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Ausnahme: eine Komposition von Scott Skinner (#24), aber Donegal war ja schon immer für einen regen kulturellen Austausch mit Schottland bekannt. Die Quellen der Tunes lesen sich wie ein Best-Of (nordwest)irischen Geigenspiels: John Doherty, Hudi Gallagher, Con Cassidy, Francie Mooney, und wieder fällt der Name Altan.
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The brothers Thomas and William Connellan, whose lives spanned the period of about 1640 to 1720, were born in Cloonmahon, Co. Sligo, Ireland. Both brothers were harpers and travelled throughout Ireland and the Scottish Highlands, at the time still sharing the same Gaelic culture. However, it was an era of a major social cultural transition, the Gaelic feudal system rapidly declining. Music-wise the Gaelic harping tradition was challenged by Baroque art music. We know some of their music, nine tunes attributed to the Connellans had been collected by Edward Bunting at the Belfast Harp Festival in 1792. Thomas Connellan is credited with the song "Molly St. George" (compare recordings by Maire Ni Chathasaigh -> #34, and Kieran Fahy -> #34), and "The Dawning of the Day"(Éirí an Lae). Songs attributed to William Connellan include "Molly MacAlpine", (which I think is the same as the one called "Poll Ha'penny"). The nine Bunting tunes are featured on this recording, but also included are some tunes of Scottish origin associated with them (as I said before, there was a common culture on both sides of the sea). Harper Kathleen Loughnane (#27), member of Dordán, an all-female group who mix traditional Irish and Baroque music, plays a fine neo-Irish harp. She is backed up by fiddle (Liam Lewis), cello (Adrian Mantu), uilleann pipes (her son Cormac) and tenor guitar (Alec Finn), so this is not the sound of the 17th century. Besides the instrumental interpretations, Éamonn Ó Bhróithe sings the aforementioned "Molly St George", Seán Garvey sings "Éirí an Lae" and the song we know as "Lochaber No More" with the words of Edinburgh's 18th century poet Alan Ramsay (the Irish know the tune as "Limerick's Lamentation" -> #21, #22, #30, #34). There is also a 50 pages book available with the music and manuscript versions of each tune, plus an account of the life and times of Thomas and William Connellan.
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