I have been looking for an Irish Music Session (or so I think!) CD for several weeks and despite countless hours of searching I have not been able to find what I’m looking for. Hopefully someone here can help me.
I’m not sure if I am using the correct search terms or if there simply isn’t a lot of that music out there.
Whenever I found an Irish Music Session cd in online shops, they were either very old with no samples to listen to or there was someone singing.
The reason I’m looking for Irish Music Session cds is that I absolutely love this type of music, also I do line dance and I would like to come up with my own dances for it. It puts you in such a good mood, it’s ideal for dancing and thus being active despite being at home a lot.
One of the line dances I love most is “Coastin’”. The song that goes with it is “Lord of the Dance”. But I do prefer the live-style sessions, the more “down to earth” music.
I have recording of sessions. They mean something to me, memories of people (some no longer with us), places, tunes, ways of playing tunes. But none of them would have a commercial value. I can’t really see any session recording be commercial, ie. put on a CD by a recording company and sold. It’s simply too anarchic for want of a better word.
The come-all-ye pub music session is a relatively new thing in Irish traditional music. It plunders from song airs (and the songs themselves), country dance tunes, baroque music, set dance tunes, step dance tunes, and the eclectic accretion of bits and pieces from the European mainland (let alone Britain), North America, Australia etc etc.
And each session is different; maybe by geography, personalities and musical taste. They may take all the elements mentioned above, or only one of them.
This is mostly music that may be played in a session, but doesn’t originate there or get its fundamental characteristics from sessions.
What’s all this waffle in aid of? If you want a CD of Irish dance music, then I think you need to take a step or two back from romantic thoughts of “session music” and start looking up the specifics. In your case it would be dance music.
I’d say look up ceilidh bands, set or step dance musicians. There are certainly CDs of those. I’m not sure exactly what you’re looking for … “line dance”? However, looking for commercial recordings of sessions would be pretty fruitless, as you’ve found.
Yes, line dance. And I want to mix it with Irish Sessions music. Not all musicians or publishers may feel the way you do about it not being of commercial value. I have found some, but, as said, they are old and can’t be “listened into” online. There may be other cds around I just haven’t found. If there aren’t any or not many cds anyway, that’s fine. Still, I’m not looking for dance music specifically. Also, I have no thoughts, romantic or otherwise, of Irish Sessions music. I just love it and want to dance to it.
“Music From Matt Molloy’s” 1992 - easy to find on eBay.
“Paddy In The Smoke” is a classic from 1968, but mainly fiddle, no whistle.
Kevin’s Belfast session has good music on it, but I don’t recall any whistle.
Your best bet, according to the criteria you’ve mentioned, is to probably continue trawling through videos on “Youtube”.
I think the point he was trying to make is that it’s unlikely there are people trawling sessions in order to make professional recordings of them for sale. I would imagine there are plenty of legal considerations-- such as compensation for the musicians and pub/venue involved-- as well as practical ones, like how to get a quality recording in a possibly-crowded pub.
I’m also not really certain what you’re searching for. I’m not sure why it has to be specifically sessions, rather than just bands playing ITM. Maybe I’m just ignorant, but can someone explain to me what is the difference between a “session” and, say, a recording of the same tunes done by Cherish The Ladies or the Bothy Band, except that one is more “informal”?
Please, if you would like explanations about sessions or whatever other topic, open up a new thread. This is my thread which I would like to stay on topic.
Glad to be of assistance.
Yes, “MFMM’s” does have songs - 3 out of 20 tracks.
PS - “Paddy In The Smoke” is for sale, new/unplayed, on eBay for under £5 these days. I’m not sure that it will be what you’re looking for, but I would recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in Irish traditional dance music. [Even though there are no flutes on it (:]
I just read your post and suggest you take a look at the four volumes of session tunes on cd sponsored by Comhalts,title: “Foinn Seisiun”. Literally hundreds of popular tunes. I don’t remember there being any songs being sung but there may have been an amusing set of mouth music. I purchased at CD Baby. com who no longer has a retail store. Pity. I see that both McNeela Music and Amazon.com offer the “Foinn Seisiun” set.
In respect of your “line dance” project I was prompted to think of Celine and Michael Tubridy whose many videos on You Tube I expect will be of great interest to you. I think you will especially enjoy The Blackbird, set dance/ Celine Tubridy by Irish ITMA Videos and “The Priest and His Boots” with both Michael and Celine dancing to a Double Jig. In all the videos Michael performs exquisitely on the Flute.
I hope this reply finds you still interested in dancing to session tunes.
Louis
I was prompted to think of Celine and Michael Tubridy whose many videos on You Tube I expect will be of great interest to you. I think you will especially enjoy The Blackbird, set dance/ Celine Tubridy by Irish ITMA Videos and “The Priest and His Boots” with both Michael and Celine dancing to a Double Jig.
The priest and his boots as they dance it is a special set of steps that Dan Furey had. I don’t think ‘dancing to session tunes’ quite sums it up (calling these tunes ‘session tunes’ is a pet hate of mine). They dance, now there’s a novelty, to a dance tune. And it is played in a very specific way to suit the steps, not in a way you’re likely to find it played at a session.
I doubt the OP is still here to read all this but FWIW, the ‘Dan Furey’ group, as they now call themselves informally, do worldwide zoom meetings to teach and practice their steps. If you are into that sort of thing.
Here they are strutting their stuff, underthe guidance of Maureen O’Reilly and Noel; Devery (Mick Tubridy couldn’t make it), a few weeks ago:
See also Kieran Jordan’s film about the Dan Furey group.
