Celtic Connections 2012: the music continues

Celtic Connections, in Glasgow, Scotland, is one of Europe’s and the world’s premiere winter festivals, bringing hundreds of artists for sharing of tune and song, in venues ranging from a rock club to a cathedral, from a quiet song session in a concert of the concert hall building to a grand performance onthat same buildnig’s main stage. As the music cotinues, here’s a bit of what all that looks like












artists in these images include Archie Fisher, Caroline Herring memebr of the Lothina nd Border Police Pipe Band June Tabor, and Corinna Hewat.

photographs were made with permission of the artists and the festival, and are copyrighted. thank you for respecting that.

you may also wish to see
Music Road: Caroline Herring: Golden Apples of the Sun
Music Road: Scottish music a different way: The Unusual Suspects
Music Road: Celtic Connections 2011: images, part two

music and telling the long story

Telling the long story, the story that moves through laughter love, grief, loss, change, faith,. connection, friends, spouses children and grandchildren, peace, war, home, and travel: that’s how we live our lives. Your story won’t sound exactly like mine; the threads we weave of our experiences will be of differing weight and color. There will be things in common, though, even if we do not have the same experiences or share the same views of what happens in our lives.

You might find a bit of a laugh in the wry twist of ending in the song Johnny Be fair, from Ireland, and a fine celebration of holidays in the American West in Two Step ‘round the Christmas Tree. You could join in the anthems of We Shall Overcome, Bandera del Sol, and We’ll Sing It All Over. You could have fun teaching your children Froggy Went a-Courting and Mother Will You Let Me Go to the Fair? There are thoughts about the relationships between parents and children in songs including I’ll Go Too and All the Ways You Wander, and if romantic love is what you’re wanting to talk of or listen to, there are buckets of songs on that, among them My Love Is Like a Red Red Rose, and, if you look at it that way, Aanachie Gordon and Bay of Biscay The long story as told in moments, from the immediate moment of a lively jig and a slow air, songs of faith within and without church doors. songs of hope and peace -- and connection. Music is a way for us to tell the long stories of our lives.


Music helps us tell and listen to these stories, to connect through the differences, to celebrate the connections and the threads that pull through.


Music to go along with these ideas
Music Road: India to Indiana: Everything Is Everywhere from Carrie Newcomer
Music Road: Eddi Reader, Emily Smith, Robert Burns
Music Road: Cathie Ryan: teaching tradition

Celtic Connections 2012: the music begins

January. Glasgow. Celtic Connections.

Celtic Connection's is Europe's premiere winer festival, and one of the top music festivals across the world. Both the Celtic side of things, with artists from all across Scotland, from ireland, the United States, Canada, and elsehwere in the Celtic world come to share their music, as do musicians from other traditions.

Celtic Connections 2012. The music begins...

with the Scottish Power Pipe Band playing to launch the first night of the festival, as the steps of the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall are lit with fire and music



















The fire continued inside on the first evening, as the main auditorium at the Royal Concert Hall was lit with music from Bela Fleck and friends.








More to come on this concert and others as the music continues.

photographs made with permission of the festival and the artists, and are copyrighted. thank you for respecting this.




you may also wish to see

Celtic Connections:
an overview of events at this year's festival, at Wandering Educators
Music Road: Celtic Connections 2011: images

Songs of Love from the Celtic World: A Stor Mo Chroí

Love: subject of eternal questions, eternal answers, and loads and loads of songs and tunes. Love from many directions is the focus of A Stor Mo Chroi, a two disc collection of thirty tracks. Artists from the varied worlds of Celtic music contribute music, among them Niamh Ni Charra, John Spillane, Capercaillie, Damien Dempsey, Loreena McKennitt, and Grada.


In case you were wondering what A Stor Mo Chroí means, it can be taken several ways. In Irish mo chroí means of my heart, and a stor may mean thing, treasure, value, and is sometime used as a shortcut for dear or darling. Listen to the songs and see which meaning suits you.


It’s a well sequenced collection in both sound and idea. The steady beat of percussion in Lumiere’s version of Fair and Tender Ladies, a song well known on both sides of the ocean, leads into the thoughtful work of Davy Spillane on pipes and Sean Tyrell on voice in the song Starry Night. Eddie Reader, from Scotland, is supported by her regular road band collaborator Alan Kelly on a graceful tale of friendship and love written by John Douglas called I Hung My Harp upon the Willow. John Spillane’s gritty take on his own song of lovers’ regret, When You and I Were True, illuminates the traditional tale of another sort of lovers’ parting, She Moved through the Fair, as presented by Loreena McKennitt. The sequence which leads from the tale of passing glimpses of a possible love in Spanish Lady (set in fine harmony by Maighread and Triona Ni Dhomhnaill) through the rambler song Free and Easy by Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh to the lively melody and enigmatic questions in in the song Wedding Dress from T with the Maggies will draw you in and make you think as well.

There are, as the subtitle of the collection promises, songs of both love and loss, and songs of reconciliation, reflection, and fun, as well. They come from well known artists, rising stars, and several groups and artists you may be less familiar with if you live outside of Ireland. All the tracks are worth your listening, though, and so is the sequence of tale and sound they weave. Colm O’Siochain, who thought up the album concept, is also responsible for the way the songs unfold. Even if you know all the artists, you will want to check out this collection to explore the way the songs illuminate each other here.

