Various Artists - I Am of Ireland / Yeats in Song (2021) [Hi-Res]
![Various Artists - I Am of Ireland / Yeats in Song (2021) [Hi-Res]](https://www.dibpic.com/uploads/posts/2021-07/1626960200_meta3aeyjzcmncdwnrzxqioijjb250zw50lnnpdgv6b29nbguuy29tin03d.jpg)
BAND/ARTIST: Various Artists
- Title: I Am of Ireland / Yeats in Song
- Year Of Release: 2021
- Label: Merrow Records
- Genre: World, Folk, Celtic
- Quality: MP3 320 kbps; 16-bit/44.1kHz FLAC; 24-bit/88.2kHz FLAC
- Total Time: 01:09:13
- Total Size: 165; 391 MB; 1.2 GB
- WebSite: Album Preview
Among descriptions of WB Yeats’ poetry, the word lyrical appears again and again. Put that alongside Yeats’ own use of Song in the title of many poems, and it’s no surprise there’s a long history of his poetry being set to music. After all, it is something he often said he wished to happen. Many of the settings have veered toward the classical music world. Indeed, the songs found on this new album were first aired in a recital from a classical soprano with piano accompaniment. But, equally, Yeats’ words have found a place in the folk music repertoire. Perhaps the most widely known being Down by the Salley Gardens, usually heard when set to a traditional tune, The Maids of Mourne Shore.
The twenty-four songs in the I Am Of Ireland – Yeats in Song collection form just a fraction of the Yeats verses that have been set to melodies composed by Raymond Driver. Raymond is a life-long lover of Yeats’ poems. Still, he had never composed music before beginning to work on his Yeats settings. When he considered recording some of them with folk vocalists and traditional instrumentation, he turned to long-time friend Paul Marsteller for production assistance. Paul is a songwriter, but, importantly, he had prior experience of record production and connections that could help contact suitable musicians. Eventually, they were able to enlist the help of thirty-two vocalists and players who have breathed an abundance of life into the songs. In part, the list reads like a who’s who of the mainly Irish but also Irish American and British folk music world, while also introducing singers and players who may not yet be familiar names but who, on this showing, could well become so.
Whilst Yeats’ words and Raymond’s melodies lie at the heart of the album, this cohort of instrumentalists had the task of creating the necessary Celtic ambience. The combination of top rank musicians bringing with them a full range of traditional and not so traditional instruments ensured the success of this. But with the recording taking place mainly under Covid restrictions and in wide-ranging locations creating a coherent arrangement from the various parts was no mean task. With Raymond and Paul taking an overview, the musicians contributing to each song effectively looked after their own arrangements. On two tracks, specific arrangers are credited, Cal Scott on The Two Trees and Gabriel Rhodes for the string arrangement on The Mask.
Yeats was raised in Sligo in the northwest of Ireland, so it’s appropriate, but perhaps not surprising, that Sligo born Seamie O’Dowd was one of the first to join the collaboration, becoming the most prolific contributor. He features on six songs, taking the vocal lead on Wandering Aengus and the final track, The Fiddler of Dooney, and backing vocals on two others. He introduces an awe-inspiring range of instruments, including guitar, bouzouki, fiddle, whistles, banjo, piano, percussion and harmonica. He thoroughly deserves the oft over-used description of multi-instrumentalist. He not only closes the album, but he also opens it, adding guitar, fiddle and piano to the voice of fellow Sligo native Cathy Jordan, the long-serving vocalist at the heart of Dervish. This first track is the title song, I am of Ireland, and it sets the tone of the album with a fiddle-led arrangement that immediately evokes a stately, traditional dance. Cathy takes the vocal on one other track, Faery Song, again backed by Seamie and joined by fiddle maestro Kevin Burke.
The second track, He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven, introduces the familiar voice of John Doyle accompanying himself on guitar. John’s two other songs, An Irish Airman Foresees His Death and September 1913, also feature his guitar accompaniment. Still, on both, he is joined by Cillian Vallely, contributing his uilleann pipes and low whistle. The words of both songs emerged from Yeats’ commitment to Irish Nationalism, a movement that influenced much of his early twentieth-century poetry. But, especially when paired with John’s calm, measured vocal, these are far from being rousing, rebel songs; the essentially lyrical quality of Yeats words dominates. Cillian isn’t the only member of Lúnasa to be involved in the album. On He Tells of The Perfect Beauty, he is joined by bassist Trevor Hutchinson and fiddler Colin Farrell accompanying Dave Curley on vocals. Dave also sings Never Give All The Heart, accompanying himself on guitar and tenor guitar.
