|
Thank
you for joining us! And welcome to the first issue of The
Hidden Note, a special section of The Celtic Cafe.
As we leave a remarkably difficult year behind us and begin
a new one, we wish you and your loved ones the very best that
the future can offer, along with our fervent prayers for a
peaceful new year for all.
Planning
for The Hidden Note began last summer, and at
long last, we've arrived at our inaugural issue! We will focus
on new, unknown, upcoming, unsigned, independent, or little-known
bands and artists in the music genres that we know as Celtic—from
Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Nova Scotia, Metis, Galicia,
and even that Celtic country known as the United States of
America. Each quarterly issue will also focus on one of these
genres (or a single aspect of a genre) in order to help you
discover even more about the music that we all love and are
inspired by.
We
have an overview of the traditional music of Wales in this
first issue—our Wales writer is Lori McAlister, who is
the director of the Wymore Welsh Heritage
Project in Nebraska, USA. Many of the musicians she interviewed
told Lori that Wales is "the hidden Celtic country"—after
reading Lori's articles, I hope that Wales won't be quite
so hidden for you! (And do please read the feature on the
National Eisteddfod on the main Cafe page as well as Lori's
related articles there.)
Lori
managed to get some exclusive, on-site tapings for you that
are simply remarkable—the Llanelli Male Voice Choir
singing at Bethel Welsh Cemetary to honor Welsh immigrants
who came to the US, Carreg Lafar talking about their
music, Robin Huw Bowen playing the Welsh triple harp
especially for you—and we've included them as mp3 files
in the hopes that the majority of you will be able to download
them and take a listen.
We
are also featuring some great artists in this issue. Check
them all out—you're bound to find a new band that will
become a favorite in the near future! These are the players
who will become "the old men" of the future tradition.
Most have gifted you with a bonus track or sample of their
music, so enjoy all that talent as a wonderful start to your
new year.
Finally,
Bernadette Price, our gracious and diplomatic publisher here
at The Cafe, has asked me to explain our name, The Hidden
Note.
In
his book on the Donegal musical traditions, Between the
Jigs and the Reels, Caoimhin MacAoidh tells an anecdote
about Tommie Potts, the Dublin fiddler.
According
to MacAoidh, Potts often warned musicians against becoming
complacent or bored with a tune, as players often do once
they've "set" a tune, as almost always the musician
would then hear another player play that tune and change the
setting by one or two notes—the hidden note—that
would strike the ear and imagination like a peal of thunder
and renew the musician's delight in that tune.
This
happens each time the musician hears another setting of the
tune, and the process never stops. The hidden note, Potts
maintained, is there all the time waiting to be discovered.
He pointed out that in contrast to the general, stereotyped
observation that "it all sounds the same," the hidden
note ensures that, for those who know, the music will always
be different and exciting.
Our
hope is that each and every one of our readers will become
one of "those who know"...for there's no greater
joy than that found in well and truly knowing the things and
people we love—and in constantly finding new things in
them to renew our excitement and celebration of their uniqueness.
Thanks
again for joining us -- beir bua!
Zina
Lee
Editor, The Hidden Note
P.S.
As an aside, we are on the lookout for both writers and artists
to write about. We are particularly interested in writers
who specialize in one certain genre of Celtic music, but generalists
are welcome as well! Please contact
me if you are interested in writing for us or if you know
of an artist or band that falls within our category!
|
