Image: A child watches
A FEW MONTHS AGO...
I appeared in front of a small select audience
at Llantrisant Folk Club.
After the singing, a few came to the front
and asked what "slogan" I had for Wales.
Here's the answer:
THE FIRST TWO WORDS of THE WELSH NATIONAL ANTHEM's CHORUS !
"GWLAD! GWLAD !" - there's Wales' "slogan" !!!
Gwlad means "country", or so we're taught;
yet it more profoundly means "LAND"...
and the ownership and control of "our" land,
is the most vital task for our time.
Those who own and control the LAND,
are the REAL power !
Which is why it's our route to freedom.
THAT's the FOLK REVOLUTION !
Image: Tommy Makem
It is fitting to start our new page:-
with a tribute to TOMMY MAKEM - top left -
who died recently, at the age of 71.
The song he made his own;
"FOUR GREEN FIELDS", lives forever...
While many of today's generation
have barely a recognition of Bob Dylan,
Dylan learnt from and paid great tribute to
Tommy's influence on him and the folk revival
of the '60s, so we start our page with several
of his songs (and yes, the fishermen's jumpers
DO look quaint !)
First, a lament to all who are gone but never
(hopefully) forgotten, by Maireid:
The Curlew.....
THE CURLEW, sung by Maireid Sullivan.
Tommy, or the "Bard of Armagh",
played frequently in New York
with the Clancy Brothers
Here are some wonderful videos
of him in his early years,
showing the humour and craic
(and the genius) of the "common people".
Four green fields... Tommy Makem's song of Ireland
Image: baile
You can catch a lot of great programming on TG4
through their brilliant Web TV offering.
You just go to
http://www.tg4.ie
and click on the tab for "Web TV"
If you have Windows Media Player
or a Mac application like Flip4Mac,
it brings up a viewer wind-down
with a menu along the left-hand side
where you can pick a "music" menu
(Ceol cartlann), and it shows the titles
of all the folk recordings available to watch.
Several episodes of "Geantrai" lead the current list.
You can catch episodes of Bonanza, as well !
*********************************
There's a new show up featuring Brother, Gaelic Storm,
Scythian, Homeland, Knot Fibb'n, Seanchai & The Unity Sqad,
Beth Patterson, The Prodigals, Charlene Adzima,
Bad Haggis, Rathkeltair, and a track from Quagmyre
to represent the StepCrew.
Both Gaelic Storm and Rathkeltair have brand new CD's out,
and a track is featured from each!
And PLEASE remember to visit this website
for links and more;
http://clevelandcelticpodcast.com
Just PRESS THE LINK BELOW and Enjoy!
IS CELTIC MUSIC FOLK? WHO KNOWS !
Hey, guess what? I've got 2 groups
- one on Yahoo
and the other on MSN -
that focus on Celtic music on the radio and the internet.
Check them out today:
http://www.msnusers.com/CelticRadio
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/
celticmusicontheair
I hope you'll check 'em out today!
*****************************
How about a fiddle workshop ?
(Cleveland Irish Cultural Festival
July 2008.)
You can listen in at
http://ClevelandCelticPodcast.com
Or head here:
http://switchpod.com/p1621.html
Scroll down the page to find the show.
You don't have to be a fiddler to enjoy listening to this workshop!
A fascinating presentation full of ad lib discussion
between three very talented fiddlers about
their beginnings in Irish music, how the music
has changed, composing, and more!
Thank you so much to Josh Michaels
for recording the actual workshop,
and to Liz, Eileen and Charlene for
allowing us to play it.
I've just joined a great music website called "Play It!"
Here, you can put together your own radio station.
To find out more, just log onto this web page:
http://play.it
Also, you can hear my first radio station,
The Irish Edge,
which features traditional and contemporary
Irish & Celtic music. You can hear it by
clicking this web page:
http://play.it/stations/THE%20IRISH%20EDGE
Check it out today.
Image: CLWB Y BONT
NEWS FROM CLYB Y BONT
Last month, at the Folk Club in Ponty'
one of the finest collections of folk musicians
entertained with sheer style, extending a warm
valleys welcome to RICHARD MERRYN,
a newcomer from Kernow.
£3,000 guitars were on display, a superb trio
from Ireland, with a depth of harmony rarely heard.
Soloists of all styles were topped with an intriguing duet
by our host, Richard and his delightful partner.
Richard's generosity even stretched to a lift
back to Penrhys, when Richard missed his train.
Richard left grinning ear to ear, with offers
of gig dates and loud applause ringing in his ears.
What an evening ! It's great to know this Club
is open for business and raring to go !
There's a FOLK EVENING at Clwb y Bont
on the last Wednesday of EVERY month.
Come along and enjoy some great craic !
at: Clwb y Bont,
85a Taff Street,
Pontypridd
* * * * * *
From the creators of the smash hit Celtic Woman
comes an new exciting Irish ballad group;-
The High Kings
Four top class performers create this unique ensemble,
re-energising Irish ballads and introducing new songs from Ireland.
Finbarr Clancy, Brian Dunphy, Martin Furey & Darren Holden
have come together to create the most exciting
group to emerge since The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem
electrified the worldwide folk revival of the 1960s.
