How well do you know your Irish singers?

Subject: How well do you know your Irish singers?
From: GUEST,matt milton
Date: 28 Nov 09 - 11:55 AM

click here

I was listening to these programmes presented by Frank Harte - click on the link above. They're great stuff - really interesting programmes.

However, on the one about Dublin songs and singers, Frank doesn't tell you who is singing what. On that particular programme there are three songs in particular in which I'd love to know who was singing. Two of them feature banjo very prominently (they're the only two songs featured in the programme that do). The other is a version of Banks of the Royal Canal or The Auld Triangle, sung acapella. (It's not Dominica Behan) A deep male voice that's a bit like Joe Heaney, though I don't think it's him.

If anyone has time to listen to that programme, I'd be really grateful if they could try to identify those three tracks. I'll listen again and post some more details at some other point.

All the programmes are great, but the Dublin songs one, and the traditional singers one, are the best.

Subject: RE: How well do you know your Irish singers?
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 28 Nov 09 - 12:04 PM

I wouldn't have a clue - but many thanks for flagging these up, they look super!

Subject: RE: How well do you know your Irish singers?
From: GUEST
Date: 28 Nov 09 - 12:12 PM

I just noticed my typo – Dominica Behan. I guess that would be Brendan's Caribbean cousin.

Subject: RE: How well do you know your Irish singers?
From: Fergie
Date: 28 Nov 09 - 01:32 PM

Hi Matt
I had a quick listen to the archive magnificent stuff

Molly Malone is sung by Frank Harte

The Finding of Moses is sung by Frank Harte

Row in the Town is sung by Frank Harte

The Foggy Dew is being sung by Luke Kelly of the Dubliners

When Margaret was Eleven sung by Ronnie Drew also of the Dubliners

Sargeant William Bailey sung by Dominic Behan

Auld Triangle sung by Brendan Behan

Sweet Daffodil Mulligan sung by Jimmy O'Dee

Three Lovely Lassies from Kimmage by Luke Kelly

Maid from Cabra West sung by Frank Harte

Alas each one of these great singers is now deceased.

Fergus Russell

Subject: RE: How well do you know your Irish singers?
From: GUEST
Date: 28 Nov 09 - 01:44 PM

What service! Thanks, that's really helpful. I'd never heard Brendan Behan's singing voice before.

For the benefit of anyone else reading this thread, the clickable link above takes you to an archive of some radio programmes on the Irish radio station RTE which were first broadcast in the mid-1980s. Each programme has a different theme, and there's some great performances in there. Note: they haven't been edited, so you have to listen to a bit of the on-the-hour news and a few period adverts before the programmes actually start.

(In fact the first one begins with the news being read in Irish, but don't be put off if you're not an Irish speaker - all the programmes are in English)

Subject: RE: How well do you know your Irish singers?
From: GUEST,MATT Milton
Date: 28 Nov 09 - 01:47 PM

lost my cookie above.

The programmes are:

Songs of work and social protest - The Labouring Voice

Famine Songs - The Hungry Voice

Songs of the capital city - The Dublin Voice

Songs of Emigration - The Irish American Voice

Traditional singing styles in Ireland - The Singers' Voices

Subject: RE: How well do you know your Irish singers?
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 28 Nov 09 - 01:53 PM

Sorry to be a spaz, but I'm using a Mac & can't seem to open the files with anything.

When I click the link, it tells me the file is in QuickTime SMIL - so I've tried opening with QuickTime Player but no joy. Err, any thoughts, do I need to go find a plug-in or something?

I wouldn't normally be bothered, but these progs look too good to pass by.

Subject: RE: How well do you know your Irish singers?
From: kendall
Date: 28 Nov 09 - 01:54 PM

I know Seamus Kennedy quite well.

Subject: RE: How well do you know your Irish singers?
From: GUEST,matt Milton
Date: 28 Nov 09 - 01:55 PM

I had the same problem. Do you have Real Player? If you opt to open them with Real Player, they work fine.

(And if you haven't got Real Player, you can download the free version in about 10 mins from the Real Player website)

Subject: RE: How well do you know your Irish singers?
From: MartinRyan
Date: 28 Nov 09 - 01:57 PM

Fergie answered the original query ahead of me - because, on a strange computer, I had trouble downloading RealPlayer, which seems to be the required plugin.

If you're interested in Irish traditional singing in English, it's worth persisting to hear this excellent series.

Regards

Subject: RE: How well do you know your Irish singers?
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 28 Nov 09 - 03:51 PM

I have listened to 3 of them so far, and they are wonderful.
Please try to listen to them if you can, they are master classes, in performance, and presentation.

