MP3 Keltic Kaleidoscope - Keltic Visions

Traditional Irish and Scottish music is performed along the lines of Mary Black, Clancy Brothers, and Tommy Makem

19 MP3 Songs
WORLD: Celtic, FOLK: Traditional Folk



Details:
Keltic Kaleidoscope was formed in 1995. The musicians in the group include Matt Cassidy on banjo, guitar, and electric bass, Dave Lymanstall playing fiddle and bodhrán, and Mary Behan Miller playing keyboard, guitar and bodhrán. The newest member, Sally Hayes Makulinski plays the keyboard, flute and tin whistle. The band performs a variety of Celtic and American folk songs using two- and three-part harmonies along with a few songs from the sixties. The group has performed at a variety of venues including The University of Michigan, the Toledo Hibernian St. Patrick's Day Festival, the Toledo Irish-American Festival, the Cloister at the Toledo Museum of Art and Mickey Finn's Pub.

âKeltic Visionsâ is the groupâs third CD and features mainly Irish songs along with a few Scottish tunes. Many of the songs have common Irish theme of love lost including âRed Is the Roseâ and âCourtinâ in the Kitchen.â The latter song is even painful by Irish standards since the man ends up in jail for his efforts. âNorth Americayâ has a similar theme but there is a twist here since the song has a happy ending. âMolly Maloneâ is another sad love song that features a young woman who sells seafood from a wheelbarrow. Sadly, she becomes ill and dies. âWilliam Bloatâ is another sad song and might be considered as a love song âgone badâ with a very ironic twist at the end of the song.

Three other songs reflect longings of a different nature. âDanny Boyâ could be about a parentâs concern for a child and is based on a melody usually associated with County Derry or the city of Derry. The lyrics were actually written by an Englishman who apparently had some sympathy for both Irish nationalists and who today would be called unionists. .âThe Bard of Armaghâ is a reflection of the pain inflicted on the native Irish during the most oppressive years of British rule in Ireland. The lyrics are believed to refer to the disguise that a Catholic priest assumed to avoid capture by the forces of the Crown. âFiddlerâs Greenâ might be considered a song about âfishermanâs heavenâ with references to bottles of rum and lassies.

Also included here are two lullabies, âSkye Boatâ and âThe Castle of Dromore.â âSkye Boatâ is a Scottish song about the flight of Bonnie Prince Charlie to the Isle of Skye to escape the English. âThe Castle of Dromoreâ is a very traditional lullaby with an expression of longings of hope that the child will be able to grow up. The banshee in the song, associated with impeding death, will hopefully not come for the child.

The remaining tracks are instrumentals including one and possibly two tunes written by Turlough Carolan. Carolan was a blind harper who composed and played his concerto immediately after hearing an Italian composer play his own composition. âThe South Windâ may also have been written by Carolan but there is no hard evidence for this.

Other traditional Irish instrumental pieces include âKing of the Fairiesâ and âKifinora Tuneâ along with âSlane.â âSlaneâ will be familiar to some since it is the melody used in the song âBe Thou My Vision.â âDawted Maryâ is a Scottish dance tune.

"Keltic Beginnings," the group's first CD was released in 2000 and includes a variety of Irish favorites, which tell of various misadventures associated with love, war and drink. The Second CD, "Some Keltic, Some Knot" was released in 2001. It features a number of Irish songs along with selections from other genres. Mary Behan Miller, the group's female vocalist, has released three solo albums, "A Celtic Journey,â âKidsâ Songs and Lullabies,â and âAmerican Pie,â all of which are available on CD Baby.