Franklin eh…not much dreaming in the hammock, not much hammock…I’d have gone for Feckin – and been cheered up to hear BBC weather talking about the ‘Feckin storm’… hope all well with you and companeros here…
Linked to Rory’s post, Mr Attenborough was/ is ahead of the game in many ways… in recent years (and online) there’s good info about the music he collected all over the world from the 1950s onwards. His take is that he’s interested in people, as well as the natural world and having access to a portable tape recorder, he used it to record music being made in areas he visited. Fair play…
Keep well all – kettle on the hob…
Dave
Christy's reply
You got me on the hop here Dave…just replied to your last one..catch you later
Dear Christy,
I watched a programme with the great David Attenborough and he reminded us that it is nearly 100 years since Beatrice Harrison recorded the first animal song, when nightingales sang as she played cello.
That was the forefather/mother of your guitar accompanying the blackbird singing and the tractor passing.
Both glorious.
Time to face the world for this next week, before then looking forward to an owl’s hoot and a dawn chorus in the nearby Scots Pines.
Rory
Christy's reply
The wind whistles around the chimney above my bed…songs humming around in this old head….its time to rise and face the music…
I wish you a happy week Rory
I’m enjoying April’s ‘Uncut’ mag and the CD stuck to the cover – ‘Blackwaterside – sounds of the new weird Albion’ – don’t let the title put you off…
There’s a good feature on the CD’s artists – basically, the next generation of folkies. I’ve been impressed by Jon Wilks and Jim Ghedi for while, but good to hear what people are up to… Having an inclination to darker songs/ sounds, I’d recommend ‘Burd Ellen’ , with a good website too…I’m looking forward to hear more of them.
Great that the ‘tradition’ seems in good health.
Dave
Christy's reply
thanks Dave….I’ll get that today…our local indepenant newsagents is Hewetts…David & Thelma always stock a great variety of Music monthlys…I’ll drop in this morning for an ‘Uncut’ and chat…..
I often ponder on how music genres evolve, in particular the one in which we are involved…there are genres within genres…sometimes so vaguely defined the borders become invisible….take Fairport,Steeleye and Pentangle for example, some ,but not all,would have them in the same genre…..
Here we had The Chieftains Planxty, De Danaan,The Bothy Band, seen by many to be of the same genre…
on further analysis its possible to conclude that each band has is its own genre…
then I look at the verb “to analyze” ….the eyes and the anal….maybe I’m looking up my own Khyber here !
not many of us left here Dave but I’m still enjoying the ongoing conversations…
as time passes, its almost inevitable that we may end up talking to ourselves…
Its time to pick up the Atkin and sing Bill Caddick’s “John O Dreams”
We look forward to your return to the NW….. be it summer or autumn..
John Spillane was in Ballybofey yesterday evening , magic night…. hit after hit , how does he do it ???
There has been one recording made of the Trinity College Harp since recording began.
In 1961 it was restrung with brass wires and brought up to pitch for a short time.
The recording is towards the bottom of this page http://www.earlygaelicharp.info/harps/trinitymusic.htm
The strings that are on the harp now are the same ones from the recording, but they’ve been loosened to reduce the tension on the soundboard.
This harp is a bit of a pilgrimage site for people who play the harp.
Hello Christy,
All this talk of the good ship Kangaroo has made me think of St Brendan and the albatross. Let the mind run a bit further and I’m thinking he’d look great riding a big polar bear. It’s nearly cold enough out there.
I can hear the rain again and am now very envious of Rory’s Sunday – looking forward to hearing more about his pal’s gig and back story…
Now and again, Bob Harris has been fondly mentioned here. Late yesterday I hit http://www.bobharris.org and there are lots of tempting archive pieces. So, with mugs of tea to hand, that’s where I’m heading…
Have a good day – keep warm
Dave
Christy's reply
all went well yesterday…mon now and the wind howls on
Hi Christy, today i am going to see a pal ,Andy Sherwood ,play for Hawick Music Club in an old local church.