Finbarr Clancy from Carrick-on-Suir,
is the son of Bobby Clancy, who first
made his name as half of a duo with his sister Peg.
Later Bobby joined his brothers Liam, Paddy and Tom
in The Clancy Brothers after Tommy Makem had left.
Finbarr has played all over America with The Clancy Brothers
and as a solo artist, but for the past two years
he has been singing and entertaining in Shanghai.
Martin Furey, who lives in Kilmoganny, Co. Kilkennny,
is the son of Irish piper and singer, Finbar Furey.
The tradition in the Furey family goes back two hundred years
and multi-instrumentalist and singer Martin
is proudly carrying on the musical legacy.
Martin has played all over America and Europe as a solo artist
and also as a duo called Bohinta with his sister Aine.
Brian Dunphy from Dublin is the son of Sean Dunphy,
who was a star of the showband era in Ireland in the 1960s.
Following in his father's footsteps, Brian has
sung all over the world as a featured soloist with Riverdance.
He was also one of the Three Irish Tenors,
who performed successfully across America
and this past summer he was the star vocalist at
Doyle's Irish Cabaret in The Burlington Hotel in Dublin.
Darren Holden is from Mooncoin in Co. Kilkenny.
He started his career as a singer-songwriter and
in his early days he was managed by Louis Walsh.
Darren became a featured vocalist and toured the world
with Riverdance for years before he landed the lead role
on Broadway in the Billy Joel musical "Moving Out."
Darren starred on Broadway for two years and then
toured America with this highly successful show.
He is now back living in Ireland and coincidentally
he was just reengaging with Irish folk music
when he was invited to join The High Kings.
Learn more at the official website:
Image: Dafydd Iwan at Faslane - this year - STILL GOING STRONG !
A lot of Welsh music can sound a little "Laura Ashley" ....
Very pretty - yet lacking real HWYL !
Then along came Dafydd Iwan -
and blew ev'ryone's socks off !
(Still can't understand all the words -
but you KNOW what he's saying !)
To hear what I mean - PRESS THE LINK BELOW...
Dafydd Iwan .... Aaaah - Yma O Hyd !!!
Image: Hevia
THE OTHER CELTS !
Of course, there are Celtic folk movements
in "the old countries"....
.. YET SOME OF THE MOST EXCITING
new developments are taking place in the Celtic regions...
OF SPAIN, in particular !
CHECK OUT "HEVIA" - in his use of pipes...
by PRESSING THE LINK BELOW
Image: The Fairfields
Folk is often associated with craft...
and SMITHFIELD FAIR have craft in abundance.
Barn dance? No ! A bun dance !
If you like beauty, tradition, melody
and lashings of unabashed sentiment....
PRESS THE LINK BELOW
Image: Welsh folk dance in Cardiff
BEFORE WE CAN HAVE A DYNAMIC ADAPTIVE CULTURE...
Perhaps we'd better discover the older, sincere,
agriculturally based culture we had in the first place !
SHIMLI
SHIMLI – an old Welsh word meaning the informal gathering of young people
entertaining each other by means of dance, song and story telling while
they wait for the barley to dry.
http://www.theatre-wales.co.uk/news/newsdetail.asp?newsID=2694
* * *
By the way......
if you'd love to learn Welsh Folk dances....
PRESS THE LINKS BELOW !
Image: bird who tells
WANT TO KNOW..... "WHAT'S ON" in FOLK?
FIND OUT BY PRESSING THESE LINKS !
Llantrisant Folk Club...... what's on !
Image: gabe_eliza_carthy
DID YOU MISS THE "TWO RIVERS" FOLK FESTIVAL?
And ME !
TO REMIND YOURSELF of WHY WE SHOULD HAVE been THERE...
PRESS THE LINK BELOW
Image:
www.myspace.com/traccymru
Music Traditions Wales
(Wales folk development organisation)
now has a presence on the MySpace network.
If you have a MySpace page, please send us a friendly request.
If not, have a look anyway - on the trac page
you can hear a range of music which will change regularly;
see photos of trac projects around Wales, and of performers;
and soon we hope to add videos too !
You can find us at
www.myspace.com/traccymru
All the best
Blanche Rowen
Administrator
Gweinyddyddtrac@trac-cymru.org
www.trac-cymru.org
www.myspace.com/traccymru
Image: Festival of the plough
WHAT ARE WE CELEBRATING ?
A Tatar man plays a balancing game during celebration of
the festival of the plough in Moscow, on July 5th, 2008.
The traditional festival of the plough is celebrated
by Tatar people in Russia to mark the end of
Spring ploughing and their hopes for a bumper harvest.
Isn't it great to know...
THEY have crap weather as well !
Image: FOLK GUITAR
Rumney Folk Club
An evening of light/acoustic folk music held
every month in the relaxing and friendly candle-lit
atmosphere of St. Augustine's Church Hall.
Musicians regardless of skill and age are most welcome.
Licensed bar and raffle will also feature.
at: St Augustine's Church Hall,
Whitehall Parade,
Cardiff.
date: September 19th 2008
time: 8pm
cost: £3.50 (Musicians Free)
IF YOU'D LIKE TO SAY YOUR PIECE:
EMAIL US AT:
Patannjones@aol.com
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