Transcript for the Piece Audio version of Symphony Space Live: A Celtic Celebration
A CELTIC CELEBRATION:
MUSIC FOR MORE THAN JUST ST. PATRICK
V 1.9 12/21/06 post produced
1) Music: CD 2 Celtic Fiddle Festival: Include count in: One two three
Stefon:
YOU KNOW, MUSICIANS CAN LEARN A LOT ABOUT MUSIC FROM FOOD MAVENS.
THE FOODIES USE THE TERM ?Terr Wahr?. (TERROIR). IT'S A SIMPLE IDEA, REALLY: GREAT FOOD COMES FROM SPECIAL PLACES, WITH SPECIAL EARTH SUN AND RAIN.
SOME MUSICIANS, AND MANY CELTIC {Kel- tic} MUSIC FANS HAVE KNOWN ABOUT TERR-wahr FOR FOR YEARS. FROM BRITTANY TO GALLICIA
NOW THE CELTS MAY SPEAK IN DIFFERENT TONGUES; THEIR ACCENTS MAY FALL ON VARIOUS SYLLABLES BUT MUSICALLY, THEY?RE TALKING THE SAME LANGUAGE, JUST AHEAD -- A FEAST OF DANCES AND SONGS FROM THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE CELTIC WORLD?
SO MANY STREAMS OF MUSIC FLOW TOGETHER HERE AT SYMPHONY SPACE. I LOVE HAVING MY EARS AT THE CENTER OF IT ALL. AND HAVING THE CHANCE TO SHARE THIS MIX WITH YOU. I'M STEFON HARRIS.
ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND WELCOMES OR SHOULD I SAY Kayd Mee-leh Fahl-cha ( CEAD MILLE FAILTE) ? TO SYMPHONY SPACE LIVE.
(end of track, applause fade under)
2) Music: (John McCormick: When Irish Eyes are Smiling, start at chorus) (fr JB CD)
Stefon:
IT WASN'T SO LONG AGO THAT IF YOU ASKED TO HEAR IRISH MUSIC, SOMEBODY MIGHT PLAY YOU THIS:
Stefon:
IT WAS MUSIC HALL FANTASY FILLED WITH ?THE LITTLE PEOPLE? AND RAINBOWS AND CROCKS OF GOLD.
THEN, ABOUT 40 YEARS AGO, THAT STARTED TO CHANGE -- WHEN CELTS OF ALL STRIPES BEGAN TO EXPLORE A HERITAGE THAT GOES BACK MORE THAN TWO THOUSAND YEARS .
FROM THE STAGE OF SYMPHONY SPACE, HERE?S A SET OF JIGS THAT CAPTURES THE SPREAD OF CELTIC MUSIC FROM FRENCH BRITTANY, FROM ENGLAND, AND FROM CHICAGO. THE PERFORMERS ARE A BAND FROM ACROSS THE UK CALLED ?FLOOK?
THEY CALL THESE ? THE MOUSE JIGS?
3) Music: (Mouse jigs: 4:20) Flook 3/06
Stefon:
THE MOUSE JIGS PERFORMED BY FLOOK.
SARAH ALLEN PLAYED THE FLUTE; WITH BRIAN FINNEGAN ON WHISTLE; ED BOYD ON GUITAR; AND JOHN JOE KELLY ON THE BODHRAN {BO-Ron}, THAT PROPULSIVE HAND DRUM.
BACKSTAGE AFTER THE SOUNDCHECK FOR THIS SHOW, WE ASKED THE MEMBERS OF FLOOK WHAT SEPARATES THE JIGS FROM THE REELS?
4) STEFON:
BRIAN FINNEGAN
VOX::(from Flook interview, c2:55
(BF)The time signature, really. A jig is 6/8 and a reel is 4/4, and they're a particular style of dance.
Stefon:
ED BOYD
(EB) I was gonna say if you don't know what 6/8 or 4/4 was, 6/8 is dug-gi-duh, dug-gi-duh, dug-gi-duh, dug-gi-duh so groups of three ? 1-2-3 1-2-3 1-23-123, all right? Whereas a reel is one-two-three-four ...
