Farewell, Good-Bye to Dermot Somerville and his wife Ulla

Last night a wonderful Irish music session was held at the Nighttown Pub in Cleveland Heights to say good-bye to Dermot Somerville and his wife Ulla, both talented musicians and composers. Dermot is from Dublin, Ireland, and has lived in Cleveland since the late 1970s. He will soon be moving south to warmer climes. Dermot has played and sung all over town, was 1/2 of the band "Bodhran Brothers," with Mike Mazur, and was a key figure with his wife Ulla(singer, harpist, keyboardist) in the band "Shanua." And with Ulla and Shanua and other fine musicians, produced the greatest Irish-Gaelic/Estonian album in the history of the universe (and probably the only such album). He was given a wonderful farewell last night. A highpoint for me is when everyone sang "Wild Mountain Thyme," a great, sexy, sweet song of springtime.

Dermot is playing a guitar--(he's in a turquoise shirt)

About 20 musicians were present; maybe 50 people in the room at Nighttown

Dermot Somerville and Shanua Musical Presentation in Hiram, Ohio

Sunday afternoon there was an amazing musical presentation in Koritansky Hall, on the campus of Hiram College. The performance was called "Sea Dreams," and it was put on by the group called "Shanua," which I think is composed primarily of Dermot Somerville, who is a native of Ireland, and his wife Ulle Laido, a native of Estonia. The name "Shanua" might come from the Irish word, sean, which means "old," and the Irish word nua, which means "new."

Dermot and Ulle were joined by several singers and musicians from Holy Rosary Church in Little Italy, where Ulle is music director (Can you imagine the wonderful music in that church!).  Becca Rhoades joined in on fiddle, and some singing; Tina Dreisbach, Music Professor at Hiram, played concertina, Irish flute, and also sang; Paul Dreisbach, also a Hiram prof, played oboe and uilleann pipes. Krista Parran was a featured singer; Tim Regan and John Clark were singers; and Rebecca Knab was the narrator (they used wonderful poems by Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, William Shakespeare, and others). The performance had a story line that talked about the menfolk going to sea to hunt for whales, then returning home. The poems and songs (which were traditional sea shanties and other songs of the sea) told about the painful partings of men and women, the fear those at home and those on the sea lived with, and the joyful reunions when the men returned.

Can you imagine--this concert was presented to the public free of charge, with the underwriting of the wonderful Hiram Community Trust. What a generous gift, both by these fine artists and the Hiram Community Trust. Art is often an act of love, as this performance was. Thank you!

The entire cast of artists, singers, musicians

Dermot on low whistle, Krista Parran, singer, and Paul Dreisbach, who played Irish uilleann pipes and oboe

Dermot Somerville, left, with John Clark and Tim Regan

Tina Dreisbach, Becca Rhoades, and Ulle Laido

James A. Garfield (his head back on his body after an act of vandalism)

The beautiful old hall where the performance took place

Community of St. Peter--Amazing Ecclesial Community in Cleveland

Yesterday, the Feast of Pentecost, I celebrated the coming of the Holy Spirit by attending mass with Kathleen O'Neill Webb and Rick Webb at the Community of St. Peter, which is now located in a historic old building at E. 71st Street and Euclid Ave. in Cleveland, Ohio. The community moved to this building when Bishop Richard Lennon closed the community's historic (and beautiful) old church a few years ago. Old St. Peter's was located at the corner of E.17th and Superior. My great grandfather, Cornelius Coughlin, an immigrant from Ireland, married my great grandmother, Lizzie Ierg, an immigrant from Germany, somewhere around 1885 in Old St. Peter's. So I took it personally when the bishop shuttered the historic old church.

A view of old St. Peter's Church

The community took the blow, which must have been a kind of death, and they have risen into a new facility. They have an absolutely thriving, dynamic community. Here is a photo of the outside of their new facility:

Well, from the outside it doesn't have the beauty of the old church. But they are beginning to make the inside their own. One of the first things you see as you enter the room is a beautiful holy water/baptismal font, carved from a solid piece of stone found by Lake Erie. The font is quietly powerful, solid, and beautiful. I heard the font as well as the altar were sculpted by the Koehn Sculptors from Green Road in South Euclid. Here is their website: Koehn Sculptors.

St. Pete's Holy Water Font

The simple, beautiful Altar

The mass was packed--possibly 250 people around the altar. There was a 15-person choir, with musicians playing grand piano, viola, and violin. The music was wonderful! And maybe most wonderful of all was an Alleluia called "Heleluyan: Traditional Muskogee Creek Indian Song." It was accompanied by powerful drumming and interesting and very different harmonies. I located a Youtube version of this Muskogee Creek Indian hymn:



Fr. Bob Marrone is a powerful figure. He is serious, focused, and charismatic. I think his fellow community members really love him. In his sermon he talked about failure of imagination as one of the central flaws of our time. I am sure he is right about this. He also discussed the beautiful image by Emil Nolde that was on the cover of the church bulletin. Nolde, one of the greatest of 20th Century artists, entitled this work "Pentecost." Here it is:

Emil Nolde's "Pfingsten" (Pentecost)

Fr. Bob pointed out how Peter is at the center of this painting. Peter was the fool, the failure, the apostle who denounced Jesus three times--and yet is the "rock" of the Church. That gives hope for fools and failures like us, like me!

