A music teacher once told me that instead of buying yet another bit of glitter, or knick knacks that remained forever unused, she always gave CDs of traditional music as Christmas presents. I’ve done the same since: stocking fillers that help keep music alive and don’t just fatten the coffers at Amazon.
We’re coming close to Christmas now, but here’s five great Trad presents that’ll make it in time for the big day, and give you many happy hours afterwards.
The absolute magic of ‘The Sparkling Dawn’
Some albums are keenly awaited, and some lie uncovered for decades like a treasure long forgotten, This rare gem, The Sparkling Dawn, was recorded in 1967 and it showcases the absolute magic produced one night as two famed fiddlers Hughie Gillespie and Frank Kelly weaved perfect, gorgeous music by the fire together.
Hughie Gillespie moved from Donegal to New York City in 1928, and became friends with the legendary Sligo fiddler Michael Coleman, who became a musical mentor to the young Gillespie, helping him to discover his own style.
Gillespie returned to Donegal in 1964, and became a musical companion and mentor in turn to his young cousin, Frank Kelly, who was already a fiddle player of note. “Hughie was particular about getting things right,” Kelly told the Living Tradition afterwards. He and Gillespie would “meet at each other’s houses several times a week for music and conviviality”.
The drive and the gorgeous lift of the music, and the perfect harmony that comes through in every phrase, is just some of the absolute magic of this album. It’s a meeting of hearts and minds, glorious stuff. There’s easy talk too, and lilting, adding to the atmosphere of two virtuosos playing the Sligo style from the heart. As the notes say: “You can nearly smell the smoke.”
Buy one for all your friends. Buy it for yourself, sit down by the fire, and be lost in the sparkling music. It’s well named. https://hughiegillespie.com/ https://custysmusic.com/products/hughie-gillespie-frank-kelly-h4-the-sparkling-dawn
Sarah Ghriallais and Johnny Óg Connolly: Idir Dhá Sháíle 2
Sarah Ghriallais is sean-nós royalty from a family of famed and brilliant singers, and she is joined by renowned box player Johnny Óg Connolly in this beautiful album which is also an uncovered treasure, having being recorded 34 years ago when Connolly was just 17 years old.
Ghriallais says she remembers a cuckoo (an chuach) coming by the window in the old convent in Carna in the summer of 1987 when Gael Linn was putting these tracks down first.
Her voice is splendid on the eight beautiful sean-nós songs recorded, amongst them the mighty Amárach Lá le Pádraig and Sagart na Cúile Báine. Tá an seannós go smior aici: the magnificent Gaelic art form is as natural as breathing to Ghriallais.
Johnny Óg Connolly, whose father was also a revered musician, plays fresh and lively reels and hornpipes with accompaniment from John Blake.
Order from Cló Iar Chonnachta today, make a hot port and sit back and let the sound wash over you.
A beautiful book about the legendary Geordie Hanna
Geordie Hanna of Derrytresk on the Lough Shore in east Tyrone was a much admired and well-loved singer. A legendary figure amongst traditional singers, he had an extraordinary repertoire of songs, and an idiosyncratic style which he used to such good effect on the songs he loved best.
Those lovely songs, sung as only Geordie could sing them, are captured on the CD that accompanies the beautiful book launched this year: Geordie Hanna, the man and the songs. Written by the singer’s nephew, Martin McGuinness, it’s a lovingly drawn, warm and vivid depiction of Geordie, his community, and the songs that he cherished.
As Dr John Moulden said: “Geordie Hanna was a great man and a greater singer. Those of us who knew him, knew that. When he sang, he embodied his time, his place and his people…”
Many of the songs we now know well – ‘Old Arboe’ and ‘Paddy’s Green Shamrock Shore’ being just two examples – were passed on by Geordie’s wonderful delivery and deep understanding of the stories and the songs.
This is an important and delightful book about a great man. Buy it now from https://geordiehanna.com/ or at the ITMA, and be reminded of what’s good about the world.
Aidan Connolly’s ‘The Portland Bow’
From Aidan Connolly, a brilliant young musician, comes sumptuous new album The Portland Bow which would make a great gift for anyone who has a discerning ear for traditional music.
Connolly is heavily influenced by the glorious music of Sliabh Luachra – his mother Eileen is a tin whistle player from Kerry, while his uncle Con Moynihan is a fiddle player. He grew up listening to seminal albums like ‘The Star Above the Garter’ featuring Denis Murphy and Julia Clifford.
That influence is evidenced here in The Portland Bow as Connolly, an outstanding fiddle player focuses on reels as well as the slides more commonly known from the region, and also includes tunes he learned while living in Spain.
It’s superb to see that the tradition is in such safe hands in the talent of a new generation. You can, of course, also order a digital copy for yourself or any number of family or friends at: https://raelachrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-portland-bow
Have a listen here:
An Bhuatais and The Meaning of Life
For a Christmas gift for all the deep thinkers and music lovers in your life, one from our own parish.
The much-anticipated album An Bhuatais and The Meaning of Life is a production of rare beauty, and is fast becoming an essential part of the collection of all serious traditional music lovers.
Lorcán Mac Mathúna’s immersive collection of traditional songs signals a new appraisal of what people are thirsting for in their consumption of music. Of late, it increasingly feels that music has been stripped of context: the packaging and notes becoming ever-flimsier to save costs even in the golden age of the CD – and content reduced to digital products designed for fleeting impact and image driven sales.
With An Bhuatais & The Meaning of Life this award-nominated seannós singer and composer went in the exact opposite direction.
This is a collection of beautifully produced tracks with impeccable playing and a production aesthetic that taps into the emotional message of each song. It comes with a collection of thoughtful essays on the meaning of the songs and the themes that drive the creation of traditional art. Those explorations are presented in a hard backed book with gold foil lettering. It looks, feels and sounds like a serious, impressive, work of art.
The music and text is an immersive contemplative experience which was conceived to draw the listener into the deepest realms of understanding of the music, the tradition, and of human nature.
The recent nomination of the title track, An Bhuatais (The Boot), for the RTÉ˙ Folk Awards is recognition not just of the quality of the musicianship on this album, but also of the concept of the entire project.
A fine addition to the bookshelf and a smashing Christmas stocking filler if you are thinking along those lines right now.
An Bhuatais & The Meaning of Life can be bought here
