Celtic Flute Magic Celtic Flute Trilogy I with Declan Waggett - Flutes & Whistles, Donald McPhearson - Guitar & Bodhran, Siabhan O'Keefe - Accordion, Steafan Hanigan - Bodhran, Saskia Tompkins - Fiddle, Jennifer Campbell - Harps/Clarsach
ZZCD 9804 You can order this CD in our E-Shop under World/Roots/Entertainment **Sound Clips**

It is rare, almost unheard of, that one hears the Celtic wooden flute played outside its traditional musical environment. Here, at last, is a collection of timeless melodies celebrating the haunting, ethereal sound of the woodflute. We have drawn on the enormous pool of the Celtic tradition yet have included some beautiful tunes from both the classical and pop music repertoires. You might wonder if this mixture of styles would work, but everything is influenced by the past, and music is no exception. Melodies which we, perhaps, think of as being recent pop music often have their roots in our wonderful folk heritage. It is interesting to note that Morning Has Broken was originally a Gaelic hymn from the Scottish island of Mull, called Bunessan. Even the love theme from the film Braveheart takes a line from the famous Celtic melody Black Is The Colour Of My True Loves Hair. It is easy to hear the influence of folk styles in April Come She Will.

DDD Total Time = 55:45 - Recorded at Gantry Studios, London, 1997

The main instruments featured on this album have a strong association with traditional Celtic music. Since the earliest times the flute has been endowed with magical significance, even today, in many cultures, it is still associated with rituals related to weather, crops, life and death. The side-blown flute came to Europe from Asia and rapidly spread throughout the continent. It was quickly adopted by the military in the form of the
fife which survives in many countries in marching bands of fifes and drums. The woodflute produces a beautiful, mellow, haunting sound when playing a sustained melody like the Londonderry Air and yet, in complete contrast, it can be bright, attacking and exciting in Lord of the Dance. It is said that the woodflute popularly entered folk music after the invention of the silver flute, which pushed the prices of the old wooden instruments down so much that, finally, the common folk could all afford buy one!

The accordion was invented in the early 19th century, however the idea of blowing across a reed to produce a sound is as old as time and every child has experimented with blowing across a blade of grass. The Chinese and Japanese developed this idea to produce a sophisticated mouth organ (sheng, sho), combining different lengths of thin pipes with small metal reeds over which the air passes producing a compelling, haunting sound. With mans' usual ingenuity (he obviously decided that blowing himself was too much like hard work) the idea of combining a bellows with the reeds produced a whole family of accordions, concertinas and melodeons. Having a small, portable instrument capable of playing melody and harmony captured the imagination of the populace and it was very quickly a great success in fashionable society as well as in the village pub. The accordion has found its way into many modern 'folk traditions'.

The bodhran is a goat skin frame drum played with a double ended stick. Ancient drums like this are common to all nations and cultures, simple in construction they are far from simple to play and great skill is required to perform the intricate rhythms you will hear on this recording. Frame drums come in various sizes and James Blades, in his famous book Percussion Instruments and Their History, remarks upon reports of the dangers of drumming the bodhran's big brother, the lambeg drum (associated with the Orange Day marches in Northern Ireland), when headed originally with donkey skin (which is forbidden now) for fear of breaking the windows.

The Clarsach or Gaelic harp is descended from a long lineage going back to ancient Egyptian times and beyond. There are many examples of harps depicted in tomb paintings, art and manuscripts through the ages. The Gaelic harp has a most beautiful sound and, although considerably smaller than its younger relation the concert harp, is capable of carrying with great clarity, instantly conjuring images of the Celtic heritage.

The violin is probably considered by most people as an orchestral instrument today, but it too has is origins in the simple, ancient stick-fiddles still common in many countries, the Middle East (rababa), India (rebab), Greece (lyra) evolving through the medieval fiddle, the
rebec and the kit (a pocket-sized instrument favoured by dancing teachers in the 16th and 17th century). It is one of the few instruments that has emerged, and been adopted world-wide, in the same form for popular folk music and the concert platform.

The guitar in its many shapes and sizes, acoustic and electric is probably the most widely used and recognised instrument today. Some form of guitar or lute type instrument is common to all folk music, its versatile nature providing melody, harmony and rhythm as required. Most people have dabbled, teenagers aspire to make their fortunes in rock band;, the exciting, romantic image of flamenco; the lover serenading his lass; the travelling minstrel. We can all dream!