Purchase the CD
The Musicians
About the exhibit and the recording
The exhibit, a first of its kind, featured over 300 examples of Irish furniture, paintings and decorative arts from the time period 1690-1840. The exhibit also featured other "firsts" at the Art Institute: the creation of an album of music specifically crafted to coordinate with the themes of an exhibit and the playing of this music as a background soundtrack within the galleries themselves.
The album features an even distribution of old and new music: melodies that were published in tune books during the time period of the exhibit -- where we were led chiefly by Liz Knowles -- as well as newly composed music by Liz Carroll to correspond to the seven major themes of the exhibit:
Portraiture and Theater
Dublin and Bookbindings
Religion, Metalwork, and Ceramics
Textiles, Glass, Musical Instruments, and Fancy Work
Furniture
Landscapes and Tourism
The Irish Country House
The enclosed booklet also features detailed liner notes with backgrounds on the melodies and where applicable, the composers or collectors. Selected images from the exhibit also accompany the notes so that, together with the music, you might be able to get a sense for the incredible artistry and craftsmanship that was presented there.
The album features an even distribution of old and new music: melodies that were published in tune books during the time period of the exhibit -- where we were led chiefly by Liz Knowles -- as well as newly composed music by Liz Carroll to correspond to the seven major themes of the exhibit:
Portraiture and Theater
Dublin and Bookbindings
Religion, Metalwork, and Ceramics
Textiles, Glass, Musical Instruments, and Fancy Work
Furniture
Landscapes and Tourism
The Irish Country House
The enclosed booklet also features detailed liner notes with backgrounds on the melodies and where applicable, the composers or collectors. Selected images from the exhibit also accompany the notes so that, together with the music, you might be able to get a sense for the incredible artistry and craftsmanship that was presented there.
Reviews
Evocative CD creates sense of majesty
Irish Echo
by Dan Neely
There is exhibition happening right now at the Art Institute of Chicago called “Ireland: Crossroads Of Art And Design, 1690-1840.” It opened on St. Patrick’s Day, will run through June 7 and includes over 300 objects from public and private collections that showcase the decorative and fine arts of Ireland of that period. Although I’ve not been to the institute to see it, I have heard its companion album, “Ireland: Crossroads Of Art And Design, 1690-1840 – The Music,” which was made specially for the exhibition. It is a breathtaking companion piece and it’s my great pleasure to write about it here this week.
The CD is a blend of old and new intended to reflect the exhibition’s themes as well as the period it covers. The musicians charged with making this album happen were the great fiddler Liz Knowles (www.lizknowles.com), who curated a number of compositions from period manuscript collections, and the legendary Liz Carroll (www.lizcarroll.com), who contributed a number of specially commissioned original compositions. Both have exquisite taste and throughout the album create a sense of majesty that I feel successfully evokes the spirit of the time.
Joining them in this endeavor is a powerful lineup of musicians, including harpist Catriona McKay, keyboardist Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill (Bothy Band), flute player / uilleann piper Kieran O’Hare (who, like Knowles, is a member of Open the Door For Three), pianist Martin Fahey (who, like Knowles and Carroll, was involved in the album’s production), bassist Trevor Hutchinson (Lúnasa), and percussionist Jackie Moran (Ensemble Galilei). These musicians appear in various solo and group combinations throughout the album and deliver brilliantly.
As one might imagine for an exhibit that explores eighteenth century Ireland, the music of Turlough Carolan figures prominently. McKay’s take on “Carolan’s Concerto” is graceful and captivating, Ní Dhomhnaill version of “Carolan’s Farewell to Music” is deeply compelling and Knowles’s work on the lament “Sir Ulick Burke” is utterly beautiful. Although each of these tracks is thoroughly enjoyable on its own, together they indeed tell a compelling story in music about eighteenth century Ireland that surely fulfills the exhibition’s aims.
The album’s ensemble tracks complement these solo features well. Tracks like “The Lough Derg Cross / A Tale Of A Tub / The Potter’s Wheel,” “Irishtown” and “Planxty Charles Bunworth / Rose And Kathleen’s Slip Jig” (all Carroll originals, btw) all have great energy, are smartly arranged and do an excellent job of expressing the values and sentiment of the time. They are well done and wonderful to listen to.
One of the album’s most hauntingly beautiful tracks is “[It Was] A Magic Mist That Came Over Me One Night And Put Me Astray,” performed by Emer Mayock (flute), Aoife Ní Bhriain (fiddle) and Mick O’Brien (uilleann pipes). This piece appeared on that trio’s 2013 album “Tunes from the Goodman Manuscripts” as “Ceó Draoigheachta Sheól Oidhche chum Fághain mé,” although this version (if I’ve understood correctly) was recorded for TG4’s 2014 Gradam Ceoil broadcast. It has a slightly different feel, but rivals the other recording in terms of quality.