Stefon:
ONSTAGE, WE?VE GOT FIDDLERS KEVIN BURKE, CHRISTIAN LEMAITRE {KREES-Jahn le-MEH-tre} AND ANDRE BRUNET {ON-dray Brew-Nay}WITH THREE REELS FROM QUEBEC:
5) Music: 2, starts at 27:57 ... 5:30, including applause)
Fade applause to ambience under:
Stefon:
LA BELLE CATHERINE {KA-terr-een}, LE STEP A TI-PHONSE {Tee-Fonss} AND REEL A TOTO.
THREE REELS, AND THREE GREAT FIDDLERS
KEVIN BURKE FROM IRELAND, CHRISTIAN LEMAITRE FROM BRITTANY AND ANDRE BRUNET FROM QUEBEC, IN A CELTIC FIDDLE FESTIVAL, HOSTEDAT SYMPHONY SPACE BY THE WORLD MUSIC INSTITUTE..
SOME PEOPLE THINK OF TRADITIONS LIKE A FAVORITE BASKET OR AN ANTIQUE HAT PIN: OLD AND MAYBE HANDED DOWN FROM ONE GENERATION TO THE NEXT ? STATIC, LIKE THE STUFF IN MUSEUMS. BUT CELTIC MUSIC IS SOMETHING ELSE ENTIRELY: IT'S A LIVING TRADITION.
BEFORE SHE WENT ONSTAGE HERE, SINGER AND SONGWRITER KARAN CASEY TOOK A MOMENT TO TALK WITH US ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OLD SONGS AND THE NEW ONES THAT THEY GIVE THEIR SOUND OR LYRICS TO.
6 ) Vox: (02 In Flook and Karan Casey: c1:47 Casey:
There is a kind of a tradition within the tradition, if you know what I mean. Most traditional singers would //go up the road and learn songs from somebody or would have songs within the family and learn them that way.. I suppose more recently people learn things from tapes,// You have a few who write as well. And they would write in the traditional idiom, or it could be something like a close cousin who could write in a more folkie vein. (:41)
Stefon:
KARAN CASEY, WHO WRITES NEW SONGS WITH THAT OLD FEELING, LEARNED HER MUSIC IN THE TRADITION, GROWING UP IN WATERFORD ON THE SOUTH COAST OF IRELAND. HERE AT SYMPHONY SPACE, SHE?S ABOUT TO GIVE US A BEAUTIRFUL PRETTY OLD BALLAD FOUND BOTH IN IRELAND AND NORTH AMERICA..
7) Music: Love Is Pleasing (Karan Casey) 6:05, incl. applause)
(can be edited for time ? ca 90 sec)
Stefon:
?LOVE IS PLEASING: LOVE IS TEASING?. KAREN CASEY ONSTAGE AT SYMPHONY SPACE.
IN A MOMENT, KEVIN BURKE OFFERS REELS THAT COULD BE EITHER AS OLD AS THE HILLS OR AS YOUNG AS A FRESHLY DRAWN PINT OF STOUT. AND, FLOOK WILL TELL US WHY THE BEST PLACE TO LOOK FOR MUSIC MIGHT BE AS JUST AS CLOSE AS YOUR LOCAL PUB
YOU'RE HEARING SYMPHONY SPACE LIVE, I?M STEFON HARRIS..
9) Music start: (ELVIS: Danny Boy) (from JB Disc?)
Stefon:
THE GREAT IRISH TENOR, ELVIS O'PRESLEY -- SINGING THE ONLY IRISH SONG ACTUALLY BANNED FROM CATHOLIC CHURCHES IN THE DIOCESE OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.
ELVIS?S OWN MUSIC, OF COURSE FILTERED THROUGH THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE -- A DISTANCE AWAY ?BUT STILL A COUSIN TO WHAT WE'VE ENCOUNTERED SO FAR IN THIS JOURNEY THROUGH THE CELTIC NATIONS
Stefon: (continues)
SINGER KAREN CASEY TALKED EARLIER ABOUT HOW IN IRELAND PEOPLE WOULD ?GO UP THE ROAD? TO LEARN THE TRADITIONAL SONGS;
NOW, ONSTAGE AT SYMPHONY SPACE FIDDLER KEVIN BURKE EXPLAINS HOW AN ANCIENT TRADITION CAN THRIVE IN MODERN TIMES .