He is playing a fiddle found in the WW1 trenches and performing another pal’s ‘road to Passchendaele’.
Am not on faceslap ( or twatter for that matter) but anyone interested can get the story on Hawick Music Club’s faceslap page.
Do you have any ancient instruments that you can play?
Regards
Rory
Christy's reply
in early years I tried out all sorts of banjolins and mangos…always reverted to the familiar…played harmonium a bit in Planxty…mandolin on one track, once played bouzouki on a track …( CS 17 plays that instrument now)….used to hammer out a few on the joanna when hammered…these days its 7 chords and capo on the Atkin with the old drum forever at hand in case of emergencies
Just a quick message to say thanks for a great gig in Dun Laoghaire on Tuesday. Great to see you in such great form and so relaxed. Hopefully get to hear The Good Ship Kangaroo at some stage in the future.
Cheers
Christy's reply
“Tortoises from Teneriffe,ties from Timbuctoo,
a China Rat, A Bengal Cat and a Bombay Cockatoo”
I’m afraid that ship has sailed over the horizon Gareth..last played it with Planxty in 2004..mind you, if I got a request in advance it might appear …but no guarantee
A funny old week , storms aplenty… wind , rain and snow here.
Mighty gigs in Dun Laoghaire we hear… must get back to one as soon as we can.
In other news , Andrew splashed the cash…. No Sweat.
Christy's reply
if all goes according to plan we’ll hit the NorthWest in late Summer early Autumn…hope ye are all well adup in Glenties ,Gleann Nimhe and Portnoo ..will there be a Carnival in Carndonagh ? ..will they go for the 5 pole marquee again….will ye have a Mary from Dungloe this year ?…. ” I’d call for Liquor of the best and pay before I would go”
Hello Christy,
Thankyou, I’m onto it.
That word of Rory’s is good. Drookit? I had to look it up. Trying to think, but I’m pretty sure we don’t have anything so descriptive for getting drenched round here, and we get a lot of that.
I was wondering about giving names to storms that might calm them, so maybe Fleur? Unless we’d prefer to be battered by something with a big strong name. Safer not to encourage them…
Hey Christy,
What about storm Finn, you never kbow which way he will blow, he could knock over the sturdiest english mansion and then fail to blow down an italian chicken hutch, whistling past you before you know it, i suspect he would blow up Ms Munro’s skirt with a cheeky grin and drop a bucket full of water over Eddie Jones’s watermelon patch
Hi christy
Could we not find better names for the storms?
F is next, any views?
Storm Joxer , storm Nancy Spain, storm McIlhatton and storm Zozimus might make getting drookit more entertaining.
Regards
Rory
Christy's reply
Storm Farouka pending
I hope I survive to bear witness to Storm Zozimus..
sorry to see your Number 10 getting yellow carded..he is an intriguing character to observe…he always has that slight smile lurking..whether he is at his brilliant best or making a mess he has that sardonic air about him..but any times he plays he becomes the centre of attention as does the new English 10…
tis a damp and dirty morning here this morning ,with a cold wind to boot…
I booked my flight home, first time since this madness began, not sure if I’ll be able to get my auld camper on the road, either way I’ll try to get to one of your outings.. if u sligo looking lad in the bunch that’s me. Sing on..
Hello Christy,
It sounds like it was a cracker last night. Big lumps of joy floating round the room. Lovely!
Is it ok if I have a go at the new Raggle Taggle words you wrote for the young Liam, please?
I’m also going to add in those two extra verses near the beginning of Spancil Hill, if that’s ok?
I think there’s no point doing what we do if we’re not letting the songs breath and flow. Changes made with love and care.
The song lives by being sung, by blazes we’re storytellers, not news readers.
Having said that, I changed a word in Musgrave (true to so). It feels smoother for me, but weird too, the song feels so much connection to you.
