traditional

Holding on to Peace with Planxty

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How do you fight fire? Do you fight it with another fire? There are times when we are put in a hateful situation and we forget who we are. The situation bares our animal instinct.We are not free from the wear and tear of everyday life. There are times when the internal struggles we have are worse than what’s happening outside.

My take on this? Always take time for your self. Find that personal space. Being with the same people for so long can have its downside. As they say ,familiarity breeds contempt. So always be on the lookout. So how do you fight hate? I fight it with peaceful music. Here’s Planxty with Sweet Thames Flow Softly taken from their 1973 self-titled album also known as The Black Album. I hope that to those who are having a bad day, this song will give you a source of inspiration to go on living.Don’t forget to smile.

Artist credits on the album:

Looking Back:Connie Dover’s Somebody

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TPM101I first discovered American singer Connie Dover when I got a copy of CD Review in the early 90s.This line caught me and I knew I have to find her recordings:

 

“Just occasionally, a voice arrives on the folk scene that is so pure, so beautiful, so magical, that it tells you: this is how to sing a song. Such a voice has Connie Dover.”
— The Scotsman (Scotland’s National Newspaper)

 

  Connie posseses one of the rarest voice in the folk music industry. I find it totally beautiful. The title track  Somebody evokes longing, driven by acoustic guitar and vocal harmonies. The Baron of Brackley has that old Fairport Convention feel to it. Other tracks are mid-tempo, divided into lively and traditional airs.Cantus is one some that’s actually based on a Gregorian chant but translated into 3 parts: Latin, English and Gaelic. Connie indeed has a knack for doing tireless research and singing in multi-language.O’er The Hills and Far Away is a paean for unrequited love set on a lively sway with a Scottish feel. Shenandoah is sung acappela with her voice dubbed several times to create harmony vocals. Rosemary’s Sister is about the perils of war. So far this collection pays tribute to the journeys of different people coming from Ireland and Scotland, and then settling into early America, bringing with them songs that’s as old as a thousand years.

 

For detailed information,please visit her official websiteconniecowgirl

Also visit Amazon.com to purchase the album.

Christiane Cargill:The Fairy from Orange County

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  If you have been searching in the Internet for a female vocalist with Chopin’s piano talent then you might have landed on Christiane Cargill’s Celtic cafe. She’s from Orange County California whose lineage are of Irish and Scottish. In Metamorphosis, she pays tribute to her heritage but at the same time added her own modern twist.

 

  She studied Classical music at an early age but found her first love in song writing.All of the songs in Metamorphosis are piano based. If you love the way Tori Amos tinkers with the keys, but with the haunting touch of Nightnoise , then you’d buy this album. If you love the vocals of Evanescence‘s Amy Lee (but way better) then yes! this is for you. There is a sunny side in her renderings that make you really dream of green fields.

 

  Check her full song ‘Green Fields of France’  featured on  Celtic Folk Podcast  hosted by Al Mann. You can also visit her official site  for news as well as tour dates. Who knows,she might be playing in your area soon.  And oh she’s in  MySpace.

Instrumentation
Christiane Cargill – vocals and piano

Additional Instrumentation:
Carter Dewberry – cello
Rebecca Kleinmann – flute
Bob Malone – accordian
Paul McIntire – violin
Christo Pellani – drums and percussion

Listen to samples and track list here