Altan Celebrates St. Patrick’s at Interlochen
The only girl in the boys’ club that is the Irish folk music group Altan, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh isn’t complaining. With her command of fiddle and voice, Mhaonaigh could easily put these guys in their place. However, in this collaborative and respectful band of talented musicians, it isn’t necessary. In addition to Mhaonaigh, today’s Altan includes Ciarán Curran, Ciaran Tourish, Dáithí Sproule, Mark Kelly and Martin Tourish.
FOLLOW YOUR ROOTS
Formed in 1987 by Mhaonaigh and her late husband Frankie Kennedy in Ireland’s County Donegal, Altan’s initial aim was to bring Irish language songs and instrumental styles to a wider audience. Altan succeeded, becoming the first traditional Irish group to be signed to a major label.
They’ve sold more than one million records and have worked with The Chieftains, Bonnie Raitt, Enya and Alison Krauss – a journey that demonstrates how much you can achieve when you stick close to your roots.
"The music of County Donegal is based on fiddle music and is very fitting to us in Altan, as we have two fiddles carrying the melody," Mhaonaigh said. "But Donegal traditional music has only come to the fore in recent years. Even in Ireland, it was considered remote and different."
County Donegal is far from Dublin, which meant a long journey for Irish music collectors. Donegal’s music also includes a bit of Scottish influence, which caused it to be categorized by some as "less pure," making mainstream acceptance more difficult.
"But if we look at the history of the Celts and the Irish," Mhaonaigh explained, "the Scottish people were our brothers and allies. The Gaelic language is still spoken in Scotland and both countries share that old, ancient Gaelic tradition."
STICK TO THE SOURCE
When Altan performs traditional music, they try to stick as close to the source as they can, seeking out unusual tunes or songs from local fiddlers to include on their albums – another step toward their goal of continually moving their style of music into the wider world.
"We’ve always retained the tunes and songs as we learned them from our families and neighbors," Mhaonaigh said. "Guitars and bouzouki bring a more modern feel to the pieces, but that’s also thoughtfully done and arranged with great care and thought."
Altan’s newest album, "The Widening Gyre," is based on a poem by Ireland’s renowned W.B. Yeats. Mhaonaigh said this particular piece of poetry also well represents the band’s own journey.
"The widening gyre is a beautiful image from "˜The Second Coming’ by Yeats," she explained. "The image also portrays our musical life and path as we traveled from our Donegal roots, meeting and playing with musicians from all over the world."
The album also explores common musical threads between Irish and Appalachian traditions. It may seem like an unexpected connection, although Mhaonaigh pointed out that many songs like "Buffalo Gals" and "The House Carpenter" come from similar traditional American origins.
REJOICE IN THE SOUND
Exploring the world is another of Altan’s talents; they’ve been performing and touring for over three decades.
"Our current U.S. tour is bringing us from the East Coast to the Midwest to the West Coast and then back to Colorado before heading back to Ireland for Easter," Mhaonaigh said. "This is one of the longest tours we’ve done in recent years. We’ve really looked forward to it."
The trek kicked off in Boothbay, Maine on Feb. 27 and, upon arriving stateside, Altan received a pleasant surprise.
"We found that our new album had made it to the No. 1 slot in the World Music category of the Irish iTunes charts," Mhaonaigh enthused. "And it was also chosen album of the week in "˜The Irish Times.’ We were delighted!" At their upcoming Interlochen show, Altan plans to lean heavily on tracks from that new album and will also bring in musician Alison Brown, a guest on five-string banjo on "The Widening Gyre."
"We’ll play everything from "˜Buffalo Gals’ to "˜Gypsy Davey’ to some reels, jigs and Gaelic songs – truly something for everyone," Mhaonaigh said. "What I personally enjoy about Donegal fiddling is the spirit and joy in the music itself. It’s innate in the tunes and just makes you want to rejoice and dance."
Altan’s St. Patrick’s Day Celebration will take place at Interlochen’s Corson Auditorium on March 14 at 7:30pm. Tickets are $32 for adults, $29 for seniors and $10 for youth. For tickets and more information, visit tickets.interlochen.org or call 231-276-7800.
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