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August
25-29,
2004 - The 30th Anniversary!
Michael G. Rose is a pianist
from Boston and is now based in Copenhagen, Denmark. He performs with violinist
Ditte Fromseier Mortensen in the duo Fromseier
Rose. Their debut CD, Contradiction, which features Niamh Parsons
as guest singer for three songs, has been receiving excellent reviews. See our
Celtic Cafe feature on Fromseier Rose by clicking
here. We thank Michael for attending the Tønder Festival
as a journalist for the Celtic Cafe again this year, as he did last year. See
our 2003 feature on the festival by clicking
here.
• • • Tønder
is a small quiet town in the southwest
corner of Denmark, lying near the North Sea and the German border. The last
weekend of every August the town opens its arms to folk musicians and music lovers
from everywhere and for five days becomes the center of the Celtic music world.
The Tønder Festival is one of Europe's
largest folk festivals with venues including two large music tents in a field
just minutes away from the center of the town along with several stages in the
town itself. And it seems as if most everyone in the town is a volunteer, helping
with anything from running the food tents to cleaning up after the party. The
musicians share the spirit, making Tønder one of the most sought-after
gigs on the circuit. Many of the musicians arrive on Thursday and stay through
until Tuesday morning, performing several times at the festival and then staying
on to help throw a big party for the volunteers on Monday night. •
• • When Danes have a 'round' birthday, one when their age gets
a '0' at the end, they celebrate by throwing a large party for themselves. While
as an American I've never quite caught the habit of organizing my own birthday
party, happily the organizers of the Tønder Festival have done a wonderful
job of throwing themselves a 30-year anniversary party. And all the festival goers
were the appreciative guests.
To celebrate, the festival started on
Wednesday, a day earlier than usual, with a performance of Shaun Davey's symphonic
work The Brendan Voyage with Liam O'Flynn and the Southern Jylland Symphony Orchestra.
Unfortunately I couldn't make it to Tønder in time to hear that concert.
The first band I heard was Vamp on Thursday night. Vamp is a Norwegian folk rock
band that has recently been working with the Irish piper Mick O'Brien. While they
occasionally sounded a bit like Wolfstone singing in Norwegian, through the course
of the concert they proved to be multidimensional, with some very good arrangements
and shifts in style. Norwegian music has a mournful and lonely quality and this
melancholy transfers well to the Irish tunes which Mick has taught the band.
Friday
and Saturday nights presented the usual Tønder problem, with eight concert
venues offering great music, how to choose what to listen to? It is like having
to choose a single dessert from a large dessert tray at a five-star restaurant.
Friday night I decided to go for the chocolate fudge cake with chocolate frosting
and chocolate ice cream, or the equivalent, Richard Wood, Lunasa and Danu.
Cape
Breton performers are known for emphasizing showmanship in their performances,
and Richard Wood does so more than most. His concert featured mostly fast pyrotechnics,
with Kim and Skip Holmes on piano and guitar acting as calm counterpoints. Lunasa
takes the opposite approach, concentrating entirely on the music. Bassist Trevor
Hutchinson set the atmosphere and the groove for the rest of the band to work
with. It was fiddler's Sean Smyth's birthday Friday evening, and the band gave
him a shirt (and probably a few beers) and he played a tune on a brand new whistle
he had just received. Apparently the Irish don't have to throw their own birthday
parties. Danu finished off the evening alternating between the full seven-piece
ensemble and playing sets in smaller combinations. The variety was effective and
refreshing. Muireann Nic Amhlaobh's songs were especially memorable. Her alto
voice is full and resonant. She is also a fine instrumentalist on flute and whistles.
And the ubiquitous John Sheehan from the Dubliners came up to join them for a
tune. There is an old mill by the river in Tønder, and it's name,
Visem¿llen, translates loosely as 'The Song Mill'. During the festival
this venue has a double personality. In the afternoons and evenings it is used
for some of the quieter singer-songwriter acts. But late at night the venue undergoes
a transformation and some of the larger bands host their friends in a concert
that runs from around midnight to four in the morning. Friday's late night hosts
were Danu, fresh from their concert which ended just a half hour before. They
had a long list of guests joining them. I heard them with Richard Wood and then
John Spillane. Richard Wood slowed down a bit and stopped dancing around. Playing
with Danu showcased his excellent musicianship more than his solo performance
earlier in the evening. John Spillane, who runs one of the world's friendliest
and most entertaining guestbooks from his website, followed as Danu's next guest.