The album’s lead vocals haven’t been the exclusive preserve of Irish singers. Isle of Man native Christine Collister provides three songs delivered in her unmistakable voice with Kevin Burke’s fiddle prominent in the arrangement of The Two Trees and a rich, full string accompaniment on The Mask, played by Danny Levin, arranged by Gabriel Rhodes. Her third song, The Lake Isle of Innisfree, stands out, delivered in a voice that explores both lower and upper reaches of her register.
Whilst his heritage is indisputably Irish, Yeats did spend significant periods in England, and three songs feature the equally indisputably English voice of Jackie Oates. For The White Birds, she’s co-opted more English talent with John Spiers on melodeon and Jack Rutter on bouzouki. Casting the net further, American cellist Natalie Haas completes the quartet. As often happens, a combination of musicians emerges from an ensemble album such as this has instant appeal, and one’s left wondering, might we hear more? Jackie has already recorded with John and Jack individually, so can Natalie be tempted?
Three further songs feature female lead vocals. Eleanor Shanley’s career as a traditional singer in Ireland makes her ideally suited to deliver the gently undulating melody of The Falling of the Leaves, a track that introduces that most Irish of sounds, the harp, albeit from the depths of Oregon, courtesy of Laura Zaerr. Also, with a harp accompaniment, The Pity of Love features Kansas singer Ashley Davis, the harp played by her regular collaborator Cormac De Barra. Comparative newcomer, Bríd O’Riordan, takes on Ephemera, her vocal alongside a counter melody from Mick O’Brien’s low whistle.
Mick McAuley was a founding member of Solas, along with John Doyle, subsequently forging a stellar solo career. His voice and extensive instrumental talents are employed on two songs, The Folly of Being Comforted and The Lover Tells of the Rose in his Heart. His emotive voice ideally suited to these bitter-sweet love songs. He has largely provided his own accompaniment on guitars, whistles, melodeon and bouzouki, with Dana Lyn adding violin to the first of the two.
Fergal McAloon’s name is perhaps not widely known outside of his native Northern Ireland, where he fronts the folk-rock band Whistlin’ Donkeys. Paul Marsteller came across him on YouTube, and he’s ended up putting the vocal to four songs. He’s clearly had no difficulty in moving away from his usual repertoire towards a more traditional sound. On The Wild Swans at Coole, the accompaniment is a single acoustic guitar from fellow Co. Tyrone native Niall Hanna. This has given Fergal’s strong deep voice all the opportunity it needed to show its power delivering such a slow lyrical melody and his easy command of the traditional idiom. This is a nice contrast to The Ballad of the Foxhunter, a much faster piece with a full multi-instrument arrangement, mainly from Seamie O’Dowd with the addition of uilleann pipes from Sligo’s Leonard Barry.
Although the album has about double the usual number of tracks, its total length, at sixty-six minutes, wouldn’t push the capacity of a CD. It is currently available only as a digital download, albeit with an extensive booklet in pdf format. Of course, the length of individual songs has been largely dictated by the original poetry, so only eleven songs breach the three-minute mark. For me, this puts an interesting slant on how best to enjoy the album. I rarely do other than listen to an album sequentially. However, with such a large number of songs, I found myself putting ones from the same vocalist together and, if I become more au fait with the chronology of Yeats’ poetry, I think I’d be tempted to try grouping by era. Whatever your choice, though, there is plenty of hugely enjoyable music here and if it guides you back to Yeats’ poetry, well, that’s a worthwhile bonus.