After the mass there was coffee and some food. There I met some old friends, including Pat and Mike Coughlin (who are friends in spirit, but no close cousins, as far as I can tell), and Tim Musser. Tim is really an amazingly focused worker for peace and justice, and a friend of many of my friends, including Chris Cotter, my roommate for many years in Cincinnati.

Mike Coughlin and Tim Musser

As I left the building I met Cormac Somerville. He comes from Dublin, Ireland. I have met and played Irish music with his brother, Dermot Somerville, one of the finest Irish musicians in Greater Cleveland.

All in all, this was a wonderful, Spirit-filled experience at the Community of St. Peter. I plan to come back often.

Hiram Irish Music Session Repertoire/Play List

Here are the tunes that we played yesterday:

Maggie in the Wood
Enchanted Lake
Off to California
Lord Inchiquin (O'Carolan)
Kean O'Hara--1st Air (possibly an O'Carolan tune)
Inisheer (Inis Oírr)--Air in 3/4 time
Haste to the Wedding
Wind That Shakes the Barley
Sligo Maid
Johnny Ward's (with Paul Dreisbach on uillean pipes)
Fanny Power (O'Carolan tune; Ellen Eckhouse played this very well on harp)
South Wind ("An Ghaoth Aneas")
Fr. Kelly's Reel
Drowsy Maggie
Wise Maid
Star of Munster (great whistle tune)
Cape Breton Home (another great whistle tune; by Jerry Holland)
Bride's Favorite
Connaughtman's Ramble (Jig)
Si Beag Si Mor (O'Carolan tune)
Red is the Rose (song; Marlene Connell and Robin Montgomery knew lots of verses)
John Ryan's
Maggie in the Wood
Rights of Man
Roddy McCorly
Far Away

Some tunes we didn't play yesterday but have played on other occasions:

Kesh Jig
Butterfly (Slipjig)
Heights Hornpipe (Dermot Somerville's originaltune)
Frost Is All Over
Geese in the Bog
Temperance Reel
Old Favorite
Rising of the Moon
Over the Waterfall
The Banshee
The Ash Plant
Cliffs of Moher
The Ash Grove
Sally Gardens (song, lyrics by Yeats, Key of C)
Hewlett (O'Carolan)
Maid Behind the Bar
Fr. Kelly's Reel
St. Anne's Reel

And others . . .

Two Wonderful Irish Tunes (with Lyrics)

A couple weeks ago we heard Shanua perform at the Hiram (Ohio) Christian Church--which is across the street from historic Hiram College. Shanua has to be one of the strangest groups in history--a fusion of Irish and Estonain. Dermot Somerville is the Irishmnan, from Dublin but now living in Greater Cleveland. His wife Ulle is Estonian. Together with wonderful musicians (including Paul Dreisbach on oboe), a violinist, a double bass player, and a chorus, Shanua creates astonishingly beautiful music.

I finally figured out the meaning of the name "Shanua." It comes from two Irish words: "sean" means old; "nua" means new. Shanua fuses the old and the new.

At the Hiram concert (and on Shanua's new album, "Enchantment") there are a couple of wonderful songs sung in Irish-Gaelic. The words of "Eamon an Chnoic" ("Ned of the Hill") are below, with an English translation following. After that I've copied and pasted the beautiful anthem, "Trasna na dTonnta" (Across the Waves"):

