Randal Bays, Dave Marshall and sean-nos singer Áine Meenaghan
Three of North America's finest traditional musicians, Randal, Dave and Aine play authentic Irish traditional music. Their concerts range from lively dance tunes played on fiddle, guitar and banjo, to the seldom-heard sean-nos songs of the windswept Connemara coast.
Fiddler Randal Bays lives near Seattle and is very well-known for his powerful and expressive traditional style fiddle playing. Dave Marshall, from Vancouver BC, adds his subtle DADGAD guitar accompaniment plus a fine tenor banjo. And from Connemara, Ireland, the highly-acclaimed sean-nos singer Aine Meenaghan (pronounced AWN-ya MEEN-ahan). Aine sings the very old music of western Ireland, mostly in Irish Gaelic, called sean-nos, which means "old style". This kind of singing is rarely heard outside of Ireland, and even in Ireland there are few singers with the musical gift that Aine Meenaghan possesses.
"The art of sean nós singing belongs to the inner sanctum of Irish music history. Heir to the archaic tradition of bardic poetry and song which declined with the demise of Gaelic civilization in the eighteenth century, it is sustained today by a unique cohort of singers in the Gaeltachtaí, or Irish speaking communities along the west coast of Ireland. It also enjoys prominence among Irish communities in the US, especially in Boston and Chicago, where it is patronized by immigrant communities from south Connemara.
A native of Muiceannach-idir-dhá-Sháile, Camus, Áine Meenaghan (nee Ní Dhonnchadha) began singing as a child and was strongly influenced by the singing of her grand father. Encouraged by her aunt, schoolteacher Treasa Uí Chartúir, she began to take an interest in sean nós and, at the age of eight, entered her first competition. During the 1970s, Áine or Nan Chamuis as she is known in Connemara, became a household name in the sean nós pantheon. She won the All-Ireland title at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann and in 1974 she won the coveted Corn Uí Riada at Oireachtas na Gaeilge, the highest honour awarded to a performer in Ireland. Since immigrating to Chicago, she has performed on many occasions with Martin Hayes and Randal Bays, and tours the festival circuit throughout the U.S. She's also taught at many music camps and has adjudicated a number of singing competitions. Her rendition of the poignant love song Bríd Thomáis Mhurchadha highlights the richness of her subtle and distinctive style."
by Mary Lou Philbin, www.ossianusa.com
