De Danann - Galway Arts Festival 2011

**kmmando** · Jul-18-2011, 4:41am

A recent concert, featuring Alec Finn on bouzouki.

**Bertram Henze** · Jul-18-2011, 6:06am

Hardly recognizable - where's Frankie Gavin?

**Jill McAuley** · Jul-18-2011, 8:19am

Surely more recognisable than "Frankie Gavin and De Dannan" where he's the only familiar face...oops, did I just open up that can of worms?....

Cheers,
Jill

**Bertram Henze** · Jul-18-2011, 8:31am

No Jill, apparently I did (one of my specialties). I didn't follow what happened to groups these recent years, hence the surprise. Apparently, De Danann have split up, each half retaining the name - just like a worm cut in half, both ends wiggling on for a while. I'd better can that.

**kmmando** · Jul-18-2011, 9:18am

Well, in this line up, half of the original band are there, Johnny and Alec, Eleanor recorded on "Half Set in Harlem" and "A Jacket of Batteries", Derek on "Hibernian Rhapsody" and Brian has been in the band for years latterly, and recorded on "Hotel Connemarra". The bass player Paul Johnson was a guest on the night, and has recorded with the band, as has the guest vocalist Cian Finn, on the recent "Wonderwaltz" cd by this line up. It was a great gig, and I'll put a few more songs soon - they are all fine musicians, as is Frankie.
cheers
Km

**kmmando** · Jul-19-2011, 4:59am

a few more, for interest ....

**Bertram Henze** · Jul-19-2011, 5:21am

The Mulvihill's set was almost good old De Danann again.

That version of Bantry Girls' Lament is the most beautiful one I heard since I copied mine from Jimmy Crowley 20+ years ago (and indeed the story would require it to be sung by a woman). However, it's Eleanor, not Mary - nothing is forever.

**danb** · Jul-19-2011, 5:43am

Frankie's fiddle is missed- he's a wonderful player of course! To my ear, I hear much more if Alec is missing in the lineup though, a totally unique and wonderful style he has on the bouzouki. There are very few players who do anything like what he does, his backing style is so closely tied to the melody that It blurrs the lines between harmony and accompaniment.

Thanks for linking these Kevin, great stuff. Wish I could have been there- next time we should make it 3 resonator tenors

**ardbeg** · Jul-19-2011, 6:10am

Great stuff indeed. What a cracking version of "Borderline", one of my all time favourite songs.

**kmmando** · Jul-19-2011, 6:49am

Tri - cones eh Dan? The Boys of the Lough continued on successfully for years after the great Aly Bain left. Finn's the sound, Frankie's the genius.

**kmmando** · Jul-20-2011, 5:06am

the last ones ......

Hope you enjoy them
cheers
Kevin

**NAS** · Jul-20-2011, 6:38am

Great stuff, really enjoyed watching it, almost makes up for being stuck at work in the UK when I should have been home to Co. Mayo for a few weeks!

**Jill McAuley** · Jul-20-2011, 10:52am

Great stuff indeed! Cheers for posting them Kevin!

Jill

**Jim Baker** · Jul-23-2011, 8:13pm

Kevin, the last video with you and Alec to me is most captivating. The sound of the nationals along with your lead and Alec's harmonies is simply splendid. If there is a recording of that music I would dearly love to find it.
Can you tell me the names of the tunes Kevin?

**Jim Baker** · Jul-23-2011, 8:25pm

O.k., I missed it. Farewell to Sicily and Farewell to the Creeks. The Session.org says they re the same tune.

**Jim Baker** · Jul-24-2011, 10:07am

I get it now. March version and jig version. The jig versions that I have found vary from the march version. The B part is different. Gotta work on that one. Thanks again Kevin.

**Niall Anderson** · Jul-24-2011, 4:42pm

Farewell to the Creeks is on KM's CD "Dorney Rock", with Alec Finn guesting.

**Jim Baker** · Jul-24-2011, 6:39pm

Excellent. Thanks. I found it on Amazon.

**kmmando** · Jul-26-2011, 2:20pm

JIm, thanks for the posts, and just to say that we had never actually tried the two together until this, and in fact Alec hadn't played it for a while, so it was interesting to hear the combined sound.

As Niall kindly points out we did record a version of it, but not on two tenors, on the Dorney Rock cd I made a few years back. The 6/8 pipe march, a four part tune (not actually a jig, though we did play it a bit over-sprightly) was composed in 1915 by a Pipe Major James Roberston, whilst a prisoner of war. In my sleeve notes I erroneously say that it was a reference to an Indian Tribe, - this is wrong.

However in 1943, the great Scots folklorist Hamish Henderson wrote a very fine song entitled "The Banks of Sicily" using three of the four parts of the tune, when Henderson was an Intelligence Officer with the British Army which was pursuing Rommel up Italy.

Dick Gaughan recorded a superb verson of this years ago, and, being a very good friend and admirer of Dicks, Alec told me he heard this often and always enjoyed it, and was determined to do something with it at the time of our last recording. This we did on the cd, using the air/song arrangement merging into the march. I hope that's of interest.

I didn't yet get my hands on the full set we played at the gig on two tenors, but if I'm successful, I'll put it up on Vimeo.

thanks a lot for the kind remarks
Kevin Macleod

**Jim Baker** · Jul-27-2011, 6:32pm

Thanks Kevin. I look forward to that. I've been working on both tunes and although I like the pace of the jig better I much prefer the B part of the pipe march. I'm not sure what it'll end up like but it plays very nicely on the O.M. in either form.
Many thanks for sharing.

**Richard Singleton** · Jul-28-2011, 9:58am

Thanks for posting these Kevin. I especially enjoyed the video of the two of you playing at Oranmore. My wife and I had the thrill of being on the Festival Tours Cropredy/Fairport folk music tour run by Nancy Covey, for our 1 year anniversary/belated honeymoon in 1986. Among the joys of that trip of a lifetime were seeing De Danann play at one of their gigs, and later in the tour Alec Finn and his wife hosted a ceilidh for our group at Oranmore. Many other De Danann and other Irish music luminaries came and played for us in the great hall, various local of their friends helped serve wonderful repast and drinks and proceeds for the event went to a local charity that Alec was close to. One of my favorite pictures I took on the tour is the evening view from Oranmore with part of the castle in view and a swan cruising past out on the water.

**Jim Baker** · Jul-28-2011, 6:41pm

Kevin, if you were to do another cd and include a few tunes with the "National Tenor team". I'd like to order one now. It's an amazing sound.

**kmmando** · Jul-29-2011, 2:34am

Thanks for the recollections, most interesting and, indeed its an evocative place. Alec has always been very generous with his time, enthusiasm and fun to other like minded musicians and artists. Incidentally, he is a talented ceramicist and artist as well as a superb musician.
KM

**BBarton** · Jul-31-2011, 8:20am

Wonderful stuff Kevin!! Really nice to see Brian playing with the band too -- one of my favourite TB players. I had the opportunity to take Alec's zouk course at the Catskills Irish Week a few years ago -- indeed, Alec was so willing to share his unique approach to the instrument and the week spent was a lot of fun. Thank you so much for sharing this material with all of us.