Sharing the creativity here is lifeblood to me. Thankyou.
Rebecca
Christy's reply
Go for it….. songs that have survived across centuries underwent change with every generation…..I changed many words in Little Musgrave, Lord Baker, Well Below The Valley,Pontchartrain,Raggle Taggle, Hattie Carrol, Move Along and numerous others… how else could they fit my bog dialect
To echo Lar’s words, it was a great gig right from the off..the tweaks to some of the songs are subtle but refreshing.. the beauty of song.. Never saw the Gatso on the way home..
Canny revisions to ‘Raggle Taggle’, Christy…lovely words and rhythm – fair play to you and it’s always good to keep the Mudcats and ‘folk police’ on their toes…
Sounds like last night was a gem… after all the hard graft in the workroom, it’s always good to get audience responses – nowt like it.
From the beginning of How Long, and Lighting bird, through the Cliffs, and Raggle Taggle, the Well, Stuttgart and to John Spillanes aunts farm to Lisdoon at the end…it was a pure privilege to sit in Dun Laoghaire tonight and see, hear and sing along with a great packed house to this amazing collection of songs and the stories attached to them..It was exciting as ever, not knowing what came next..it was a beauty.. Thank you. Lx
Christy's reply
Good man Lar….you sure are a long haul listener…Margaret & Irene in Liverpool gotta be my longest listeners goin right back to the late 60s (they were extremely young when they began to listen)….yourself and Kieran Kelly have served some long time balladeering…Hilary has covered a lot of road since comin aboard….I really appreciate all of you 4711 gagglers…. ye steady the ship, wherever it lays anchor…..I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again….Songs need Singers, Singers need Listeners, Listeners need Songs….round we go, heel to the toe…..
Mornin’ Christy
Franklin eh…not much dreaming in the hammock, not much hammock…I’d have gone for Feckin – and been cheered up to hear BBC weather talking about the ‘Feckin storm’… hope all well with you and companeros here…
Linked to Rory’s post, Mr Attenborough was/ is ahead of the game in many ways… in recent years (and online) there’s good info about the music he collected all over the world from the 1950s onwards. His take is that he’s interested in people, as well as the natural world and having access to a portable tape recorder, he used it to record music being made in areas he visited. Fair play…
Keep well all – kettle on the hob…
Dave
You got me on the hop here Dave…just replied to your last one..catch you later
Dear Christy,
I watched a programme with the great David Attenborough and he reminded us that it is nearly 100 years since Beatrice Harrison recorded the first animal song, when nightingales sang as she played cello.
That was the forefather/mother of your guitar accompanying the blackbird singing and the tractor passing.
Both glorious.
Time to face the world for this next week, before then looking forward to an owl’s hoot and a dawn chorus in the nearby Scots Pines.
Rory
The wind whistles around the chimney above my bed…songs humming around in this old head….its time to rise and face the music…
I wish you a happy week Rory
Hello Christy when you go to write a song which do you come up with first the melody or the words
always the words
Hi Christy/ all
I’m enjoying April’s ‘Uncut’ mag and the CD stuck to the cover – ‘Blackwaterside – sounds of the new weird Albion’ – don’t let the title put you off…
There’s a good feature on the CD’s artists – basically, the next generation of folkies. I’ve been impressed by Jon Wilks and Jim Ghedi for while, but good to hear what people are up to… Having an inclination to darker songs/ sounds, I’d recommend ‘Burd Ellen’ , with a good website too…I’m looking forward to hear more of them.
Great that the ‘tradition’ seems in good health.
Dave
thanks Dave….I’ll get that today…our local indepenant newsagents is Hewetts…David & Thelma always stock a great variety of Music monthlys…I’ll drop in this morning for an ‘Uncut’ and chat…..
I often ponder on how music genres evolve, in particular the one in which we are involved…there are genres within genres…sometimes so vaguely defined the borders become invisible….take Fairport,Steeleye and Pentangle for example, some ,but not all,would have them in the same genre…..