John

Subject: RE: How well do you know your Irish singers?
From: ard mhacha
Date: 28 Nov 09 - 04:58 PM

Thanks Matt Milton, sheer class.

Subject: RE: How well do you know your Irish singers?
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 29 Nov 09 - 11:42 AM

Cheers, RealPlayer sorted! So the next couple hours is going to mainly be a TV free zone.

I was wondering what other Radio doco's people rate?
Eg: I have "England in Ribbons" which another 'Catter kindly sent me a copy of.

Subject: RE: How well do you know your Irish singers?
From: GUEST
Date: 29 Nov 09 - 11:47 AM

Hi Folks,
Besides those excellant programmes, there is a lot more to be found on RTE radio. If you search under the programme "The Rolling Wave" , you should be able to find Christy Moore giving a great performance at this years Frank Harte festival. As an added bonus, you will get to hear our friend above, Fergie, introducing him on stage. Again, this can be saved on Realplayer.
                                           Domo

Subject: RE: How well do you know your Irish singers?
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 29 Nov 09 - 02:01 PM

May I draw people's attention to Kathleen O'Sullivan's all-day workshop on Irish song at the Lewes Saturday Folk Club on Saturday 5th. December? Kathleen performs at the club in the evening with the Irish storyteller Billy Teare, who is also leading an all-day workshop.

Valmai (Lewes)

Subject: RE: How well do you know your Irish singers?
From: Alice
Date: 29 Nov 09 - 02:08 PM

Thanks for the links and thanks also to Fergus for the answer.

Subject: RE: How well do you know your Irish singers?
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 29 Nov 09 - 02:49 PM

My turn to ask...

Please what is the name of the song in the first programme 'Voices of Labour' @ around 33.35? that begins:

"Moonshine on me
As I sit by the surging sea alone,
Knowing you are gone -
To embrace me never."

The tune sounds the same as that for Roisin Dubh?

Subject: RE: How well do you know your Irish singers?
From: MartinRyan
Date: 29 Nov 09 - 03:13 PM

Good question. I've never heard the song. The voice sounds Scottish - wonder if it's Derek Spiers? The language used doesn't sound Scottish, mind you. To me it's the sort of dense, poetic imagery and idiom that Liam Weldon wrote.

Fergie - are you listening?! Can you check? Antaine?

Regards

Subject: RE: How well do you know your Irish singers?
From: GUEST,Guest
Date: 29 Nov 09 - 05:21 PM

Hi Martin

"Good question. I've never heard the song. The voice sounds Scottish - wonder if it's Derek Spiers? The language used doesn't sound Scottish, mind you. To me it's the sort of dense, poetic imagery and idiom that Liam Weldon wrote."

I am having difficulty downloading this from the RTE site (even with RealPlayer) but I suspect that the singer is me (Bob Blair) Frank told me that he used the recording and promised me a copy of the programmes but they were never forthcoming from the old bugger.

The song was written by Matt McGinn (he named it Jantette after his wife ) and if it's the programme that Frank told me about (does he make a reference to Pavarotti??) then it came from the Greentrax recording of "McGinn of the Calton", which was recorded by the Glasgow group Stramash as a tribute to Matt, which followed on from their TV show of the same name.

Matt was best known for his funny songs and his more poetical work was sometimes lost in his hoarse, gravelly voice but he wrote some gems as "Janette" shows. If you get the chance listen to his song "Ego"( especially if you can hear Kevin Mitchell sing it) or "The Magic Shadow Show".   

If anyone has saved these programmes to their hard disc then I would love a copy

Bob Blair

Subject: RE: How well do you know your Irish singers?
From: MartinRyan
Date: 29 Nov 09 - 05:49 PM

Aha!

Hi Bob

In fact, you were the first name that came into my head! I dismissed it because there was nothing to suggest Frank was using anyone other than Irish singers in the series - and he was certainly capable of passing off a Scot living in Dublin as such!

Regards

p.s. I'm not sure if it's possible to download the files - but I'll check.

Subject: RE: How well do you know your Irish singers?
From: Suegorgeous
Date: 29 Nov 09 - 07:38 PM

Christy Moore was at Frank Harte?? did I miss him on the Saturday night, then? *sob* :0

Subject: RE: How well do you know your Irish singers?
From: MartinRyan
Date: 29 Nov 09 - 07:39 PM

Sue

You did indeed!

Regards

Subject: RE: How well do you know your Irish singers?
From: Suegorgeous
Date: 30 Nov 09 - 08:50 AM

Oh darn and ******! would love to have seen him! but then I'd so love to have stayed and heard everyone... and even if I'd known, still wouldn't have been able to change my travel plans... *sob*