The CD comes with a wonderfully informative booklet. Most of it was written by Fahey, although Knowles, Carroll and O’Hare contribute tune notes for select tracks, Nancy Hurrell and Ann Heymann offer short statements about harps in the exhibition and Karol Mullaney-Dignam provides an interesting essay about the Irish country house. Included in the booklet are beautiful photographs of objects in the collection, arranged to match their place in the exhibition. (Incidentally, Fahey told me that the use of sound in this exhibit was first at the Art Institute and that all the feedback on the role of the music thus far has been overwhelmingly positive.)
This is a spectacular album. It features a beautiful mixture of old and new music from one of the most elite gatherings of musicians you’re likely to find. While this album easily stands alone on its own musical merits, it’s a wonderful thing that an album of this incredibly high standard was produced for a museum exhibit – it sets an important example.
I highly recommend this album.
IRISH MUSIC MAGAZINE: MARCH, 2016: CD REVIEWS
by Seán Laffey
IRELAND: Crossroads of Art and Design, 1690 – 1840 THE MUSIC
Liz Carroll, Liz Knowles, Catriona McKay, Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill, Kieran O'Hare, Marty Fahey, Trevor Hutchinson, Emer Mayock, Jackie Moran, Aoife Ní Bhriain, Mick O'Brien
(O'Brien International) 15 Tracks, 59 minutes
www.irelandcrossroads.com
This CD’s recording was inspired by a 300 item exhibition held at the Art Institute of Chicago in 2015. The objects in the exhibit made their way to America over a 300 year period, both as family heirlooms and wise investments. They represent the high point of Irish design and craftsmanship from the Irish Georgian age, when Dublin was the “Second City” of the Empire, when its churches and civic buildings were designed in the latest European fashion, and those who could afford quality–whether in decorative objects, furniture or fine art–found that all was to-hand in Ireland.
You can view a crossroads in two ways: as an intersection at which to make choices, or, in the classic Irish sense, as a meeting point where something special happens. It is in the latter meaning that this metaphor prevails on this fascinating CD. It was produced alongside that exhibition of Irish art, furniture and decorative objects, all selected from the period referred to as “the Long 18th century”. This era was so–called because it represented a period of time, longer than a century, when relative peace prevailed alongside overwhelming artistic and artisanal talent in Ireland. Though it may seem strange to end as late as 1840, there is good reason, as both Bunting and Petrie published their collections years after they had noted down the tunes and because the Famine(s) brought an abrupt end to this era.
Musically, this album stretches from Carolan to Bunting to Goodman, from the last days of the retained harper to the new fangled piano–forte and piano, as well as to the homemade music of the Protestant and Catholic gentry alike. It also represents the span of time when Irish music was not only being recorded in print but its character and its popular parameters were first being established. The CD sets out an ambitious agenda: to offer examples of contemporary music of the age, researched by fiddler Liz Knowles, as well as to present new compositions from Liz Carroll, inspired largely by the seven major themes of the exhibition itself. Both ladies succeed in their endeavors, and by careful reading of the excellent booklet that is packaged with this album, we get a feel for the far more complex musical milieu of the 18th century in Ireland, where the boundaries between what we now call “classical” and “traditional” music were blurred, or more correctly, had not yet been snapped into separate focus.
The music can be appreciated in chronological order, from Carolan’s famous Concerto–played here from the Bunting transcription by Catriona McKay–to Marty Fahey’s rendition of Hampsey’s Soft Mild Morning. Herein lies a paradox: though Hampsey considered Carolan’s music to be too modern in 1792, his own music was transcribed by Bunting and was written to be played for the avant–garde 18th century instruments, the piano–forte and piano.
Seven of the tracks on this album are original compositions from Liz Carroll, and she is in grand form here. Two noteworthy examples are The True Love of My Heart, a lovely ensemble piece by Carroll, with Liz Knowles (hardanger d’amore 5+5), Catriona McKay (harp) and Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill (keyboards); and Planxty Charles Bunworth, in honor of the noted Anglo-Irish champion of Irish music in the 18th century whose personal harp (c1734) was featured in the exhibit. The latter melody is taken at a sedate pace, as a fiddle and flute duet. The planxty is then followed by a jaunty slip jig named in honor of 21st century players, Rose Conway Flanagan and Kathleen Conneely: it is an infectious melody.
