Laoise Kelly - Just
Harp
Originally from
Mayo, now a resident of Donegal, Laoise Kelly is the
first harp player I have ever heard who is every bit as
lively as a fiddler.
Your feet will be dancing
...
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Solo Irish Harp
Recording
Laoise (a Irish gaelic
name, pronounced lee-sha), and her fellow musicians from
The
Bumblebees,
were unquestionably the life of after-hours sessions in the
first two Celtic Colours Festivals.
Just Harp is pure
music, played in her beautiful style ... bouncy bass runs,
lilting melodies and lots of spontaneous embellishment. The
repertoire is mainly Irish, with a smattering of Cape Breton
and Scottish thrown in for good measure.
currently
n/a
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Laoise, in her young
professional career, has already been performing and /or
recording with:
The Bumblebees
Sharon Shannon,
The Chieftons
Natalie
MacMaster
Charlie Lennon
Donal Lunny
Sinead O'Connor
Kate Bush
Micheal O'Suilleabhain
Mary Black
Triona Ni Dhomhnaill ....
and
many others
CD
notes
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Laoise's CD notes
1. PRESIDENT
GARFIELD'S
- Compliments to Sean
Maguire - Brendan Mulvihill
- The Saratoga -
trad
- President
Garfield's - trad
To my surprise I
discovered recently that although these are among my
favourite tunes, they were all written as hornpipes.
"Compliments to Sean Maguire" was written by
American- Irish fiddle player Brendan Mulvihill. "The
Saratoga"(also known as "Smell of the Bog") I
learned from my great friend and piano accordion player,
Mirella Murray from Claddaghduff , Co.Galway. Through
thick and thin (and one or two "bogs") her friendship and
music have had a huge influence on me. "President
Garfields" is attributed to New England fidller Harry
Carleton in "Ryan's
Mammoth Collection"(1883).
2. WALTZING
DAISY
- Andante- second
movement from sonata in D - Clementi
- Daithi
Sprouleís Waltz - Daithi Sproule
I came across this
first waltz by the late 18th century classical composer
"Clementi" in an old piano book at home and converted it
to what it is now. I hope Clementi doesnít mind
this version. The second I learned years ago from a great
band from Northern Ireland called "Comronalty", which
consisted of Paul and Joanne McSherry, Davy Maguire and
Milo Crossan. These are for Muireann, Andy and
Daisy.
3. BRENDAN
RINGS
4. THE COAST OF GALICIA
- Bill Whelan
This air is from
Bill Whelan's "Seville Suite" composed for Expo
'92. The Suite depicts the story of "Red" Hugh O'Donnell
and the "flight of the Earls" from Ireland, after the
Battle of Kinsale(1601) until his eventual arrival in
Galicia. This air portrays their journey along the
beautiful Galician coastline. I remember the first time I
played this piece I was very nervous as it was my first
outing with a full orchestra. Luckily the music overcame
my nerves and, in the end, the air spoke for
itself.
5.THE
LION
- The Lion - Paul
S. Cranford
- The Palm Tree -
Billy Mc Comesky
- Hughie Jim Paul's
Reel - Joan MacDonald Bowes
Paul Cranford is well
known for his compositions in the Cape Breton style. I
had many mad nights of music with Paul and other Cape
Bretoners while staying there with the Bumblebees. Paul
named this tune after his fiddle "The Lion"
because of it's powerful tone. (Or perhaps it should be
called "The Lion's Foot", in honour of my "stomping" foot
which sometimes gets carried away keeping time!) "The
Palm Tree" I picked up along the way and "Hughie
Jim Paul's Reel" I heard from fiddler Pierre Schryer
from Canada.
6. THE TWO WILLIAM
DAVIES
- The Two William
Davies - trad
- The Gates of
Mullagh - Josephine Keegan
The two Davies were
father and son - "The one, Old William, a poorly
skinflint, and the other, Young William, a generous open
handed fellow" - according to Donal O'Sullivan's "Life
and Times of O'Carolan". O'Sullivan also believes that
although the piece has all the characteristics of an
O'Carolan tune, it is unlikely to have been. O'Sullivan's
source was P.W.Joyce who originally printed it from a
manuscript lent to him in about 1873, from near Lough
Conn, Co.Mayo - so it's not had far to travel! "The
Gates of Mullagh" reel is another tune I learned from
Mirella. I also heard it on a radio recording of Donegal
fiddler Brid Harper, who gave me the
name.
7. PUTTING IT OFF -
Laoise Kelly
Anyone who knows
me would probably say this should be my middle name.
Instead it's the name of a tune I wrote at home in
Westport, Co.Mayo in November '97. I started out to write
it as a waltz for the Bumblebees but somehow a hornpipe
came out instead - that's what comes of putting it
off!
8. THE
TRIP
- The Yellow Wattle -
trad
- Trip to London -
Maurice Lennon
- Trip to Brittany -
Michael Mc Goldrick
"The Yellow
Wattle" is a tune I picked up from accordion player
Josephine Marsh from Co.Clare. "Trip to London"
was taught to me by Mirella and mad fiddler Liz Kane from
Letterfrack, Co.Galway and finally on a trip to
Australia, Michael McGoldrick, the well known flute
player from Manchester, gave me "Trip to
Brittany".
9. PRINCESS BEATRICE
- Princess Beatrice -
W.B. Laybourne
- Dowd's Favourite -
trad
"Princess
Beatrice" is a hornpipe learnt from another great
musician from Co.Clare, Siobhan Peoples. It's a gorgeous
tune but with all the chromatic notes, not exactly harp
friendly. "Dowd's Favourite" is an old tune first
recorded on 78 record by master fiddle player Michael
Coleman.
10. SURELY WEE OCH
AYE
- Surely Wee Och Aye
- Clodagh Boylan
- Charles Sutherland
- J. Murdoch Henderson
- The Cambridge -
trad
For a long time on tour
in 1991, this tune had no name. While on tour we spent
much of our time slagging Clodagh's sister Sheila, about
her lovely Derry accent. It was always "surely" this
Ö and "wee" that Ö or "och aye" the other
Ö In the end the tune had to be christened "Surely
Wee Och Aye". "Charles Sutherland" is a tune I
came across from Cape Breton fiddler Jerry Holland's book
and "The Cambridge"(also known as "Pacific
Slope" and "Chief O'Neill's Visit") was taught
to Mirella by Galway flute player Joe
Skelton.
11. CAROLAN'S FAREWELL
- Turlough O'Carolan
"Carolan's
Farewell to Music" was the last piece composed by the
celebrated blind Irish harper Turlough
O'Carolan(1670-1738). He came home to Alderford,
Co.Roscommon to die and was received by his aged
patroness Mrs.MacDermott Roe. He called for his harp,
played this tune, and was then led upstairs to what was
to be his death bed.
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11/5/2000
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