Farewell to Erin

St Patrick’s Day is past, but I am not quite done bidding farewell to the music of Ireland. However, it is time to start saying goodbye. Actually, farewell is as much my theme as Irish music. The songs I have chosen are separate entities, but here they combine to tell a story.

Maire Brennan: Voices of the Land

[purchase]

Amongst fans of Irish folk, Ireland is known for the extraordinary number of fine female singers the country has produced. Maire Brennan is certainly one of these. Brennan is heard here blending elements of Celtic folk and pop, and the result sits just on this side of new age blandness. This type of sound has been a trap for many, but Brennan shows here just how beautiful the music can be when done right.

Voices of the Land sets the stage for our tale, praising the land and its beauty. She worries about threats to the environment, but never becomes preachy.

The Chieftains (with Nanci Griffith): Red is the Rose

[purchase]

The Narrator of Red is the Rose sees the beauty of the land reflected in her lover’s appearance. This one starts as a simple love song, and only fully reveals itself at the end. The lovers must part, and she must lose this beauty.

This one also reaches across the waters. The Chieftains established themselves long ago as masters of traditional Irish Music. But more recently, their career has consisted of making musical connections between this tradition and others. Irish immigrants came to the United States and settled in the South, bringing their music with them. So The Chieftains’ exploration of the links between Irish and country music has produced particularly rich results. Here, Nanci Griffith’s performance of this traditional Irish ballad shows how this works.

Patrick Street: The Braes of Moneymore

[purchase]

There have been many waves of immigration from Ireland to the United States. And so, there are many Irish songs on the subject. In the hands of Patrick Street, The Braes of Moneymore proves to be one of the best.

Spotlight Song of the Week:

Chris Huff: Hey Now Now

[purchase both albums here]

Chris Huff recorded an album in 1998, called North Cathedral Way. Here, Huff was the troubadour, strumming an acoustic guitar and singing about meeting great philosophers in a café. He was joined by a stand-up bass player and a djembe player. I find the album charming, but I must admit that this persona did not seem to be the best fit for Huff’s voice.

For the next ten years, Huff tried to find his musical self. He tried on a wide variety of rock styles. The bigger sound suited him. The Death and Texas LP might tell us where he wound up. But instead, the album is a document of the journey. The album is uneven, but there is plenty of good material here. Hey Now Now is the lead track, and it is a perfect pop song with a slight reggae lilt. This one will get stuck in your head for all the right reasons.

So I don’t know if Huff found his voice, or which voice it might be. I suspect that the answer will be found on his next album. I hope there isn’t a ten year wait for that.

Bonus Track

I started this discussion by mentioning Chris Huff’s debut album, from 1998. Here is a taste of how he sounded then.

Chris Huff: The Night Cafe

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Blog Business: I'm thinking of turning my theme post next into a spotlight on the work of jazz singers. Please let me know what you think in the comments. Thank you.

Corners of the World: Christmas in Many Languages

Corners of the World is a feature here that many of you may have never seen. It is my occasional series on world music. This time, I would like to wish you all a joyous holiday season in multiple languages.

Gaudete: Steeleye Span

[purchase]

Let’s begin with Latin. Gaudete is a song that I first learned as a performer. I was once in an amateur chamber choir. Our conductor held us to a high standard, and presented us with a wonderfully varied repertoire. Gaudete, then, was a song we learned for one of our holiday concerts.

The song was written for church services, and the earliest known publication was in a collection of Finnish and Swedish carols from 1582. The song is most likely quite a bit older than that. The lyrics are a joyous announcement of the birth of Christ.

Bruce Cockburn: Riu Riu Chiu

[purchase]

I learned Riu Riu Chiu for that same chamber choir, in a set with two other old Spanish carols. Bruce Cockburn says this about the song:

"This is a Spanish composition of the type known as a 'villancico', dating from the sixteenth century. The language is archaic, some words being unfamiliar to my Hispanic friends and not found in at least the basic dictionaries...”

I was able to find a translation. The words Riu Riu Chiu do not mean anything, but are meant to mimic the sound of a nightingale’s call. The lyrics alternate between various birds proclaiming the birth of Christ, and God’s promise to protect his Son.

The Chieftains with Kate and Anna McGarrigle: Il Est Ne/ Ca Berger

[purchase]

The Irish Chieftains invited the bilingual Canadian McGarrigle sisters to perform these two French carols with them. This is not as strange as it may sound. There are still remnants of Celtic culture to be found in France, especially in Brittany. Il Est Ne and Ca Berger fit together beautifully. Both songs concern the shepherds and others who gathered at the stable to witness the birth of Christ.

Mary McLaughlin: Seacht Suilce na Maighdine Muire (The Seven Joys of Mary)

[purchase]

Speaking of Celtic culture, here is a Christmas song in Gaelic. The lyrics devote one line to each of the joys of Mary, and in this way, manage to tell the story of the life of Christ. This narrative device is often found in the pre-Christian bardic poems of Ireland and Scotland.

Kopela Brodow: Zdrowaś Maryja, Bogarodzico

[purchase]

In Poland, religious songs had to go underground during the communist era. Much traditional culture was also lost. Kopela Brodow is a group that is trying to revive the folk music of Poland. They have recorded an entire album of kodely, or traditional Polish carols. This selection is not from that album, because the songs on that album were performed in English. Zdrowas Maryja Bogurodzico comes from an album of praise songs to the Virgin Mary. Kodely are also found in some of the countries which border on Poland. Remember that this is a part of the world where national boundaries have been redrawn a number of times in modern times.