10) Vox: KEVIN BURKE onstage: cleaup a bit if possible)
We?re going to play few reels now. The first one was written by a man called Ed Reevy. He spent most of his life in Philadelphia. He came from Cavan originally, and wrote many tunes that were quickly adopted by traditional musicians. He was one of these characters that was able to write a tune and within 20 minutes it was regarded as traditional. He had some method of circumventing the usual 70-year waiting period. The second tune, then, is named after a place called Culfada up in County Sligo, and the third tune also comes from that neck of the woods. It?s a tune called the Graff Spey, but a version from the playing of a man called Ed Finn, a great fiddle player who used to live up there.
10) cont Music: (Ed Reevy?s Reel, Culfada and the Graff Spay .
Kevin Burke: CD 2: c13:24; 5:15, including applause)
Stefon:
ED REEVY'S REEL; CULFADA {Cool-Fa-Da}; AND THE ?GRAFF SPEY? {SPAY}. KEVIN BURKE ON FIDDLE, WITH JED FOLEY ON GUITAR -- AT SYMPHONY SPACE.
- YOU MAY ALREADY KNOW SYMPHONY SPACE AS THE HOME OF PUBLIC RADIO?S SELECTED SHORTS, BUT IF YOU COME TO VISIT US AT 95TH STREET AND BROADWAY IN MANHATTAN, OR TO OUR WEBSITE AT ?SYMPHONYSPACE DOT ORG? YOU?LL FIND MUSIC AND LITERATURE, DANCE, FILM, THEATER,AND MORE.
FOR PICTURES AND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR PERFORMERS, FOR SCHEDULES AND STREAMING AUDIO, GO TO SYMPHONYSPACE DOT ORG.
YOU?RE HEARING SYMPHONY SPACE LIVE:
I?M STEFON HARRIS
ID BREAK: 1:00
8) Music: O'Carolan's Concerto (CD 2: Starts around 7:30)
Stefon: (continues)
THE WRITER G.K. CHESTERTON ONCE SAID OF THE IRISH, ?ALL THEIR WARS ARE MERRY, AND ALL THEIR SONGS ARE SAD.?
THAT?S TRUE FOR THIS NEXT SONG, ?THE CURRA {CUR-rah} ROAD?
IT?S ANOTHER ONE THAT COMES TO US FROM KAREN CASEY -- AND IN THIS CASE IT?S ONE OF HER OWN.
11) Music: The Curra Road, Karen Casey (4:05, including applause)
KAREN CASEY SINGING ?THE CURRA ROAD?, WITH ROBBIE OVERSON, GUITAR, AND NEAL VALLELY, {VAL-leh-lee} PIANO.
THE CURRA, BY THE WAY, IS IN COUNTY KILDARE OUTSIDE OF DUBLIN NEAR THE RIVER BOYNE. THERE, BACK IN 1690, ? KING BILLY? ? THE PROTESTANT WILLIAM OF ORANGE TROUNCED THE OUSTED KING JAMES STUART. THESE DAYS THE SMALL, BUT MIGHTY IRISH ARMY CAN BE FOUND TRAINING NEARBY..
AND SPEAKING OF IRISH COUNTRYSIDE, WE CAUGHT BRIAN FINNEGAN, AND SARAH ALLEN FROM THE GROUP ?FLOOK? TALKING BACKSTAGE AT SYMPHONY SPACE ABOUT THE TRADITION OF PUB ?SESSIONS? WHERE EVERYONE PARTICIPATES AND THE ORAL TRADITION THRIVES.
12) VOX:(01 Interview Flook: c7:15
SA: We more often play concert halls than dance venues, all though we love to play dance venues, we love it when people dance. In Ireland more than anywhere else we play in pubs because a lot of the music in Ireland takes place in pubs, and that's great, you know...
