To Thread - Forum Home

The Mudcat Café TM
https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=52746
13 messages

New singer: Lasairfhiona Ni Chonaola

22 Oct 02 - 01:02 AM (#808282)
Subject: New singer: Lasairfhíona Ní Chonaola
From: Mark Cohen

I was listening to the online radio show Folkscene (one of my favorites -- www.folkscene.com) and heard part of a recording of "Casadh an tSugain" by a young woman from the Aran Islands, Lasairfhiona Ni Chonaola. Her voice was incredibly pure and sparkling, and the arrangement was simple and beautifully done. Her website says that her album, called AN RAICÍN ÁLAINN, includes some traditional songs and some written by her father. I've emailed Clannadh Records in Dublin to see how I can order it. Has anyone else heard of her?

Aloha,
Mark

(sorry about the missing fadas--I can only do them if I cut and paste!)


22 Oct 02 - 01:24 AM (#808288)
Subject: RE: New singer: Lasairfhíona Ní Chonaola
From: Murray MacLeod

Google doesn't come up with her website, Mark. Got a link for it?

Murray


22 Oct 02 - 03:26 AM (#808313)
Subject: RE: New singer: Lasairfhíona Ní Chonaola
From: Mark Cohen

Oops...good point. It's not her website, it's the label's: Claddagh Records September 2002 list. Also here's a page about her album from The Scottish and Irish Traditional Celtic Music Store. Now that I'm trying to learn to accompany Irish music on guitar, it looks like I'm going to have to start hanging out at that site!

Aloha,
Mark


22 Oct 02 - 04:10 AM (#808340)
Subject: RE: New singer: Lasairfhíona Ní Chonaola
From: GUEST,Martin Ryan

She's young and new on the scene. I haven't heard her live but saw her on TV recently and have heard a track or two from the CD. She's good alright!

Regards


22 Oct 02 - 06:15 AM (#808397)
Subject: RE: New singer: Lasairfhíona Ní Chonaola
From: GUEST,Philippa

Saw her in Derry - in Jan I think


07 Nov 02 - 05:57 AM (#820588)
Subject: RE: Lasairfhiona Ní Chonaola
From: GUEST,Philippa

on Irish tv tonight. I don't have a schedule to hand, but I think she's on RTE1 at 7 pm


12 Nov 02 - 06:34 AM (#824032)
Subject: RE: New singer: Lasairfhiona Ni Chonaola
From: Declan

The program last Thursday was Leargas and it was an interesting documentary. She is from the Aran Islands and among the songs she sang was a set of Gaelic words for the tune Inis Oirr which was originally written as just a melody - we had a thread about that not so long ago. The Gaelic words were her own translation of a poem written by a poet whose name (I think) was Carberry.

A fine singer well worth a listen.

By the way its pronounced (roughly) Losser (rhymes with Tosser,Dosser) - EENA Knee Hun-eela.


12 Nov 02 - 08:12 AM (#824075)
Subject: RE: New singer: Lasairfhiona Ni Chonaola
From: Murray MacLeod

How's about we Anglicize that to "LASER-FIONA", Declan? :-)

Murray


12 Nov 02 - 11:23 PM (#824843)
Subject: RE: New singer: Lasairfhiona Ni Chonaola
From: Mark Cohen

That's the problem with Irish...the words never sound like they're spelled. If you want to know the pronunciation, you might as well go ghoti.

Aloha,
Mark


12 Nov 02 - 11:39 PM (#824858)
Subject: RE: New singer: Lasairfhiona Ni Chonaola
From: artbrooks

Mark, please pass on the ordering information when you get it. BTW, a good place to hang out to listen to (free) music is the Green Linnet site. They have a lot of their (complete) albums available for preview.


13 Nov 02 - 05:20 AM (#824972)
Subject: RE: New singer: Lasairfhiona Ni Chonaola
From: GUEST,Philippa

"the problem with Irish...the words never sound like they're spelled" is untrue. To someone who knows Irish, the spelling system is comprehensible, though it is true that we have a few dialects and therefore local pronunciations are often considerably different from the standard spelling. English spelling is very inconsistent, take for instance though & rough & through & bough.


13 Nov 02 - 10:38 AM (#825205)
Subject: RE: New singer: Lasairfhiona Ni Chonaola
From: GUEST,Philippa

Of course, "tion" (shun) as a combination of letters represents a consistent sound in a way that "ough" does not. In Irish also you often have to look at two or three letters together to know what sound they signify. But the rules are generally straight-foward enough; for instance s before i or e has an sh sound (sí is like the English word she and seo like the word show), while s before an a,o or u is pronounced like the s in 'sound'. There are also letter combinations which show the derivation of the word rather than the sound.* For instance, "cruinniú na mbad" (gathering of the boats - regatta) - the b isn't heard but the spelling shows that 'na bad',of the boats, comes from the word 'bad', boat. Once again, this is not as difficult as it seems for the letter combinations are limited and consistant and governed by rules or grammar.

*Oh, the fh of Lasairfhiona is silent, but written to show that fhiona derives from fiona.


14 Nov 02 - 10:20 AM (#825827)
Subject: RE: New singer: Lasairfhiona Ni Chonaola
From: GUEST

Lasarfhiona means Flame-of-wine, by the way.

TG4 had a programme about this kid, and her father was on it too. Nice voice, nice kid.