On Friday the 13th of November 2009, sixteen musicians and composers came together to celebrate the launch of the new album ‘Overtone’ Ancient Music of Ireland. That evening they performed a concert at St. Nicholas’ Collegiate Church in Galway City. The event was organised by Ancient Music Ireland to explore the overtone properties of the ancient and prehistoric horns of Ireland, Britain and Europe both in a live acoustic habitat and accompanied by other more modern instruments.
Performers were collected in groups which brought together particular combinations of sounds and musical traditions. The main purpose of the concert was to explore the variety and colour of music that can be played on ancient horns and to demonstrate them as complex musical instruments in their own right.
Some of the tunes featured only bronze horns whilst others combined them with traditional and modern acoustic instruments. It was very important that the concert would be played completely acoustically. Thus, no electronics of any kind were employed. The only microphones present were recording and the only effect was the natural soundscape created by the magnificent acoustic properties of the building. It was hoped that one or two unusual audio colours might be realised during the performance but no one could have predicted the tremendous power and richness of the sound spectrum that filled the room nor the complete certainty with which the instruments, old and new combined together in harmony.
Musicians travelled from all over the World including America, Germany, England, Scotland and from different parts of Ireland. Though many had not previously met each other before, during the rehearsal sessions on the day of the concert it became evident that something new and exciting was happening. Tunes and instrument combinations which had never been played together before took shape mainly due to the proficiency and professional excellence of the players. The concert was performed to a rapturous reception from a full house and the recordings included here are among the finest and most adventurous of the evening. One particularly historic aspect was the introduction of a reproduction English Iron Age carnyx. This was the first time in modernity that one of these instruments was played and heard in public in approximately two thousand years.
released March 23, 2021
Rod Callan – Sound Engineer
Rod has recorded both original and reproduction ancient horns and trumpets with Ancient Music Ireland since the research first began over twenty years ago. In this instance he travelled from his studio in Wales to record the ‘Overtone Live Acoustic’ concert in Galway. His brilliant expertise and experience with the instruments perfectly captured the complexity and multi-colours of the sound.
Mick Crehan
Mick comes from a renowned traditional music family in West Clare. His Uncle, Junior Crehan is remembered as one of the great exponents of traditional music. Specialising in the whistle, Mick is well known as a player and teacher. In 1985 he formed the group ‘Open Road’ in Waterford which included a continuous accompanying variation drone in the sound. This idea was inspired by the band ‘Stocktan’s Wing’ who had used a didgeridoo on their album ‘Light in the Western Sky’. There is no doubt that the sounds of ‘Open Road’ played a vital role in the re-awakening of the Bronze Age horns of Ireland in 1987.
Brian Cunningham
Brian is one of the world’s leading exponents of ‘sean ós’ dancing. His magic rhythm can be heard on track number 6 on this album where he joins the musicians in the final crescendo of the tunes. From the rugged Irish coastal region of Connemara, Brian Cunningham brings one of Ireland’s oldest dance forms to the world stage with Atlantic Steps. Steps.https://www.facebook.com/AtlanticSteps
Mark Farrelly
Grand nephew to the late great piper Tommy Kearny, Mark is steeped in traditional uilleann piping. His distinctive interpration of the pipes which includes using the regulators a part of the tune brings out all the variety that comes from the most complex pipes in the world. Mark is keyboard player, composer and producer with Earthship.
www.facebook.com/pages/Earthship/117607851608235
Dr. Peter Holmes
Renowned as the leading World authority on ancient metal wind instruments, his studies include manufacturing of the Irish/British Bronze Age horns, the reproduction of the English ‘Tattershal’ carnyx, the Norwegian lur, the ancient Egyptian trumpets and classical Greek and Etruscan instruments. Peter plays trumpet and saxophone in a number of bands and is credited as being the first to identify the playing method of the Bronze Age horns.
Michael Holohan
A leading classical composer and musician, living in Drogheda and close to the prehistoric and Early Irish Christian sites of the Boyne Valley has given Michael a constant source of inspiration for many of his compositions. He has composed a number of pieces for ancient Irish instruments and this work has made an important contribution to on-going research.
Breifne Holohan
Breifne Holohan is an Irish musician/composer based in Co. Louth. His music crosses a vast range of genres, from modern classical, acoustic guitar and minimalist music, to traditional Irish, ambient and electroacoustic styles. His work includes the exploration of unusual sound scapes and thus he is ideally placed to make his own unique contribution to the rich variety of colour which is produced by ancient horns. A point of interest, the Composer Michael Holanan on this album is Breifne’s Dad.
breifneholohan.bandcamp.com/album/eastern-passages
John Meskell
Multi-instrumentalist, John originally studied didgeridoo under master player Phil Conyngham. He then progressed to bass Bronze Age horn and became one of the first players after Ancient Music Ireland. The great presence and variety of his playing made an invaluable contribution to the ‘Overtone Live Acoustic’ concert. John remains one of the top dord íseal (bass Bronze Age horn) players today.
Derek O’ Shea
Based in Galway, Derek is a well known flute player and has composed many tunes. He breath control. His interpretation of ‘The Butterfly’ is truly a ‘tour de force’.introduced new European musical traditions into Ireland as a member of the band ‘Gan Anim’. He is a master of the slow air, being able to project deep emotion and haunting pathos by using the most exquisite timing and
Pat Power
One of the first exponents of mandola as a melody instrument, Pat is renowned for his distinctive assertive playing. As with the Gerry and Kevin Whelan, he grew up in a musical family in South Waterford where he learnt an old and pure musical style. Pat included Bronze Age horns on his first album ‘Sin a Bhfuil’ as part of the track called ‘The Butterfly’.
Dr. John Purser
MA (University of Glagow), PhD (University of Glasgow) a well-known composer, broadcaster and playwright, poet and writer. John is directly responsible for the reconstruction of the Scottish ‘Dexford’ carnyx, the triple pipes and the Early Medieval River Erne horn.
www.johnpurser.net
Bonnie Rideout
Bonnie from Virginia in North America is a renowned violin and viola player and composer in the Scottish tradition. One of the finest Scottish fiddlers of our time, Bonnie brings a brilliant virtuosity of the evocative music of the Highlands. She has released many albums specialising in piobaireach music. Bonnie has collaborated with John Purser on several albums and together they have rejuvenated an old violin interpretation of tunes which had not been played since the 19th century and until now had only survived as a piping tradition.
www.bonnierideout.com
Frank Ryan
Mainly a traditional Irish bodhrán player, Frank is influenced by some of the early rock innovators such as Frank Zappa. He delights in complementing a melody with an off-beat percussion that is very much his own. He gives the time of the tune a particular flowing rhythm influenced by his cross-over into the upright cactus drum. Frank also plays saxophone.
Joachim Schween
Based in Hameln in Germany, Joachim is an archaeologist and musician specialising in North German lur and Irish Bronze Age horns. He is the keeper and player of a reproduction lur which was cast in 1915.
Gerry Whelan
Originally form Tramore, Gerry plays a distinctive South Waterford traditional music style on mandolin. Having played with ‘Open Road’, he moved to Galway where he established himself as a prolific session player.
Kevin Whelan
Brother to Gerry, Kevin also played with the band ‘Open Road’ in Waterford. One of the great sounds of the band was when Kevin and Gerry launched into a set of fast reels on two mandolins. A great musical treats on these recordings is to hear the Whelan brothers playing with that closeness of style and tempo that happens between brothers.