BF Yeah, that's the session culture in Ireland, that's where a lot of young people learn their tunes. When me and John Drew were young, every weekend we'd go to whatever session was in one hundred miles of your home. Just get into your car and drive. (to 7:55) (0:40)
Stefon:
NO MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE, YOU CAN PROBABLY FIND A PUB WHERE FIDDLERS AND WHISTLERS AND UILLIAN (ILL-AN) PIPERS GATHER THERE ARE A COUPLE NEAR OUR UPPER WEST SIDE DOMAIN. AND OF COURSE THERE IS OUR OWN STAGE AT SYMPHONY SPACE. ? WHERE THE FOUR MEMBERS OF FLOOK ARE GATHERED TO GIVE US A PAIR OF WALTZES ?THE HOUSE OF LITTLE LIGHTS? AND SOW-ter CREEK
)
13) Music: House of Little Lights , Souter Creek (Flook: 5:45, incl Aplse)
Stefon:
?HOUSE OF LITTLE LIGHTS? BY BRIAN FINNEGAN AND ?SOW-ter? CREEK ? BY AIDEN O ROURKE -- PLAYED BY ?FLOOK?.
JUST AHEAD, WE REMEMBER THE LEGEND AND THE LIFE OF THE GREAT SCOT?S FIDDLER JOHNNY CUNNINGHAM. I?M STEFON HARRIS. YOU?RE HEARING A CELTIC MUSIC CELEBRATION FROM SYMPONY SPACE LIVE.
15) Music : (Bing Crosby, An Irish Lullaby) ? (from JB CD)
Stefon:
THEY SAY, ?WHEN THE FACTS DON?T MATCH THE LEGEND?.GO WITH THE LEGEND.?
BING CROSBY?S RECORDING TOO-RA-LOO-RA-LOO-RAL, WAS SUPPOSEDLY AN IRISH LULLABY. BUT? WELL?IT WAS COMPOSED BY ONE JAMES ROYCE SHANNON, BORN IN 1881 IN ADRIAN {AY-dree-ann} MICHIGAN. IT WAS FIRST RECORDED BY THE BROADWAY STAR CHAUNCEY OLCOTT IN 1914. I GUESS IF 70 YEARS IS THE MARK, BY NOW THAT SONG IS TRADITIONAL.>
Music: (Crosby sings --- that?s an Irish Luuuuul a bye.
Stefon:
NOW, THIS NEXT TUNE DOESN?T CLAIM TO BE OLD BUT THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN THE GUITAR AND THE PIANO SUGGESTS THAT MOST ANCIENT OF IRISH INSTRUMENTS, THE HARP.
AT SYMPHONY SPACE, KARAN CASEY PERFORMS ?THIS TIME WILL PASS?
16 Music: This Time Will Pass, (Karan Casey: 4:25, incl aplse)
Stefon:
?THIS TIME WILL PASS,? KAREN CASEY ON VOCALS, ROBBIE OVERSON ON GUITAR AND NEAL VALLELY {VAL-leh-lee} ON PIANO
THOUGHTS OF TIME PAST REMIND US THAT A DECADE AGO A GIANT OF SCOTTISH FIDDLING PLAYED ON THIS STAGE. HIS NAME WAS JOHNNY CUNNINGHAM.
Music: (START MUSIC CELTIC FIDDLES 5/7/94 TK 3: APP. 0:28)
HE WAS, AS YOU CAN HEAR, A WORLD CLASS FIDDLER. HE WAS ALSO A WORLD CLASS PARTIER. IN 2003 HE DIED OF A HEART ATTACK AT THE AGE OF 46. ON THE SYMPHONY SPACE STAGE FIDDLER KEVIN BURKE REMEMBERED JOHNNY CUNNINGHAM:
17 Vox: from concert KEVIN BURKE onstage:
When the Celtic Fiddle Festival started, we had a fellow with us, a great Scottish fiddle player, I?m sure many of you knew him well, a man called Johnny Cunningham, he left behind a lot of great memories and a lot of great music. So we?d like to play a couple of Johnny?s tunes now. These are two waltzes that he wrote, both with connections with Brittany. The first one is called Leaving Brittany, The other one is called the Pernod Waltz, and as you might be aware, Pernod is a well known adult beverage, and Johnny was in a bar one day over there in Brittany, and he was watching this guy drinking the Pernod for most of the afternoon, and a he was drinking and drinking and drinking and Johnny was watching and watching and watching. And finally the guy went to the bathroom, and as he walked across the floor to go to the bathroom, he kind of staggered a little and Johnny says, oh, yes, he?s doing the Pernod Waltz. So that was the inspiration for this tune.
