Causeway -
TARA 3035
Nollaig Casey & Arty McGlynn
Album Sleevenotes
| Tracks |
Audio
Samples
|
|||
| (1) | Causeway | |||
| (2) | Cabbage and Cale | |||
| (3) | Seo Leo 'Thoil | |||
| (4) | Jack Palance's Reel | |||
| (5) | Trá an Phéarla (Strand of the Pearl) | |||
| (6) | Rainy Summer | |||
| (7) | A Stór mo Chroí | |||
| (8) | Comanche Moon | |||
| (9) | The Trip to Tokyo | |||
| (10) | Dún Na Séad (Fort of the Jewels) | |||
| (11) | Murals | |||
| (12) | Lois Na Banríona ( Fort of the Fairy Queen) |
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Sleeve Notes
Nollaig Casey - Vocals, Fiddles, Violas, Tin Whistles.
Arty McGlynn - Acoustic, Guitars, Fender Telecaster Guitar, Pedal
Steel Guitar.
Brendan Power - Harmonicas.
Rod McVey - Keyboards, Hammond Organ.
James Blennerhassett - Electric Bass, Double Bass.
Dave Early - Drums, Percussion.
Enda Walsh - Keyboards, (Tracks 3, 7, 10)
Tony Philips - Drums, (Tracks, 2, 4)
Produced by : Arty McGlynn and Shaun Wallace.
Recorded by : Shaun Wallace at Homestead Studios, Randalstown, Co
Antrim.
Track Notes
Seo Leo'Thoil,
There are three distinct types of song in the Irish Song tradition ;
Goltraí - Sad Songs, Geantraí - Happy songs and Suantraí
- Lullabies. This song is a Suantraí. Certain phrases were used
in the choruses of these songs to help put children to sleep, such as
''Seoithin Seó'' and ''Seo Leo'Thoil''. These phrases roughly
translate into English as ''Hushabye''. The song was composed by Eoin
Ruadh O' Suilleabháin, one of the best known travelling poets
of the eighteenth century in Ireland . Known as ''The Silver Tongue
of Munster'' - he was learned in Greek and Latin as well as some European
languages - he was also notorious philanderer . The story goes that
one night he visited a house in which a woman was nursing a crying child.
The woman apparently said to him '' Now it's your turn - Mind your child!''
The poet began to rock the baby to sleep, and composed this beautiful
lullaby.
A Stór MO Chroí (Darling of my Heart)
This is a West Cork version of the song which I learned from my mother,
who in turn learned it from her mother. It is a song of emigration.
Dún na Séad (Fort of the Jewels)
Dún NA Séad is a picturesque village in West Cork, now
known as Baltimore, which was once principal stronghold of the O'Driscolls,
Lords of Corca Laighe. In the song, the poet describes the beauty of
Dún NA Séad and remembers with sorrow a past love. I learned
this version of the song from my father. Sean O' Cathasaigh.
Instrumental Notes
Trá an Phéarla (Strand of the Pearl)
I've called this tune after a little strand near Allihies in West Cork
known as Trá an Phéarla, or the Strand of the Pearl. ''
The Pearl'' was the name of a ship, which was en route from the East
Indies and which sank there in the early seventeenth century.
Lios NA Banríona (Fort of the Fairy Queen)
This tune I've named after '' Lios NA Banríona'' a small townland
near Bandon in Co. Cork where I grew up. The word Lios means fairy fort,
and the countryside in Ireland is dotted with them . They are in fact
, prehistoric ring forts. They were thought to be inhabited by the fairies
and people were afraid to interfere with them. As a result a great many
of them remain intact and unploughed by farmers to this day.
Nollaig Casey
The Giant's Causeway
The stunning beauty of the Giant's Causeway on the north coast of Co.
Antrim, not far from Homestead studios where this album was recorded,
provided much of the inspiration for Arty McGlynn to compose his music
for this album. The causeway itself is a formation of honeycombed hexagonal
columns of basalt rock stretching for several miles along the coast
from Portrush to Bushmills, and its origins are believed to date back
some 55 million years.
Legend has it that the Irish giant Finn MacCool, who lived in Antrim
, built a causeway over to nearby Scotland, so that his great rival
Scottish giant Benandonner, could travel on dry land to accept a challenge
to battle from Finn. When Finn saw Benandonner arriving, he realised
that he stood no chance against such a large and fearsome giant, so
he went home and disguised himself as a baby in a cradle. When Bennandonner
arrived at Finn's house and saw what he believed to be a massive baby
of Finn he fled back to Scotland, saying ''if this is the child then
I have no wish to meet the father''. As he fled he ripped up the causeway
in case Finn might come after him!
A more scientific explanation of how the Causeway was formed is that,
some 60 million years ago, as the Atlantic ocean was forming and the
continents of America and Europe were moving further apart, there was
an intense period volcanic activity in the area creating large areas
of basalt, as the lava cooled to solid rock. The conditions at the time
were near perfect for the lava to cool at a very even rate which in
turn tended to produce rocks which mainly hexagonal in shape.
Whichever explanation you accept for the formation of the causeway,
it is without doubt one of mother nature's most beautiful creations.
Nollaig Casey hails from a strong traditional
background in West Cork. By the time she reached her teens she already
excelled on a number of instruments including piano, uilleann pipes,
tin whistle, fiddle, as well as singing. At an early age of nineteen
she graduated from University College Cork with a Bachelor of Music
degree, after which she embarked on a career in music, firstly with
the RTE Symphony Orchestra where she spent five years and later as a
freelance player.
Arty McGlynn from Omagh, Co. Tyrone also comes from a strong traditional
background, but his early influences were the great jazz masters. He
started to play professionally at fifteen touring Ireland with numerous
bands. After several years playing with Van Morrison, he revived his
interests in traditional Irish music and soon became one of the most
sought after musicians in Ireland.
Nollaig and Arty first met back in 1979, and the following years their
musical paths continually crossed as they both worked with some of Irelands
top artists. In 1984 they were married after which , as well as pursuing
their respective solo careers, they spent much of their time performing
as a duet.
Special Thanks: Very special thanks to Sean & Una Casey for all the songs on the album.
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