Visiting Groups 2008
Crig er enmyn ny cheeraghyn heese son tooilley fys.
Click on the names of the countries below for more information.
Éire - Nerin - Ireland
Niamh Ni Charra
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Outstanding fiddle and concertina player from Killarney, Niamh Ni Charra, will be performing at Yn Chruinnaght in The Centenary Centre, Peel, on Friday 18th July. Niamh has been a member of two of the touring companies presenting Riverdance, (Lagan and Liffey companies) in Europe, the United States of America and Japan, and including performing the show on the QEII. Since July last year Niamh has been a member of the Carlos Nunez Band as well as continuing to perform solo. |
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Niamh will be accompanied here by guitarist, Mike Galvin. Mike resides in Co Kerry and is best known for his innovatory approach to music. Multi instrumentalist Mike is as competent on keyboards, drums and bass as he is on guitar. His knowledge and interest in various musical genres has led to the formation of his unique guitar style. His wish to 'think outside the box' and abandon musical protocol has also led to some very unorthodox and unique performances. |
Niamh's album, "Ón Dá Thaobh / From Both Sides" - on which Mike Galvin also plays - was among the Top Ten Folk Albums of 2007 chosen by MOJO magazine. The final track of her album "Lios Uí Bhigín", has been included in Demon Music Group's double CD compilation of Irish Music.
Crig aynshoh son ynnyd eggey Niamh/Click here for Niamh's website |
Niamh will be supported at the concert on 18th July by young Manx band The Reeling Stones.
Alba - Nalbin - Scotland
Deaf Shepherd
Six superbly talented musicians, on fiddles, bagpipes, whistle, bouzouki, guitar, bodhran and vocals, Deaf Shepherd draw their influences and material from the length and breadth of Scotland, combining traditional tunes and songs with hand-picked contemporary compositions, including many of the band's own.
Deaf Shepherd have performed to consistently rapturous acclaim and sellout crowds at many of the world's leading Celtic music gatherings, including the Cambridge, Edinburgh, Shetland and Skagen folk festivals, the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow, Brittany's Lorient festival and the Edinburgh Fringe.
Crig aynshoh son ynnyd eggey Deaf Shepherd/Click here for Deaf Shepherd's website
Cymru - Y Vretyn - Wales
Never Mind The Bocs
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Never Mind the Bocs is a four-strong family band from North Wales, fronted vocally by Neil, Meg and Kate Browning, and driven by the drum rhythms of David Browning. Collectively, the range of their experience in roots music (from Cajun to ceilidhs, via Blues and folk-rock) ensures a fresh and unique approach to traditional Welsh music and song. Neil Browning is one of North Wales' leading button accordion players. His debut instrumental album "Scwîsbocs" ("squeezebox", in Welsh phonetics) was released on Sain records, to critical acclaim. In addition to her leading role on vocals, Meg Browning is a talented bodhrán- and box-player in her own right. She is also finding a unique voice as a composer and songwriter. |
As well as being a great kit-drummer and orchestral percussionist, David Browning won the Sidmouth Festival bodhrán competition, aged just 13!
Kate Browning adds whistles and clarinets to Never Mind the Bocs, as well as another dimension to the vocal harmonies.
Crig aynshoh son ynnyd eggey Never Mind The Bocs/Click here for Never Mind The Bocs's website
Breizh - Y Vritaan - Brittany
KaouaD
KaouaD feature vocals in Breton (Lors Landat), bombarde and clarinet (Stefan Dufleit) diatonic accordion (Franck Guyader), guitar (Lanig Libouban) and have now added bass and drums to their line-up.
Kernow - Y Chorn - Cornwall
KaraKernow
KaraKernow means ‘love of Cornwall’, and is the name of a group which has come together especially for the 30th Anniversary of Yn Chruinnaght. It comprises a mix of musicians from around Cornwall - with a hint of Manx!
KaraKernow is made up of Alan Pengelly (Accordion), Will Burbridge (Mandolin), Robin Holmes (Banjo), Mark Lawrence, IoM (Guitar), and Julian Whiting (Caller).
Hevva
Hevva is a group of dancers and musicians who display, teach and promote the traditional dances and music of Cornwall. The group performs at festivals and events around Cornwall and acts as an ambassador for Cornish culture further afield, including at festivals such as Yn Chruinnaght in the other Celtic countries.
The members of Hevva have extensive experience between them in promoting the dances and music of Cornwall, and last appeared at Yn Chruinnaght two years ago as part of another visiting Cornish group.
As well as displays, Hevva also provides a band and caller for ceilidhs and is probably the only group in Cornwall who are able to offer a full Cornish troyl. These quintessentially Cornish evenings of entertainment include dance displays, music, song, and a costume presentation as well as participatory dancing. The group also includes a number of Cornish language speakers and often incorporates this into its performances, through introducing a few words and phrases and singing in Cornish.
The group performs at festivals and events around Cornwall and acts as an ambassador for Cornish culture further afield, including at festivals such as Yn Chruinnaght in other Celtic countries.
Hevva wear a distinctive costume based on the traditional working clothes worn by people in the Penzance and Newlyn area of Cornwall in the late 19th century. One of the most striking features of the costume is the ladies’ headwear, known as gooks. These pretty white bonnets have been extensively researched and are the only authentically replicated set in existence, incorporating over a dozen different designs, each from a particular Cornish town or village.
Crig aynshoh son ynnyd eggey Hevva/Click here for Hevva's website
And if you’re wondering about the name of the group, “Hevva” was the shout made by a “huer” when he spotted a shoal of pilchards from the cliff and needed to alert the local fishermen to the whereabouts of the shoal.
When shoals of pilchards came into the inshore waters of Cornwall, the huer kept watch from a high vantage point. As soon as he sighted a shoal he alerted the fishermen and cries of 'hevva, hevva' went up (hevva being a shoal of fish) The boats put out and were directed to the shoal by signals from the huer.
As soon as the fish were landed, women and children would also be involved. The story is that a quickly made and cooked flat cake would be made by the women in the meantime, thus ensuring food for the men when they returned. This was known as hevva cake, later coming to be called ‘heavy cake’ –
• 8 oz plain flour
• 2 oz lard
• 6 oz currants
• 2 oz margarine or butter
• 3 oz granulated sugar pinch of salt
• milk
Sift together the flour and salt. Rub in the fat and add the sugar and fruit, mix to a firm dough with milk. Roll out the dough in an oval shape and score the top lightly in a criss-cross pattern. Brush top with milk and bake for about 25 minutes at 190 C.
The criss-cross pattern on the top is to represent the fishermen's nets.
Yn Theihll! - The World!
The Celtic Fiddlers - Newfoundland, Canada
The Celtic Fiddlers are a group of 15 performers, mainly young people from St John's in the Province of Newfoundland in Canada. They range in age from 13 to 22 years and their main goal is to keep Newfoundland and Irish Music alive in the youth of their province.
The group consists of drums including the bodhran, a keyboard, guitar, bass Irish tin whistle, and many violins! They were formed in 1994 under the direction of music teacher Korona Brophy, and have been heralded as true Newfoundland ambassadors of traditional music by the Department of Tourism.
The Celtic Fiddlers' and Ceilidh Singers' CDs, Passage and The Sea in Our Eyes celebrate the sea as the link between Newfoundland and Ireland.
This popular though unofficial flag of the island of Newfoundland since 1834 is known as the "Newfoundland Tri-Colour" or the "Pink, White and Green" |
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