Subject: RE: MudMeet Groningen
From:
Letty
Date: 09 May 03 - 03:42 PM
What happened last week (abridged), part 3.
After Étoile du Nord, the session started. This is the part I think is hardest to describe, not only because I can never remember Irish tune titles (except of course for The Mason's Maid, The Lonesome Road to the Well, Jenny Picking Chickens and other famous tunes). There were many highlights, and it's hard to pick a few (and I'm bound to offend people again).
The music was so rousing that my old grandfather even joined in with the shaky eggs at one point. I think my own egg is jealous, 'cause I didn't even use it that night.
Some songs that were done have been mentioned already:
First of all, all instrument players were playing like they've been practising together for years. We had a nice combination of instruments, with Skipjack on box and fiddle, Mooman and Eric on various guitar-shaped instruments (I spotted Eric playing the banjo, I did!), Ken Gilman on fiddle and mandoline, Frank doing a few bagpipes solos, Anne on flute and Iris on recorders. Only one bodhran was spotted and played respectably :-) Ute, who doesn't play an instrument, was forced to undergo a baptism of fire and played a spoons solo during Ryan's Polka!
Lady McMoo was in fine voice, and sang a lovely version of Our Town (so nice, that when my mother downloaded the one by Iris DeMent, she was disappointed: she much prefers Lady McMoo's rendition), plus several other songs such as Fisherman's Dream and Song for Ireland.
There were a couple of fine German songs, which have been posted, by Iris and Anne. Then there was a brave attempt by the Dutch contingent to revive some of their folk songs (even though those songs are rarely heard and taught, they only came back to us slowly): Al die willen te kaapren varen (sailors have to have beards), Island (fishing near Iceland), Komt vrienden in het ronde (praising the knife-sharpener's job), and Wat zullen we drinken (drinking song).
Ron made me very happy by singing my favourite Billy Joel song (She's got a way), and there were more songs I just can't recall right now.
Later at night, my brother Willem successfully introduced some blues into the mix (he plays the guitar), and we ended up singing a lot of well-known songs such as House of the Rising Sun and (strangely) Hava Naguila. Monique sang Juliette (Knopfler), and a couple of other songs, and told me afterwards that she thought we were such a polite lot because we had been praising her whereas usually "people just tell me to shut up!". But honestly, she's a fine singer.
The session went on quite late (a bit too late for some, but then there was a pile of pillows in the room!), and I think we left at about 2 AM. After a midnight snack on the main square (all night chippy, and everyone mistrusted the snacks-from-the-wall!), we slowly walked home. Poor Wolfgang had to sleep in the kitchen, because he'd been thrown out of his hotel (just a joke: it was just full).
[to be continued]
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sj
