Elva MacGowan’s emotive soprano shines in this Mexican folk song. My research told me that she is well versed in classical singing, guitar and piano. Her repertoire is both fresh and original ranging from arias to jazz standards to Irish ballads to bluegrass to international folk ballads, drawn from a love of diverse musical traditions which have enchanted discerning audiences since the beginning of her singing career. She is the other half of Keepsake with Donall Donelly who is heavily involved in this project.
This song is one of the tracks in the album Tremolo by Donal Donelly and his band also known as Tremolo. Members are: Donall Donnelly (fiddle), Donncha Moynihan (guitar), Karl Nesbitt (flute/bouzouki) and Stijn Van Beek (uileann pipes). I am really impressed with this song due to its interesting arrangement, haunting nature and Elva’s soaring vocals that I am sure can make angels want to dive down from heaven weeping.
Breton traditional music band “Bagad de Lann Bihoue” performs a traditional Breton dance on August 7, 2011 in Lorient, in Brittany in northwestern France, during the celtic nations Great Parade of the “Festival Interceltique de Lorient” (Interceltic Festival of Lorient). It is the 41st edition of the event, the world largest gathering of Celtic cultures which aims at promoting the interceltism.(Fred Tanneau/AFP/Getty Images)
The “One Voice” project that I am launching it is still in the works. I am still waiting for contributions from other musicians. It is hard now especially that most of them are on tour. I have to wait and waiting in not my strong point. I feel like I just feel like jumping because I am so excited about this and it is taking too long to happen.
“One Voice” is a collective effort of Celtic musicians and their views about Peace. It’s nice to read the quotes I got. Everyone has something to say. I like this happening because I know musicians are also curious about what their fellow artists are going to say. So it should be great. So many troubling things happened recently both personal and global in scale. Reading something positive for a change is what we must do.
Now let’s get the ball rolling. Here is an amazing video I got from youtube about the Interceltique Festival in Lorient France. This is Breton festival at its finest. I have been following this for years and I am hoping one day, I’ll get to go and feel totally immersed in music and sweat. It’s like Woodstock-without the drugged hippies. LOL! I like the old guys near the end of the video(around 12:21 and how they’re rockin’ it! That’s the spirit papa bears! I am really howling here!
The Lorient celtic festival is one of Brittany’s biggest events in the year, held over 10 days from 5th -14th August 2011, it made for a great day out. This Video was taken on the afternoon and evening of Wednesday 10th August, some of the bands that were playing that day were ‘Mask ha Boutik’ who were a joy to watch and open this video and ‘Doolin’ are also featured. Over the 10 day event over 2000 bands play, its a case of just walking around the town centre and a new band starts playing. The event starts early in the day and runs into the early hours each morning, friends said they were there until 4am last Saturday and had a fantastic night.
The streets are packed with people enjoying the event and everyone is just there to enjoy themselfs.
Tremolo and Elva MacGowan perform in the Cobblestone Dublin 29/07/11. Tremolo – Donall Donnelly (fiddle), Karl Nesbitt (flute/bouzouki), Donncha Moynihan (guitar), Stijn VanBeek (uilleann pipes).
Tremolo band pack the heat for the following reasons. All the members are accomplished musicians. Each has his own successful solo project. The music is innovative and melodic. They are very active in the national music scene. Karl Nesbitt whom I had the honor to interview is a member and he updates me once in a while. You should check their live shows and also get to hear their wonderful tunes.
Ronan Browne – one of those pipers who show an amazing sense of humor while playing one of those temperamental instruments. I love the flourishes he makes here.
More info from youtube:
This is the beautiful air Port na bPúcaí (The Music of the Fairies) from the Blasket Islands. It was said that islanders heard a mystical music and, thinking it was disquieted spirits, they made this air using the notes they heard in an attempt to placate the unhappy ghosts.
Recent thinking suggests that they were, in fact, listening to whale-song reverberating through the canvas hulls of their boats. In the mid 1990s I went rooting through some cassettes of whale song and there in the middle of the Orca (Killer Whale) section I heard the opening notes of Port na bPúcaí!
This air has been a favourite of mine since I first heard it played by Seán Potts and Paddy Moloney on their 1974 Claddagh LP. It sounds gorgeous on my old 1840/50s Harrington union pipes; the regulators, unable to provide “safe” accompaniment and resorting to discord, paint a fitting seascape for our king Dolphin!
This video was filmed by Fionnula Flanagan during a concert of Róisín Elsafty, Siobhán Armstrong and myself at St. Nicholas’ medieval church, Galway in May, 2011. The concert was staged by the Galway Early Music Festival.
Celtic Music Fan 