DOIMNIC Mac GIOLLA BHRÍDE
Gealach na gCuanta
Philippe Cousin
Doimnic Mac Ghiolla Bhríde was born and raised in Donegal, in the Gaeltacht of Gaoth Dobhair (Gweedore in English). He is a renowned singer, accordionist, pianist and uilleann piper who has won numerous awards, including the Corn Uí Riada in 2009, the highest distinction in the field of sean-nós, a type of lament similar to the Breton gwerz.
He is also a renowned composer and singer who has devoted most of his life to promoting Gaelic song.
After releasing three critically acclaimed albums, including Sona do Cheird in 2015, he embarked on an enormous musical research project. This culminated in the publication of Gaelach na gCuanta, a hundred-page book devoted to the origins of sean-nós and its inseparable link with the Gaelic harp tradition.
In it, Doimnic reveals the forgotten link between sean-nós and the harp, because contrary to popular belief, ancient Irish harpists did not just play their instruments, they accompanied them with songs composed by themselves or collected from those around them. For centuries, historians assumed that Gaelic poets recited verses while harpists accompanied them. But the study of early manuscripts has revealed that harpists sang while playing. Harp playing was very technical and the strings were made of metal, a feature shared with Scottish and Welsh harps, the only metal-stringed harps in Europe at the time.
Attached to this book (in digital form) is an album that is a compilation of sean-nós pieces collected by musicologists such as Edward Bunting in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and compositions by Doimnic himself, either in their entirety or ancient poems that he set to music. He has thus recreated the melodies of certain songs that had been lost over the years, providing them with contemporary accompaniment. To do this, he enlisted the help of close musician friends: Frances Morton on flute, Tomás Mac Seáin on viola, Éanna Ó Cróinin on uilleann pipes and Daniel Bodwell on double bass. They are joined by Joy Dunlop on vocals in Scottish and Cwyneth Glyn on vocals in Welsh on the song Doire.
A true work of musicology and craftsmanship. A little gem of success.
Autoproduit www.doimnic.com