October Winds: Music for Halloween and Beyond...

"The October winds lament around the castle of Dromore..." and echo in my imagination, continuing to inspire my musical projects and festival offerings in this busy and rewarding Autumn! As you may know, the modern celebration of Halloween descended both from traditions associated with the Celtic festival of Samhain as well as customs from the Christian feast of All Hallows Eve (the Even of All Saints).

The following eloquent quote from Tlachtga: Celtic Fire Festival by John Gilroy describes well the nature of the earlier feast:

“The idea that Samhain is a juncture between the two halves of the year saw it acquiring the unique status of being suspended in time - it did not belong to the old year not the new. It could be said that time stood still on this night and the implications of this were immense. During this night the natural order of life was thrown into chaos and the earthly world of the living became hopelessly entangled with the world of the dead. But the world of the dead was itself a complicated place, peopled not only by the spirits of the departed, but also with a host of gods, fairies and other creatures of uncertain nature.”


I have a special fondness for music that evokes the half-light of shorter days and the tricks of the eye that can play upon one's imagination in the twilight of the day and of the year.


Bill Douglas- "Into the Twilight"


This heart-achingly beautiful and elegant instrument by Bill Douglas is a fairy-tale in sound... I discovered Circle of Moons the library's CD archives when I was just a teenager, and after hearing his unique blend of jazz, classical, Celtic, and world music, my life was never the same. The mood this piece creates reminds me of the mystery of a library at night as well as of the "place between asleep and awake" in which the fairies dwell.

Anuna - "Ah, Robin"

Some of the eerie little vocal effects at the beginning of this track remind me of the "Wisps" in the Disney Pixar film Brave, which is strangely appropriate since Merida is heard to recite this verse (with considerable discomfort!) during the film as part of her princess duties! It is based upon an English Renaissance verse by Sir Thomas Wyatt.

Loreena McKennitt's The Visit


A 1992 classic, Loreena McKennitt's The Visit is now over 30 years old. What a profound influence this album has had on my musical life! It includes such wonders as the wild and lively "All Souls Night" (hence its mention here!), the tragic beauty of "The Lady of Shallott," and the haunting "The Old Ways" among other treasures...

Maddy Prior- "Reynardine"

Maddy Prior, a musical legend of Steeleye Span fame, gives us an epic rendition of the supernatural ballad in which a mysterious man lures a young woman away to the mountains. In some variants, Reynardine is merely a criminal, but in this one, he is clearly meant to be either a werefox or a vampire! 

Aine Minogue- “Fyvie Castle”
https://youtu.be/-FmGM2JywEM?si=3YJwiLB-v6gU4HX8


Harpist Aine Minogue is a queen of ethereal atmosphere, and here she dedicates a song to the infamous Fyvie Castle of Scotland in honor of the Celtic feast of Samhain. Listen carefully to her spooky bent notes on the harp, and between the notes, you might hear the licentious laughter of ghosts in the castle still echoing from an ancient feast!

Dougie MacLean- "All Together"
https://youtu.be/ZlnGd8Rv9Ew?si=Pqa99AIpQdNgbGRY

Dougie MacLean creates a lighter mood with his upbeat 1990's reel to celebrate the spirit of the ceilidh and of the festival! I have many festivals on my calendar, so I am looking forward to many days of musical celebration! I love the inebriating little fiddle instrumental at the end of this set; its little modal surprises are simply intoxicating!

Hedy West - "The Wife of Usher's Well" 

What a welcome surprise was Hedy West's rendition of an American variant of "The Wife of Usher's Well," a ballad with origins in Scotland and England! It has that same beautiful mountain minor sound characteristic of "Cluck Old Hen" and "Old Joe Clark." I discovered it while preparing a workshop called "Unquiet Ballads" for the QuaranTune Virtual Dulcimer Fest." It tells a haunting tale of the ghosts of three songs who return to their mother to bring her peace.

Jean Luc Lenoir - Old Celtic & Nordic Ballads

This delightful collection of old songs about supernatural creatures of fantasy was recorded and published in France. A multi-instrumental ensemble (including mountain dulcimer!) as well as several fine vocalists bring this music to life with freshness and enthusiasm. It's a wonderful introduction to traditional folk music on these themes, and among my personal highlights are "The Elfin Knight" (Scottish) and "Liti Kjersti og Elvekjongen" (Norwegian).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saint Valentine’s Day & Ash Wednesday: Earthly Love and Divine Love Meet

Image
2024 is one of those exceptional years when Saint Valentine's Day coincides with Ash Wednesday, an alignment that has invited me to explore the meaning of love more universally, that is, to reflect on the nature of both human and divine love on February 14 this year. In keeping with such meditations, my musical highlights for this month pay tribute to earthly romance as well as to the mystical imagery of the relationship between God and humankind as being like that of a spousal relationship, the Lover and the Beloved. Let us begin the journey with earthly love… Earthly Love Pauline Scanlon-   Red Colour Sun “And I Love You So” https://youtu.be/fqLXVzh9ED0?si=59rU5KCmZKkXe2ut and “Valentine”  https://youtu.be/ng8GFqkNIAc?si=MnmRrrWBvl7LquRu Irish singer Pauline Scanlon's breathy vocals bring a warm, modern sensibility to traditional songs as well as to beloved covers from popular music, including "And I Love You So" by Don Maclean and "Valentine" by Willie Ne...
Read more

Saint Patrick’s Day: Celtic Favorites

Image
Éirinn go Brách! Celtic music, including the traditional music of Ireland, is one of the greatest musical influences of my life, and it is a delight to be able highlight some of the Celtic currents that continue to flow through my playlists... Here I present to you a mix of contemporary Celtic folk as well as the kinds of very traditional Irish pieces without which Saint Patrick's Day would feel incomplete to me! Mary Black- “Colcannon” "Heartwarming" is the word that comes to mind when I think of this song... With its beautiful harmonies and the bright piercing voice of the inimitable Mary Black, "Colcannon" expresses nostalgia for home and the love of family, especially a mother's love in preparing favorite foods. Whalebone- "The Otter’s Holt" I have recently become infatuated with this downtempo interpretation of the traditional Irish reel "The Otter's Holt," which is usually performed at a breakneck pace... I love getting to savo...
Read more

A Garland of Music for May Day

Image
Happy May Day to you all! Here I present to you a musical garland to celebrate this sacred month, so full of life and tradition. Loreena McKennitt- "The Mummers' Dance" This piece is, quite frankly, one of my favorite songs of all time... I have loved "The Mummers' Dance" since at least 1999, when I was about 10 or 11 years old. When I first really encountered it, I had recently discovered the Redwall series by Brian Jacques, and at the time, this song called up the wild love of adventure and rich reverence for nature that the woodland creatures of these stories possessed. Today, it means even more... I have since learned that the song borrows many lyrics from the traditional English "May Day Carol": We’ve been rambling all the night And some time of this day. Now returning back again, We bring a garland gay... A garland gay we bring you here, And at your door we stand. It is a sprout well budded out, The work of Our Lord’s hand. For me, thes...
Read more