THEY say (rightly) about Irish place names that they tell you all about topography or history or folklore rather than the English gobbledygook that replaced them. The same could be said for our folk songs. They tell us about topography or history or folklore or all three but they also tell us much more.
The can go right to the heart of a broken-hearted young woman or a young man going off to fight in a war. Yes, Adele can do that too but there is added value in folk songs, I believe, in that they grew out of a community. It is something that is grounded, rather than a Tin Pan Alley, 'gotta get into the charts,' 'how many downloads have I got?' raison d’être of commercial popular music.
Folk songs have been sung and shared through the generations rather than manufactured in the dark Satanic mills of Simon Cowell and Lucian Grainge (look him up).
However, as the economics of popular music have changed dramatically over the years and technology has dealt a serious blow to traditional record companies... but that’s an article for another day.
If you want to experience the power of traditional song, then you should check out the Belfast Song Gathering, organised by An Droichead in partnership with BelfastTrad, which takes place this weekend. The event, says the main organiser, Claire Kieran, is a special celebration of traditional singing focussing on Ulster.
“This is our fourth year and our aim is to give people the opportunity to hear some of our finest singers performing songs from the very rich repertoire of songs we have in the province, from Donegal to Down,” she says.
“It will also give people the chance to find out about what sources there are for anyone who is interested in finding hidden musical gems that might be lurking in old books or in notebooks that people have kept for generations. There is an awful lot to learn as well as to enjoy."
The Gathering kicks off with a series of informal singing sessions this evening, beginning in the American Bar at 9pm, with singers from all over, including a contingent from Derry, bringing their vocal skills from the banks of the Foyle to Laganside.
Tomorrow, there will be a Children and Young Singers Session in the Black Box between 1.30pm and 3.30pm so feel free to pop along to that to either listen or take part, while the adults will be given another chance to sing at the Sunflower Bar between 4.30pm and 6pm.
I, however, not being blessed with a good singing voice, am particularly interested in Maurice Leyden’s talk on Songs From the Ulster Linen Industry at the MAC. In his wonderful book, Belfast: City of Song, Maurice writes of what was Belfast’s major industry – cotton.
“In 1778, cotton spinning was introduced into the Poor House in Clifton Street, Belfast, so the the children could be usefully employed. From this small beginning a major industry developed,” he writes. But not only that, it also gave us some of our best-known industrial songs, You Might Easy Know a Doffer, The Doffing Mistress and Young McCance.
Expect to hear some heartbreaking as well as some riotous songs and stories about Belfast’s millies.
The other lecture during tomorrow’s events is entitled Tragedies and Shipwrecks off the Donegal Coast by Colm Toland, with, of course, the songs related to them. Then comes the highlight of the weekend programme, The Belfast Song Gathering Concert at An Droichead on Cooke Street off the Ormeau Road tomorrow night at 8pm with a gang of A-listers ready to tell a tale and sing a song.
Performing as part of this unique concert are Len Graham, Rosie Stewart, Glórthaí Uladh, Feilimí O’Connor and Diane Cannon. A superb night of singing is promised.
:: Tickets for the Song Gathering concert are £10 while all other song gathering events are free. Full information from androichead.com/whats-on
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THE weekend of the February 20-23 welcomes the Remembering Bunting Festival back to Belfast for a third year in a row. The event, hosted by Dún Uladh Cultural Heritage Centre, is based around the exquisite work and musical stylings of the Armagh-born, Belfast-adopted Edward Bunting.
Bunting burst on to the Belfast music scene when he became organist apprentice at St Anne’s Church where he was hired to transcribe music presented at the Belfast harp festival in 1792. At the time, Bunting was living at the family home Henry Joy and Mary Ann McCracken family.
The Remembering Bunting Festival sees a plethora of exciting cultural events centred on the work of “Belfast’s adopted son” and the harp as an integral part of his musical stylings.
Simon Chadwick from the Historical Harp Society spoke of his excitement around the event.
“The Remembering Bunting Festival brings together different communities and different ways of understanding Irish music," he said. "I’m honoured to have been asked to return to give a talk on Edward Bunting’s work in collecting the old Irish harp music and I’m looking forward to seeing how my work on old Irish harp music fits in with the wider experiences of Irish traditional music that the festival gathers together.”
The festival is scheduled to take place over numerous venues across Belfast including the Linenhall Library, Queen's University Belfast, the Skainos Centre, The Duncairn, St George’s Church, Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich and the Irish Secretariat Office.
There are far too many events that caught my eye to mention here but for a full schedule of events and for more information, you can visit bit.ly/2UrUUjZ or visit Twitter @CeolBuntingFest.
You can also telephone Dún Uladh Cultural Heritage Centre on 028 8224 2777, email outreach@dunuladh.ie or visit any of the above venues to collect a free brochure.