The other half of the CD is made up of tunes from various period collections, such as those by Bunting, George Petrie, O’Farrell and Canon Goodman, including the spirited Lady Gordon’s Minuet, an unexpected period ballroom dance in 3/4 time. We have further selections from the Goodman manuscripts and O’Farrell Collection in the pairing of the jig The Droning Old Aged Woman and Byrn’s March: featuring piping here by Kieran O’Hare, it is full of long notes and deep emotion.
The booklet alone is worth the price of the CD: it not only provides extensive background to the tunes but also includes excellent photography of key objects from the exhibition, beautifully crafted essays on the 18th century harp and an end piece on the unique role of the Irish country house in preserving and fostering music in what, indeed, could be called a cultural Golden Age of art and creativity.
The CD is a blend of old and new intended to reflect the exhibition’s themes as well as the period it covers. The musicians charged with making this album happen were the great fiddler Liz Knowles (www.lizknowles.com), who curated a number of compositions from period manuscript collections, and the legendary Liz Carroll (www.lizcarroll.com), who contributed a number of specially commissioned original compositions. Both have exquisite taste and throughout the album create a sense of majesty that I feel successfully evokes the spirit of the time.
Joining them in this endeavor is a powerful lineup of musicians, including harpist Catriona McKay, keyboardist Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill (Bothy Band), flute player / uilleann piper Kieran O’Hare (who, like Knowles, is a member of Open the Door For Three), pianist Martin Fahey (who, like Knowles and Carroll, was involved in the album’s production), bassist Trevor Hutchinson (Lúnasa), and percussionist Jackie Moran (Ensemble Galilei). These musicians appear in various solo and group combinations throughout the album and deliver brilliantly.
As one might imagine for an exhibit that explores eighteenth century Ireland, the music of Turlough Carolan figures prominently. McKay’s take on “Carolan’s Concerto” is graceful and captivating, Ní Dhomhnaill version of “Carolan’s Farewell to Music” is deeply compelling and Knowles’s work on the lament “Sir Ulick Burke” is utterly beautiful. Although each of these tracks is thoroughly enjoyable on its own, together they indeed tell a compelling story in music about eighteenth century Ireland that surely fulfills the exhibition’s aims.
The album’s ensemble tracks complement these solo features well. Tracks like “The Lough Derg Cross / A Tale Of A Tub / The Potter’s Wheel,” “Irishtown” and “Planxty Charles Bunworth / Rose And Kathleen’s Slip Jig” (all Carroll originals, btw) all have great energy, are smartly arranged and do an excellent job of expressing the values and sentiment of the time. They are well done and wonderful to listen to.
One of the album’s most hauntingly beautiful tracks is “[It Was] A Magic Mist That Came Over Me One Night And Put Me Astray,” performed by Emer Mayock (flute), Aoife Ní Bhriain (fiddle) and Mick O’Brien (uilleann pipes). This piece appeared on that trio’s 2013 album “Tunes from the Goodman Manuscripts” as “Ceó Draoigheachta Sheól Oidhche chum Fághain mé,” although this version (if I’ve understood correctly) was recorded for TG4’s 2014 Gradam Ceoil broadcast. It has a slightly different feel, but rivals the other recording in terms of quality.
The CD comes with a wonderfully informative booklet. Most of it was written by Fahey, although Knowles, Carroll and O’Hare contribute tune notes for select tracks, Nancy Hurrell and Ann Heymann offer short statements about harps in the exhibition and Karol Mullaney-Dignam provides an interesting essay about the Irish country house. Included in the booklet are beautiful photographs of objects in the collection, arranged to match their place in the exhibition. (Incidentally, Fahey told me that the use of sound in this exhibit was first at the Art Institute and that all the feedback on the role of the music thus far has been overwhelmingly positive.)
This is a spectacular album. It features a beautiful mixture of old and new music from one of the most elite gatherings of musicians you’re likely to find. While this album easily stands alone on its own musical merits, it’s a wonderful thing that an album of this incredibly high standard was produced for a museum exhibit – it sets an important example.
I highly recommend this album.
IRISH MUSIC MAGAZINE: MARCH, 2016: CD REVIEWS
by Seán Laffey
IRELAND: Crossroads of Art and Design, 1690 – 1840 THE MUSIC
Liz Carroll, Liz Knowles, Catriona McKay, Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill, Kieran O'Hare, Marty Fahey, Trevor Hutchinson, Emer Mayock, Jackie Moran, Aoife Ní Bhriain, Mick O'Brien
(O'Brien International) 15 Tracks, 59 minutes
www.irelandcrossroads.com
This CD’s recording was inspired by a 300 item exhibition held at the Art Institute of Chicago in 2015. The objects in the exhibit made their way to America over a 300 year period, both as family heirlooms and wise investments. They represent the high point of Irish design and craftsmanship from the Irish Georgian age, when Dublin was the “Second City” of the Empire, when its churches and civic buildings were designed in the latest European fashion, and those who could afford quality–whether in decorative objects, furniture or fine art–found that all was to-hand in Ireland.
