rourke is a composer of flair and imagination. Many established artists have recorded his melodies and he has been commissioned as a composer by numerous arts organizations including the Serious Music Producers, London, and Dundee Rep Theater. Mr. O’Rourke is the current musician–in-residence a The Tolbooth in Stirling. Sirius is his first solo album that has evolved from a commission by the Celtic Connections festival in 2003. Hs musical style and expression is evident in this vast work that incorporates a wide variety of musical styles from traditional folk to jazz, roots and groove. The band featured some of of Europe’s top jazz and trad musicians including Harald Haugaard, Charlie McKerron, Brian Finnegan, Colin Steele, Luke Daniels and Phil Bancroft.

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Tripswitch
Jazz Fusion is scintillating

 

 

Uilleann piper John McSherry has helped reinvent Irish music, bringing to it urgency and precision matched with an ambitious, sophisticated rhythmic sensibility. Tripswitch, McSherry’s new collaboration with young fiddler Donal O’Connor is a collision of traditional forms with a fluid, jazz-inflected sense of rhythm. McSherry and O’Connor are joined by Ruben Baba (guitars and bouzouki), as well as Paul McSherry (guitars), guitarists Tony Byrne and Giles LeBigot, and Shaun Wallace. (percussion).

Despite their formidable individual accomplishments, it is the clarity, focus, and unity of their sound that makes Tripswitch a thrilling collaboration. Whether soaring in close-knit unison passages or darting around one another in hair-raising counterpoint and harmony, O’Connor and McShrry demonstrate tacit compassion. The progression, escalating rhythmic settings push beyond the pale of the creative dominion of each musician. Opening set “Rose in the Gap” begins with a churning rhythmic backdrop for the titular march, and then shifts via a thrilling unaccompanied passage into a pair of reels impeccably delivered at high velocity, complete with a spot-on modulation. A set of Castilian dance pieces set in 5/8 time are hauntingly modal, yet spry and demonstrate the rarely acknowledged impact of the Moors had on European music.

While the up-tempo selections are riveting, the quieter moments such as the slow jig set “Commonalty Set” and the slow reel title track speak more directly of the passion that exists at the core of Tripswitch. Tripswitch is flying under the radar bound to explode on to the music landscape.