Here we had The Chieftains Planxty, De Danaan,The Bothy Band, seen by many to be of the same genre…
on further analysis its possible to conclude that each band has is its own genre…
then I look at the verb “to analyze” ….the eyes and the anal….maybe I’m looking up my own Khyber here !
not many of us left here Dave but I’m still enjoying the ongoing conversations…
as time passes, its almost inevitable that we may end up talking to ourselves…
Its time to pick up the Atkin and sing Bill Caddick’s “John O Dreams”
We look forward to your return to the NW….. be it summer or autumn..
John Spillane was in Ballybofey yesterday evening , magic night…. hit after hit , how does he do it ???
Lord (storm) Franklin it seems
another ball in the back of the net for Passage
There has been one recording made of the Trinity College Harp since recording began.
In 1961 it was restrung with brass wires and brought up to pitch for a short time.
The recording is towards the bottom of this page
http://www.earlygaelicharp.info/harps/trinitymusic.htm
The strings that are on the harp now are the same ones from the recording, but they’ve been loosened to reduce the tension on the soundboard.
This harp is a bit of a pilgrimage site for people who play the harp.
Rebecca
Hello Christy,
All this talk of the good ship Kangaroo has made me think of St Brendan and the albatross. Let the mind run a bit further and I’m thinking he’d look great riding a big polar bear. It’s nearly cold enough out there.
Talking of old instruments. Whenever I’m in Dublin I try to pay the Trinity College Harp a visit. The proclamation is in the same beautiful room.
I took some pics of the harp last time I was there.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10165675164515136&id=847680135
Rebecca
two bumps Josie
Mornin’ Christy/ all
I can hear the rain again and am now very envious of Rory’s Sunday – looking forward to hearing more about his pal’s gig and back story…
Now and again, Bob Harris has been fondly mentioned here. Late yesterday I hit http://www.bobharris.org and there are lots of tempting archive pieces. So, with mugs of tea to hand, that’s where I’m heading…
Have a good day – keep warm
Dave
all went well yesterday…mon now and the wind howls on
Hi Christy, today i am going to see a pal ,Andy Sherwood ,play for Hawick Music Club in an old local church.
He is playing a fiddle found in the WW1 trenches and performing another pal’s ‘road to Passchendaele’.
Am not on faceslap ( or twatter for that matter) but anyone interested can get the story on Hawick Music Club’s faceslap page.
Do you have any ancient instruments that you can play?
Regards
Rory
in early years I tried out all sorts of banjolins and mangos…always reverted to the familiar…played harmonium a bit in Planxty…mandolin on one track, once played bouzouki on a track …( CS 17 plays that instrument now)….used to hammer out a few on the joanna when hammered…these days its 7 chords and capo on the Atkin with the old drum forever at hand in case of emergencies
I didn’t dare say it…
Hi Christy,
Just a quick message to say thanks for a great gig in Dun Laoghaire on Tuesday. Great to see you in such great form and so relaxed. Hopefully get to hear The Good Ship Kangaroo at some stage in the future.
Cheers
“Tortoises from Teneriffe,ties from Timbuctoo,
a China Rat, A Bengal Cat and a Bombay Cockatoo”
I’m afraid that ship has sailed over the horizon Gareth..last played it with Planxty in 2004..mind you, if I got a request in advance it might appear …but no guarantee
A funny old week , storms aplenty… wind , rain and snow here.
Mighty gigs in Dun Laoghaire we hear… must get back to one as soon as we can.
In other news , Andrew splashed the cash…. No Sweat.
if all goes according to plan we’ll hit the NorthWest in late Summer early Autumn…hope ye are all well adup in Glenties ,Gleann Nimhe and Portnoo ..will there be a Carnival in Carndonagh ? ..will they go for the 5 pole marquee again….will ye have a Mary from Dungloe this year ?…. ” I’d call for Liquor of the best and pay before I would go”
Hello Christy,
Thankyou, I’m onto it.