éamon an chnoic [Traidisiúnta Éireannach]Cé hé sin amuigh, a bhfuil faobhar ar a guth, Ag réabadh mo dhorais dúnta? Mise Ĕamon a' Chnoic, atá báite fuair fliuch, Ó shíorshúil sléibhte is gleannta. A lao ghil s'a chuid, cad a dhéanainnse dhuit, Mura gcuirfhinn ort binn de mo ghúna? Is go bhfuil púdar go tiubh á shiorshéadadh leat, Is go mbéimish ar aon múchta. Is fada mise 'muigh faoi shneachta's faoi shioc, ‘s gan dánacht agam ar aon neach, Mo sheisreach gan scor, is mo bhranar gan cur, Agus gan iad agam ar aon chor. Níl cairid agam, is danaid liom san, A ghlachfadh mé moch ná déanach, Is go gcaithfidh mé gabháil thar farraige sned of the hill [Traditional Irish]O who is outside with an edge on his voice Beating my bolted door? It is Ned of the Hill, soaked and cold From long trudging the mountains and glens. My darling and my dear, what could I do But cover you with my gown? And with powder so thick firing upon you, We should both be killed. I am a long time outside in snow & sleet Daringly facing all challenges. My plow without cut & my field without seed And neither my own anyway. I have no friend with whom I could stay Or who'd take me in early or late, So I must traverse the ocean east Where alas are none of my family. Trasna na dtonnta [Traidisiúnta Éireannach]Trasna na dtonnta, dul siar, dul siar, Slán leis an uaigneas ‘is slán leis an gcian; Geal é mo chroí, agus geal í an ghrian, Geal bheith ag filleadh go hÉirinn! Chonaic mo dhóthain de Thíortha i gcéin, Ór agus airgead, saibhreas an tsaoil, Éiríonn an croí ‘nam le breacadh gach lae ‘S mé druidim le dúthaigh mo mhuintir! Ar mo thriall siar ó éirigh mo chroí An aimsir go hálainn is tonnta deas réidh Stiúradh go díreach go dúthaigh mo chliabh over the waves [Traditional Irish]Over the waves, going west, going west! Farewell to loneliness and to remoteness. Bright is my heart and bright is the sun, Bright to be returning to Ireland! I saw my fill of countries abroad, Gold and silver, the wealth of the world, My heart rises in me at the break of each day, As I draw closer to the land of my people! Westward bound - oh my heart rose, Weather so beautiful, waves so calm. Steer directly to land of my bosom And I'll be in Ireland tomorrow!

Dermot Somerville and "Shanua" in Concert in Hiram, Ohio

What a wonderful concert we heard last night! In the old and beautiful Hiram Christian Church we heard the group "Shanua" do a concert that featured songs in Irish  English, and Estonian (yes, Estonian). Dermot Somerville and his wife Ülle Laido are the creative forces behind this music, writing tunes and lyrics, and arranging for chorus and other instruments (oboe, double bass, viola, violin, piano, harp, etc).

Last night's program was entitled "Enchanment," and featured most of the music and songs from their latest cd by that very name (with a few bonus pieces thrown in, like their wonderful version of "Wild Mountain Thyme"). [more coming]

Wonderful Irish Music Session at Hiram College

Last Sunday, February 13th, twenty-two Irish musicians, a couple of Irish dancers, and about 10 onlookers met at a Hiram College music room for a "session," organized by Hiram professor Tina Dreisbach. The musicians included a harper, a player of uillean (Irish) pipes, a mandolin player, several fiddlers, players of Irish and classical flutes, whistle players (including a "low D" whistle player), a bodhran player, a bongo player, two players of concertinas, guitarists, a piano player, and so on.

I sat on the edge of the circle, but was able to join in on a few tunes (this time with my guitar). We played a lot of traditional tunes, but were treated to two new tunes: "The Heights Hornpipe," by Dermot Sommerville (who also played guitar and flute during the session); and a beautiful tune called "Ottinger's Lament," played by fiddler and composer John Reynolds. Both tunes were spectacularly beautiful. Toward the end of the session, two fairly young girls did some Irish dancing. I was really pleased with the number of young musicians at this session--there is a future for this beautiful music!

Thanks to all the musicians and organizers: Tina Dreisbach (and her husband,Paul, the uillean piper); Ellen Eckhouse, harper who played O'Carolan's "Morgan Megan" so beautifully; Sheldon Firem, bodhran player extraordinaire; Mike Mazur, a cultural force in the Cleveland Irish community; and all the other wonderful Irish musicians whose names I do not yet know.

One of the beautiful tunes we played at Hiram was the slip jig "The Butterfly." I located a youtube version of this tune, which can be accessed below or by clicking on the title to this blog entry:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKkeXBY-emA

Mick Moloney and Irish Session at Hiram College

There was a wonderful Irish music session at Hiram College yesterday, featuring Mick Moloney, the professor, musicologist, and musician. About 15 people or so were playing music, with about as many people just listening outside the circle of musicians. I recognized a few people there, including Mike Mazur (who didn't play any music, but told a wonderful story, in Irish brogue, about the late Tommy Makem). Also there was Dermot Somerville, a talented musician and singer, who knows song after song by heart, and played Irish flute and guitar. Somerville is a north Dubliner who has lived in America some 30 years or so. I have a CD he made with his group "Shanua" called Salmagundi. That album has the best version of "Wild Mountain Thyme" ever recorded. There were also a bodhran player, two harpists (one of whom also danced near the end of the session), several guitarists, a few whistle players, two people on Irish flute, and a fellow playing a ukelele. Mick Moloney played 4-string banjo and guitar. Probably 3-4 people were playing fiddles (including Gordon Keller), and a man played the Steinway piano there in the recital room. I jotted down the names of some of the songs and tunes I recognized: The Wind That Shakes the Barley, Drowsy Maggie, Maid Behind the Barn, The Rights of Man, Rocky Road to Dublin, Road to Lisdoonvarna, Roisin Dubh, and The South Wind, sung by Mick Moloney in Irish-Gaelic.

Check out youtube for a performance of The South Wind in Gaelic: http://www.youtube.com/. Search for "An Ghaoth Aneas"