Tracklist:
1 01. Cathy Jordan;Seamie O'Dowd - I Am of Ireland (03:01)
1 02. John Doyle - He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven (02:21)
1 03. Christine Collister - The Lake Isle of Innisfree (02:37)
1 04. Dave Curley;Cillian Vallely - He Tells of the Perfect Beauty (03:31)
1 05. Eleanor Shanley;Kevin Burke - The Falling of the Leaves (02:30)
1 06. Fergal McAloon - The Wild Swans at Coole (03:15)
1 07. Jackie Oates - Brown Penny (02:17)
1 08. Seamie O'Dowd - The Song of Wandering Aengus (03:28)
1 09. Christine Collister;Kevin Burke - The Two Trees (03:40)
1 10. Mick McAuley - The Folly of Being Comforted (03:15)
1 11. Ashley Davis - The Pity of Love (02:25)
1 12. Cathy Jordan;Kevin Burke;Seamie O'Dowd - Faery Song (from The Land Of Heart's Desire) (02:54)
1 13. Fergal McAloon - When You Are Old (02:35)
1 14. John Doyle;Cillian Vallely - An Irish Airman Foresees His Death (03:23)
1 15. Jackie Oates - The White Birds (02:50)
1 16. Mick McAuley - The Lover Tells Of the Rose in His Heart (03:18)
1 17. Christine Collister - The Mask (02:31)
1 18. Fergal McAloon;Seamie O'Dowd - The Ballad of the Foxhunter (03:17)
1 19. John Doyle;Cillian Vallely - September 1913 (03:41)
1 20. Jackie Oates - The Cradle Song (01:31)
1 21. Dave Curley - Never Give All the Heart (02:01)
1 22. Brid O'Riordan - Ephemera (03:23)
1 23. Fergal McAloon;Kevin Burke;Seamie O'Dowd - He Tells of a Valley Full of Lovers (02:57)
1 24. Seamie O'Dowd - The Fiddler Of Dooney (02:18)
The twenty-four songs in the I Am Of Ireland – Yeats in Song collection form just a fraction of the Yeats verses that have been set to melodies composed by Raymond Driver. Raymond is a life-long lover of Yeats’ poems. Still, he had never composed music before beginning to work on his Yeats settings. When he considered recording some of them with folk vocalists and traditional instrumentation, he turned to long-time friend Paul Marsteller for production assistance. Paul is a songwriter, but, importantly, he had prior experience of record production and connections that could help contact suitable musicians. Eventually, they were able to enlist the help of thirty-two vocalists and players who have breathed an abundance of life into the songs. In part, the list reads like a who’s who of the mainly Irish but also Irish American and British folk music world, while also introducing singers and players who may not yet be familiar names but who, on this showing, could well become so.
Whilst Yeats’ words and Raymond’s melodies lie at the heart of the album, this cohort of instrumentalists had the task of creating the necessary Celtic ambience. The combination of top rank musicians bringing with them a full range of traditional and not so traditional instruments ensured the success of this. But with the recording taking place mainly under Covid restrictions and in wide-ranging locations creating a coherent arrangement from the various parts was no mean task. With Raymond and Paul taking an overview, the musicians contributing to each song effectively looked after their own arrangements. On two tracks, specific arrangers are credited, Cal Scott on The Two Trees and Gabriel Rhodes for the string arrangement on The Mask.
Yeats was raised in Sligo in the northwest of Ireland, so it’s appropriate, but perhaps not surprising, that Sligo born Seamie O’Dowd was one of the first to join the collaboration, becoming the most prolific contributor. He features on six songs, taking the vocal lead on Wandering Aengus and the final track, The Fiddler of Dooney, and backing vocals on two others. He introduces an awe-inspiring range of instruments, including guitar, bouzouki, fiddle, whistles, banjo, piano, percussion and harmonica. He thoroughly deserves the oft over-used description of multi-instrumentalist. He not only closes the album, but he also opens it, adding guitar, fiddle and piano to the voice of fellow Sligo native Cathy Jordan, the long-serving vocalist at the heart of Dervish. This first track is the title song, I am of Ireland, and it sets the tone of the album with a fiddle-led arrangement that immediately evokes a stately, traditional dance. Cathy takes the vocal on one other track, Faery Song, again backed by Seamie and joined by fiddle maestro Kevin Burke.
The second track, He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven, introduces the familiar voice of John Doyle accompanying himself on guitar. John’s two other songs, An Irish Airman Foresees His Death and September 1913, also feature his guitar accompaniment. Still, on both, he is joined by Cillian Vallely, contributing his uilleann pipes and low whistle. The words of both songs emerged from Yeats’ commitment to Irish Nationalism, a movement that influenced much of his early twentieth-century poetry. But, especially when paired with John’s calm, measured vocal, these are far from being rousing, rebel songs; the essentially lyrical quality of Yeats words dominates. Cillian isn’t the only member of Lúnasa to be involved in the album. On He Tells of The Perfect Beauty, he is joined by bassist Trevor Hutchinson and fiddler Colin Farrell accompanying Dave Curley on vocals. Dave also sings Never Give All The Heart, accompanying himself on guitar and tenor guitar.
The album’s lead vocals haven’t been the exclusive preserve of Irish singers. Isle of Man native Christine Collister provides three songs delivered in her unmistakable voice with Kevin Burke’s fiddle prominent in the arrangement of The Two Trees and a rich, full string accompaniment on The Mask, played by Danny Levin, arranged by Gabriel Rhodes. Her third song, The Lake Isle of Innisfree, stands out, delivered in a voice that explores both lower and upper reaches of her register.
Whilst his heritage is indisputably Irish, Yeats did spend significant periods in England, and three songs feature the equally indisputably English voice of Jackie Oates. For The White Birds, she’s co-opted more English talent with John Spiers on melodeon and Jack Rutter on bouzouki. Casting the net further, American cellist Natalie Haas completes the quartet. As often happens, a combination of musicians emerges from an ensemble album such as this has instant appeal, and one’s left wondering, might we hear more? Jackie has already recorded with John and Jack individually, so can Natalie be tempted?