It’s good, too, the find the work of newer artists and well known musicians alongside bands and artists who have gone on to other things, such as a song from the short lived Skara Brae and and an early track from Paul Brady and Andy Irvine, as well as a classic take on Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh’s Raglan Road by the late Luke Kelly. It’s also good to see the collection wind to a close with Pauline Scanlon’s offering of All the Ways You Wander, a song John Spillane wrote for his daughter.


you may also wish to see
Americana and western songwriter Michael Martin Murphey’s song about
A Long Line Of Love
Music Road: a bouquet of Celtic love songs & tunes
Music Road: from Donegal: T with the Maggies

turning of the year and music: favorite stories and a hint of what's ahead

At the turning of the year, Music Road and the journey of music winds on.
Among your favorite articles published this year were seasonal posts on Advent and music, the conclusion of the great American Road trip series, and these


Carrie Newcomer considers the sacred, the ordinary, and what she learned and is reflecting upon after an unexpected time spent sharing her music and ideas with people in India on India to Indiana: Everything Is Everywhere


Cathie Ryan speaks of her knowledge of and passion for sharing her music, and the legends and stories she draws on when presenting music of Ireland, in teaching tradition

A look at the many aspects of winter, the hope of spring, Celtic harp, folk orchestra and the occasional electric guitar held your interest as you read about Jennifer Cutting and the Ocean Orchestra’s work on Song of Solstice.

An American folk song book, a concert from the Highlands in Scottish Gaelic, a twist on traditional Irish music from a Boston based all star quartet, and a basketful of other journeys along the music road: Best Music of the Year, a regular feature each November along the Music Road, also continues to hold your interest.


The philosophical side of things and reflections on music and creativity do, as well. Rest in music, an article on the rhythms of music and conversation, proved a favorite, as did this reflection on the connections among friendship, time , and music: music, autumn, and a cup of tea


You also enjoyed this video of Emily Smith, from Scotland, singing a song of faith by an American songwriter, which comes with entirely appropriate shots of the Jacobite Steam Train (watch the video, you'll understand): Song for the weekend: Emily Smith: Glory Bound.

What’s ahead along the music road? Continuing travels in the music of Ireland, Scotland, Canada, and across the United States, as well as other landscapes on occasion, along with deeper excursions into the ways music connects us all and helps us understand life and each other. There might be a musical road trip across Canada, and there will be consideration of new music from favorite artists and from artists and projects new to the music road as well, thoughts on an album inspired by the writings of ancient Ireland, and a few surprises along the way too.

Thank you for being part of the Music Road community, It’s been nearly six years now (for the online part of it, that is), so there's a wealth of musical knowledge, inspiration, and reflection here which I encourage you to explore. The journey continues, and to borrow a song title from Texan songwriter Robert Earl Keen, the road goes on forever. Happy new year!

the photograph is of a fireplace in Louth, Ireland, and is copyrighted. thank you for respecting that.

to keep up with what's ahead along the Music Road this year, check out the sidebar on the right for ways to subscribe through email, RSS feed, and Kindle. thanks!

you may also wish to see
Music Road: Music for the first week in Advent: candle in the window
Music Road: Seven Stories

Winter's journeys and music

Part of the work of winter is change. There are new beginnings, and looking for different horizons. The work of winter also includes quiet, reflection, and meditation, perhaps to integrate the lessons of the turning season, perhaps to find the light to follow those new paths. Music makes a good companion, for whatever directions this early part of a new year is taking you.

Music to go along with these ideas
Lee Hunter and Arvid Smith, who as a musical duo are known as Tammerlin, offer
WinterSong. True, it may be taken as a Christmas album, and as the title suggests, a consideration of winter that reaches beyond that celebration too. They include music that is both seasonal and holiday. As well, Hunter reads short selections from Wendell Berry, Annie Dillard, and Henry David Thoreau, well chosen and well read words which stand gracefully among the music, as readings and words serve to illuminate each other.

Padraigin Ni Uallachain, who is a scholar of music as well as a singer, took as her inspiration for Songs of the Scribe lyrics, notes an poetry from scribes and poets of early ireland. There will be more to say about this recording in future. For now, though, you will find it a thoughtful collection which makes a good doorway for reflection whether you understand the words in Irish or not.

Hanneke Cassel is a composer and player of violin and piano whose work is grounded in Scottish traditions with the spice of Americana, bluegrass, and the music of other places she’s traveled. Her album For Reasons Unseen makes a fine companion to winter’s journeys of place and spirit.


the photograph was made early on a snowy morning as I waited for the commuter rail train in Natick, Massachusetts. it is copyrighted, and I thank you for respecting that.

you may also wish to see
Music Road: Celtic Kenya musical connection
Music Road: Song of Solstice: music for changing seasons
Music Road: Cathie Ryan: teaching tradition


Delicious Baby's Photo Friday, where travelers offer new insights to the world each Friday.

Auld Lang Syne

It's a time of year when people all over the world join in singing Auld Lang Syne, a song Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote and adapted from an even older piece of music. Here's a fine version of it with Emily Smith taking the lead vocal, supported by Jamie McClennan and her own band members as well as members of the band Breabach. Smith, an award winning singer and songwriter, is from the area in the southwest of Scotland where Robert Burns made his home.




you may also wish to see
Music Road: Song for the weekend: Emily Smith: Glory Bound
Music Road: Emily Smith, Jamie McClennan, and Robert Burns
Music Road: eddi reader, willie stewart, and the search for haggis