17 Music: (WMI CD 2: Intro starts at 33:41 Leaving Brittany and The Pernod Waltz, 6:30 including applause)
STEFON:
CELTIC MUSIC IN THE 21ST CENTURY: FIDDLERS FROM BRITTANY, QUEBEC AND IRELAND JOINING FORCES ON ?LEAVING BRITTANY? AND ?THE PERNOD
IT'S FUNNY: WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT TRADITION, YOU CAN START WITH POPULATIONS AND DIG DOWN INTO CULTURE, BUT YOU ALWAYS END UP WITH PEOPLE ? TRADITION, IT?S THE LINK BETWEEN THE QUICK AND THE DEAD.?
SPEAKING OF WHICH WE?D BEST BE QUICK IF WE WANT TO HAVE TIME FOR SOME REELS FROM FLOOK ?
18 Music: Asturian Way medley by Flook (4:15), including applause)
Stefon: (over Austurian Way)
FLUTIST SARAH ALLEN AND PENNYWHISTLER BRIAN FINNEGAN, ED BOYD ON GUITAR, AND JOHN JO KELLY ON BO RONH
?PETER STREET,? COLIN FARRELL?S ?THE DRUNKEN ACROBAT? AND BRIAN FINNEGAN'S THE ASTURIAN {AS-toor-ian}WAY.
THE ENSEMBLE CALLS ITSELF ?FLOOK
MY NAME IS STEFON HARRIS. AND YOU'VE BEEN HEARING SYMPHONY SPACE LIVE -- IN THE CELTIC TRADITION.
THIS AND A LOT MORE MUSIC, DANCE, FILM AND LITERATURE CAN BE FOUND ON THE STAGES AT NEW YORK?S ?SYMPHONY SPACE? .AND AT SYMPHONY SPACE DOT ORG YOU CAN ALSO FIND THIS PROGRAM THERE IF YOU WANT TO HEAR IT AGAIN OR SHARE IT WITH A FRIEND..
SYMPHONY SPACE LIVE IS WRITTEN BY JACKSON BRAIDER AND PRODUCED AT MURRAY STREET BY STEVE RATHE AND DAVID GOREN.
THE MUSIC WE HEARD WAS MIXED BY SAUNDRA PALMER GRASSI OF PALMER GRASSI RECORDINGS, BY EDWARD HABER FOR WNYC RADIO AND BY DAVID SCHNEERMAN FOR HEAR NO EVIL.
OUR SPECIAL THANKS TO THE ?WORLD MUSIC INSTITUTE? FOR SHARING THE CELTIC FIDDLE FESTIVAL.
THE PRODUCTION TEAM INCLUDES DARREN CRITZ, CHRIS HERLES, RICK ECKLERLE {ECK-ER-LEE}, BRANDON KARP, SIMON RENTER, MATTHEW PAYNE, LILLIAN JEAN BAPTISTE AND BRIAN MCCABE AT JAZZ 88, WBGO.
THANKS ALSO TO KAREN KENNEDY ? 24/SEVEN ARTIST MANAGEMENT, TO WNYC, NEW YORK PUBLIC RADIO TO OUR SYMPHONY SPACE STAGE CREWS AND TO HEAR NO EVIL SOUND.
THE EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS OF SYMPHONY SPACE LIVE ARE ISAIAH SHEFFER AND CYNTHIA ELLIOTT.
SUPPORT FOR THIS PROGRAM CAME FROM THE CARNEGIE CORPORATION OF NEW YORK, THE PETER JAY SHARP FOUNDATION, ZABARS AND ZABARS DOT COM. THANKS FOR LISTENING.
Promo:
Music:
Stefon:
FROM SYMPHONY SPACE LIVE, KEVIN BURKE OFFERS REELS THAT COULD BE AS OLD AS THE HILLS OR AS YOUNG AS A FRESHLY DRAWN PINT OF STOUT. KAREN CASEY BRINGS US BALLADS AND, FLOOK TELLS US WHY THE BEST PLACE TO LOOK FOR MUSIC MIGHT BE AS JUST CLOSE AS YOUR LOCAL PUB. I?M STEFON HARRIS, JOIN ME FOR A CELTIC CELEBRATION FROM SYMPHONY SPACE LIVE?