You can view a crossroads in two ways: as an intersection at which to make choices, or, in the classic Irish sense, as a meeting point where something special happens. It is in the latter meaning that this metaphor prevails on this fascinating CD. It was produced alongside that exhibition of Irish art, furniture and decorative objects, all selected from the period referred to as “the Long 18th century”. This era was so–called because it represented a period of time, longer than a century, when relative peace prevailed alongside overwhelming artistic and artisanal talent in Ireland. Though it may seem strange to end as late as 1840, there is good reason, as both Bunting and Petrie published their collections years after they had noted down the tunes and because the Famine(s) brought an abrupt end to this era.
Musically, this album stretches from Carolan to Bunting to Goodman, from the last days of the retained harper to the new fangled piano–forte and piano, as well as to the homemade music of the Protestant and Catholic gentry alike. It also represents the span of time when Irish music was not only being recorded in print but its character and its popular parameters were first being established. The CD sets out an ambitious agenda: to offer examples of contemporary music of the age, researched by fiddler Liz Knowles, as well as to present new compositions from Liz Carroll, inspired largely by the seven major themes of the exhibition itself. Both ladies succeed in their endeavors, and by careful reading of the excellent booklet that is packaged with this album, we get a feel for the far more complex musical milieu of the 18th century in Ireland, where the boundaries between what we now call “classical” and “traditional” music were blurred, or more correctly, had not yet been snapped into separate focus.
The music can be appreciated in chronological order, from Carolan’s famous Concerto–played here from the Bunting transcription by Catriona McKay–to Marty Fahey’s rendition of Hampsey’s Soft Mild Morning. Herein lies a paradox: though Hampsey considered Carolan’s music to be too modern in 1792, his own music was transcribed by Bunting and was written to be played for the avant–garde 18th century instruments, the piano–forte and piano.
Seven of the tracks on this album are original compositions from Liz Carroll, and she is in grand form here. Two noteworthy examples are The True Love of My Heart, a lovely ensemble piece by Carroll, with Liz Knowles (hardanger d’amore 5+5), Catriona McKay (harp) and Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill (keyboards); and Planxty Charles Bunworth, in honor of the noted Anglo-Irish champion of Irish music in the 18th century whose personal harp (c1734) was featured in the exhibit. The latter melody is taken at a sedate pace, as a fiddle and flute duet. The planxty is then followed by a jaunty slip jig named in honor of 21st century players, Rose Conway Flanagan and Kathleen Conneely: it is an infectious melody.
The other half of the CD is made up of tunes from various period collections, such as those by Bunting, George Petrie, O’Farrell and Canon Goodman, including the spirited Lady Gordon’s Minuet, an unexpected period ballroom dance in 3/4 time. We have further selections from the Goodman manuscripts and O’Farrell Collection in the pairing of the jig The Droning Old Aged Woman and Byrn’s March: featuring piping here by Kieran O’Hare, it is full of long notes and deep emotion.
The booklet alone is worth the price of the CD: it not only provides extensive background to the tunes but also includes excellent photography of key objects from the exhibition, beautifully crafted essays on the 18th century harp and an end piece on the unique role of the Irish country house in preserving and fostering music in what, indeed, could be called a cultural Golden Age of art and creativity.
Liz Carroll- Ireland: Crossroads of Art and Design, 1690-1840: a meeting of past and present, Siobhan Long
Thu, Mar 10, 2016,
Album:
Ireland Crossroads of Art and Design, 1690-1840: The Music
Artist:
Liz Carroll
Label:
O'Brien International
Genre:
Traditional
Much is made of how past and present collide and coalesce, particularly in the current climate of remembrance, but this collection renders invisible the space and time that separates music from a distant era from contemporary tunes. Music of the 17th to 19th century evolved during a vibrant period when Continental influences (including those from operatic and dance music) colored melodies in ways which were markedly different to those played today. Chicago fiddler and prolific composer Liz Carroll and fiddler and hardanger d’amore player Liz Knowles collaborate on this remarkable collection to create an accompaniment to the titular design exhibition, staged at the Art Institute of Chicago last year. Carroll’s new compositions shimmer alongside their elder cousins, and the intuitive playing of Catriona McKay, Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill and Kieran O’Hare are a joy. A multi-layered delight. irelandcrossroads.com
