How it’s New York: New Irish Arts Center on 11th Avenue between 51st & 52nd streets
How it’s Irish: Martin Hayes, one of Ireland’s greatest fiddle players
After nearly two years without hearing live music, it was joyous to hear one of Ireland’s greatest fiddle players at the new Irish Arts Center. Martin Hayes performed with an ensemble of Ireland’s and New York’s finest traditional and contemporary musicians.
The group is called Common Ground based on the premise of bringing different genres of music together in harmony – a not too subliminal wish for the world, or country. By way of introduction to the ensemble Hayes regaled the audience with some of the history of traditional Irish music. It is all melody, because we didn’t have an aristocracy in the country to introduce more complex musical arrangements. (We do have O’Carolan who composed in the classical genre to the exclusion of traditional music.) But the Common Ground set out to change that at their Irish Arts Center residency.
The line-up was Cormac McCarthy (piano, ‘Cottage Evolution’), Kate Ellis (cello, Artistic Director of Crash Ensemble), Kyle Sanna (guitar, a collaborator with Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile) and Brian Donnellan (bouzouki / harmonium / concertina, and, like Hayes, an alumnus of The Tulla Céilí Band).
Cormac McCarthy on piano from Cork and Kate Ellis from the UK on the cello added jazz and contemporary music to the pie. Brian Donnellan on concertina predominantly added to Hayes’ traditional roots. Son of a prominent Tulla Ceili band alum, he got a big cheer from TCB fans in the house. The duets with Hayes were one of the many highlights of the show. Not only for the virtuosity on the stage, but the two seemed to be at one with their instruments so much it was hard to see them as separate entities. Also the history of two of Clare’s finest families of musicians was on show 2000+ miles from their roots.
“… the instruments seemed to be vying for the listener’s attention and emotions.”
The arrangements themselves were long – not quite as long as a concerto and without pauses, but there was a sense of a journey you were being taken on. On these arrangements, (Lafferty’s Reel was one), the instruments seemed to be vying for your attention and emotions. At once deeply uplifting (Hayes’ fiddle), then darker and questioning, ” (McCarthy’s piano), and possibility, (Ellis’ cello). The piece ending with a rousing finale when all the instruments harmonized in a glorious melange of sound.
“At once deeply uplifting (Hayes’ fiddle), then darker and questioning, (McCarthy’s piano), and possibility, (Ellis’ cello).”
The music transported me at once to my childhood listening to great traditional music at the Kincora Hotel in Lisdoonvarna in County Clare, where my mother loved to set dance to the likes of Hayes’ and Donnellan’s fathers, and then to other places and other worlds with sounds of jazz experimentalism.
“… ending with a rousing finale when all the instruments harmonized in a glorious melange of music.”
I would love to have this music at home to listen to again and again. I don’t know of any plans for a recording, but I hope it is in the future.
