We will be putting together a registration form shortly, and look forward to hosting you for the weekend. Contact me should you have any questions at all.
Regards,
Virgil Colby
Committee Member
Chris Langan Weekend of Traditional Irish Music
Man, I wish I could make it up there for that, looks like a great time is destined to happen! It would also be nice to see Paddy O’Brien again, it’s been a long time.
Getting ready for this weekend prompted me to start listening to Brian’s CDs again. It reminded me what a great album is Leitrim’s Hidden Treasure by the McNamara Family. I especially like the reel Cut the Sod, and the two jigs on track 11: The Unfortunate Rake and The Humours of Ballingarry.
I haven’t met Brian before, but I am told he is an excellent teacher and just a great guy to know. Looks like I’m just going to have to enjoy myself this weekend in spite of myself.
No need to choose. They each swap classes from morning to afternoon, so everyone gets exposed to both teachers. They did this last year with Mick O’Brien and Benedict Koehler, and it went over well and was well received.
Consider this a bump, but also it’s been confirmed that I’ll be giving a 30 minute breakfast lecture (though not much speaking will be done) on a very small part of my photographic and documentary project on Makers & Players. A truncated version of available video will be shown which I hope is interesting for everyone. It explores a theme within the project creating a contrast of how the pipes are happened upon and learned in Ireland and in North America through the experience of one piper and one pipemaker/piper.
My thanks to all the organizers for pulling off another great “Chris Langan Weekend”. I had such a great time I don’t know where to begin. Even though I was a bit under the weather this weekend, and wasn’t able to take in as many of the events as I would have liked, it was an absolutely unforgetable time.
It was a pleasure to have both Brian McNamara and Maire Ni Grada teaching pipes. Brian had loads of great tips and tricks for us and some nice tunes to boot. I’m still trying to wrap my head around those twisty hornpipes that “Task Master Maire” had us working on. (I think I’m starting to get the first one…)
The turn out was a bit smaller I thought, perhaps due to the long weekend and the GNIPC Tionól, however this seemed to allow for some smaller more intimate sessions.
It was an absolute pleasure to meet with Máire Ní Ghráda; a wonderful piper and a marvelous story teller! We were very lucky to have three superb women pipers; Máire, Debbing Quigley and Suzanne Ward – safely putting to rest any discriminatory remarks against blondes!!
In my presentation on Sunday morning, Benedict Koehler mentions that he’d had an hour lesson with Liam O’Flynn back in the eighties, and he’s still working on some of that instruction. Brian McNamara is like that for me. He fits so much within a tune that one phrase could take me months to work on (that tells you a few things!). Brian’s reed seemed to still be acclimatizing on Saturday, but sounded perfect during the gala concert.
There was a small session upstairs in the Tranzac bathroom with Máire, Debbie, Benedict, Patrick Ourceau, Pat Egan and a few others. I took some pix standing in the shower (insert a rude comment here) that will be included in the 2007 gallery on the ChrisLangan.ca website - bathrooms are strangely comfortable for this kind of thing, the accoustics are pretty cool and it’s very intimate! the bathroom, I believe, is unused so there was no foul odours! The tunes were very fine, it’s nice to see old friends re-acquaint and share old tunes together.
I wish there were more than one of me during the weekend. I wish I’d been able to participate in Pat Egan’s vocal class on Irish song.
There are so many moments to mention, but I have to work! One special feature of the weekend was listening to Paddy O’Brien speak about Willie Clancy - there were little nuggets of personality that most of us are not privy to, for that I am thankful.
Great weekend, amazing music, many talents to be inspired by. Many thanks to the committee for organizing the weekend.
I can’t believe I fell asleep and missed the first half of the concert! Brian McNamara really put us through our paces. Lots to work on for the next few years.
Thanks Paul. As in the past, you’ve given us a gorgeous visual record of great music. Thanks to all the organizers for another great weekend. I certainly enjoyed it. If anyone wants those the ABCs of those two tunes Maire Ni Ghrada gave us, drop me a PM.
I can’t find any of the pictures you took of the chocolate-covered dancing girls. I know you were there because the flashes from your strobe were almost non-stop, but I don’t see them in any of the galleries.