That word of Rory’s is good. Drookit? I had to look it up. Trying to think, but I’m pretty sure we don’t have anything so descriptive for getting drenched round here, and we get a lot of that.
I was wondering about giving names to storms that might calm them, so maybe Fleur? Unless we’d prefer to be battered by something with a big strong name. Safer not to encourage them…
Rebecca
Hurricane Fanny
Hey Christy,
What about storm Finn, you never kbow which way he will blow, he could knock over the sturdiest english mansion and then fail to blow down an italian chicken hutch, whistling past you before you know it, i suspect he would blow up Ms Munro’s skirt with a cheeky grin and drop a bucket full of water over Eddie Jones’s watermelon patch
Hi christy
Could we not find better names for the storms?
F is next, any views?
Storm Joxer , storm Nancy Spain, storm McIlhatton and storm Zozimus might make getting drookit more entertaining.
Regards
Rory
Storm Farouka pending
I hope I survive to bear witness to Storm Zozimus..
sorry to see your Number 10 getting yellow carded..he is an intriguing character to observe…he always has that slight smile lurking..whether he is at his brilliant best or making a mess he has that sardonic air about him..but any times he plays he becomes the centre of attention as does the new English 10…
tis a damp and dirty morning here this morning ,with a cold wind to boot…
I booked my flight home, first time since this madness began, not sure if I’ll be able to get my auld camper on the road, either way I’ll try to get to one of your outings.. if u sligo looking lad in the bunch that’s me. Sing on..
Ride On Marty….
Hello Christy,
It sounds like it was a cracker last night. Big lumps of joy floating round the room. Lovely!
Is it ok if I have a go at the new Raggle Taggle words you wrote for the young Liam, please?
I’m also going to add in those two extra verses near the beginning of Spancil Hill, if that’s ok?
I think there’s no point doing what we do if we’re not letting the songs breath and flow. Changes made with love and care.
The song lives by being sung, by blazes we’re storytellers, not news readers.
Having said that, I changed a word in Musgrave (true to so). It feels smoother for me, but weird too, the song feels so much connection to you.
Sharing the creativity here is lifeblood to me. Thankyou.
Rebecca
Go for it….. songs that have survived across centuries underwent change with every generation…..I changed many words in Little Musgrave, Lord Baker, Well Below The Valley,Pontchartrain,Raggle Taggle, Hattie Carrol, Move Along and numerous others… how else could they fit my bog dialect
To echo Lar’s words, it was a great gig right from the off..the tweaks to some of the songs are subtle but refreshing.. the beauty of song.. Never saw the Gatso on the way home..
Mornin’ Christy/ all
Canny revisions to ‘Raggle Taggle’, Christy…lovely words and rhythm – fair play to you and it’s always good to keep the Mudcats and ‘folk police’ on their toes…
Sounds like last night was a gem… after all the hard graft in the workroom, it’s always good to get audience responses – nowt like it.
Have a good day
Dave
From the beginning of How Long, and Lighting bird, through the Cliffs, and Raggle Taggle, the Well, Stuttgart and to John Spillanes aunts farm to Lisdoon at the end…it was a pure privilege to sit in Dun Laoghaire tonight and see, hear and sing along with a great packed house to this amazing collection of songs and the stories attached to them..It was exciting as ever, not knowing what came next..it was a beauty.. Thank you. Lx
Good man Lar….you sure are a long haul listener…Margaret & Irene in Liverpool gotta be my longest listeners goin right back to the late 60s (they were extremely young when they began to listen)….yourself and Kieran Kelly have served some long time balladeering…Hilary has covered a lot of road since comin aboard….I really appreciate all of you 4711 gagglers…. ye steady the ship, wherever it lays anchor…..I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again….Songs need Singers, Singers need Listeners, Listeners need Songs….round we go, heel to the toe…..