The performance was so good that perhaps he should think of asking Danu to be
his backup band for his next album.
Saturday afternoon brought the young
artist showcases. I was especially impressed with the Anna Massie Band. Anna and
her band mates, Jenn Butterworth on guitar and Mairearad Green on accordion, look
to be in their very early twenties, but their playing has surprising depth and
superb musicality. Another young band, Give Way also performed. They are 4 young
sisters from Scotland, with ages ranging from 13 to 18. They have already released
a CD and they are very accomplished technically and with good stage presence.
I'm sure that with a few more years of performing they will mature and their act
will have the final polish that experience gives. Another Saturday tradition is
the performance by the students at the Danish conservatory, the Carl Nielsen Academy.
The conservatory has a folk music specialization which is directed by Harald Haugaard,
the fiddler from the duo Haugaard and H¿irup. Harald leads the students
in a big band presentation of Danish folk music. This performance has been improving
each year and featured some excellent arrangements this year.
Saturday night
and Sunday afternoon gave a chance to see several of the Canadian and American
bands that were part of the program. Bruce Molsky, who often performs with Alasdair
Frasier, gave an enchanting solo performance of Appalachian music. His performance
of the old time tradition of singing while accompanying himself on fiddle was
especially impressive. Two bands from the far ends of Canada, The Bills from Vancouver
Island and Le Vent du Nord from Quebec were also on the program. They performed
a set together of mostly French Canadian tunes, which have an entirely different
swing to them than Celtic music. It was a refreshing change and a thoroughly enjoyable
performance. The final concert on Sunday night had Seamus Begley on accordion
and Jim Murray on guitar opening with a fine set of straight Irish tunes. They
brought two dancers with them, Seosamh î Neachtain and Róisín
Ní Mháinnín. It was an excellent and energetic start to the
evening. They were followed by Carlos Nunez and his band. Carlos is the quintessential
entertainer, always finding a way to reach the audience. On this occasion he did
it by inviting the local piper Stig Bang-Mortensen to join him on stage for some
Danish tunes. While Bang-Mortensen lives in Tønder, he is a top level highland
piper with a great swing to his playing. For the last couple of sets Nunez also
invited up Kevin Crawford and Cillian Vallely from Lunasa, for a fast paced finish.
The final performer was Mary Black, joined by The Black Brothers. The family reunion
had an intimate feel and the focus on the Irish singing tradition provided a pleasant
finishing touch after listening to so much excellent instrumental music. For
those lucky enough to find their way, there was also a great very very late night
session. It featured dancing on the tabletops by Seosamh and Róisín
at five in the morning and some fine songs by Eddi Reader, John Spillane and all
of the Blacks. Sessions with tunes and singers often quickly split into two sessions,
but everyone stuck together, listening, singing, playing and dancing until long
after dawn for this party. And fortunately you won't have to wait ten years for
the next round birthday, next year's festival will be the last weekend of August. •
• • See our feature on the 2003 Tonder Festival
by clicking here.
Band
Links
shaundavey.com/brendanv.htm
-- Brendan's Voyage
vamp.no/english/index.htm
-- Vamp
peisland.com/richardwood
-- Richard Wood
lunasa.ie -- Lunasa
danu.net -- Danu
johnspillane.ie
-- John Spillane
annamassie.com
-- Anna Massie
footstompin.com/artists/give_way
-- Give Way
brucemolsky.com
-- Bruce Molsky
thebills.ca --
The Bills
leventdunord.com
-- Le Vent Du Nord
carlos-nunez.com
-- Carlos Nunez
hhduo.dk -- Haugaard
& Høirup
mary-black.net
-- Mary Black
Festival Coverage:
Michael G. Rose
Feature: Bernadette
Price
Original Web Design: Alexander
Servas
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