Three further songs feature female lead vocals. Eleanor Shanley’s career as a traditional singer in Ireland makes her ideally suited to deliver the gently undulating melody of The Falling of the Leaves, a track that introduces that most Irish of sounds, the harp, albeit from the depths of Oregon, courtesy of Laura Zaerr. Also, with a harp accompaniment, The Pity of Love features Kansas singer Ashley Davis, the harp played by her regular collaborator Cormac De Barra. Comparative newcomer, Bríd O’Riordan, takes on Ephemera, her vocal alongside a counter melody from Mick O’Brien’s low whistle.
Mick McAuley was a founding member of Solas, along with John Doyle, subsequently forging a stellar solo career. His voice and extensive instrumental talents are employed on two songs, The Folly of Being Comforted and The Lover Tells of the Rose in his Heart. His emotive voice ideally suited to these bitter-sweet love songs. He has largely provided his own accompaniment on guitars, whistles, melodeon and bouzouki, with Dana Lyn adding violin to the first of the two.
Fergal McAloon’s name is perhaps not widely known outside of his native Northern Ireland, where he fronts the folk-rock band Whistlin’ Donkeys. Paul Marsteller came across him on YouTube, and he’s ended up putting the vocal to four songs. He’s clearly had no difficulty in moving away from his usual repertoire towards a more traditional sound. On The Wild Swans at Coole, the accompaniment is a single acoustic guitar from fellow Co. Tyrone native Niall Hanna. This has given Fergal’s strong deep voice all the opportunity it needed to show its power delivering such a slow lyrical melody and his easy command of the traditional idiom. This is a nice contrast to The Ballad of the Foxhunter, a much faster piece with a full multi-instrument arrangement, mainly from Seamie O’Dowd with the addition of uilleann pipes from Sligo’s Leonard Barry.
Although the album has about double the usual number of tracks, its total length, at sixty-six minutes, wouldn’t push the capacity of a CD. It is currently available only as a digital download, albeit with an extensive booklet in pdf format. Of course, the length of individual songs has been largely dictated by the original poetry, so only eleven songs breach the three-minute mark. For me, this puts an interesting slant on how best to enjoy the album. I rarely do other than listen to an album sequentially. However, with such a large number of songs, I found myself putting ones from the same vocalist together and, if I become more au fait with the chronology of Yeats’ poetry, I think I’d be tempted to try grouping by era. Whatever your choice, though, there is plenty of hugely enjoyable music here and if it guides you back to Yeats’ poetry, well, that’s a worthwhile bonus.
Tracklist:
1 01. Cathy Jordan;Seamie O'Dowd - I Am of Ireland (03:01)
1 02. John Doyle - He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven (02:21)
1 03. Christine Collister - The Lake Isle of Innisfree (02:37)
1 04. Dave Curley;Cillian Vallely - He Tells of the Perfect Beauty (03:31)
1 05. Eleanor Shanley;Kevin Burke - The Falling of the Leaves (02:30)
1 06. Fergal McAloon - The Wild Swans at Coole (03:15)
1 07. Jackie Oates - Brown Penny (02:17)
1 08. Seamie O'Dowd - The Song of Wandering Aengus (03:28)
1 09. Christine Collister;Kevin Burke - The Two Trees (03:40)
1 10. Mick McAuley - The Folly of Being Comforted (03:15)
1 11. Ashley Davis - The Pity of Love (02:25)
1 12. Cathy Jordan;Kevin Burke;Seamie O'Dowd - Faery Song (from The Land Of Heart's Desire) (02:54)
1 13. Fergal McAloon - When You Are Old (02:35)
1 14. John Doyle;Cillian Vallely - An Irish Airman Foresees His Death (03:23)
1 15. Jackie Oates - The White Birds (02:50)
1 16. Mick McAuley - The Lover Tells Of the Rose in His Heart (03:18)
1 17. Christine Collister - The Mask (02:31)
1 18. Fergal McAloon;Seamie O'Dowd - The Ballad of the Foxhunter (03:17)
1 19. John Doyle;Cillian Vallely - September 1913 (03:41)
1 20. Jackie Oates - The Cradle Song (01:31)
1 21. Dave Curley - Never Give All the Heart (02:01)
1 22. Brid O'Riordan - Ephemera (03:23)
1 23. Fergal McAloon;Kevin Burke;Seamie O'Dowd - He Tells of a Valley Full of Lovers (02:57)
1 24. Seamie O'Dowd - The Fiddler Of Dooney (02:18)
Year 2021 | World | Folk | Celtic | FLAC / APE | Mp3 | HD & Vinyl
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