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Show i j ,l,tMmmYmrmTmtmpYnrmrTm'fvv7iiy ryTr-rr-r--t f y.. f ..,r ,yir. L t! Sljc jlalt faint tribune Arts 1 i i & Entertainment i m Sunday Morning. March I ci'tiun I! 1 1. 11182 I'iijicOiK' it The Chieftains: Looking at Ireland through music fj By Terry Ormo Tribune Staff Writer An Sousa marches are to America, so the music of the Chieftains is to Ireland. Through reels, jigs, laments and airs, the six musicians are ambassadors for the Emerald Isle. Playing instruments handed down from ancestors, the Chieftains tell of Irish history through music. Next to Guinness Stout, they arc Ireland's leading export. The St. Patrick's Day celebration will run a few days longer this year, as the Chieftains return to Utah for a concert Friday at S p.m. in the Austud Auditorium of Weber State College's Browning Center. Ogden. The group made its Utah debut two years ago in the Hotel Utah's Grand Ballroom. The Chieftains repertoire, which fills 10 albums, includes the harp music of as well Turlough OCarolan as Gaelic songs passed on through generations bearing such titles as "Ag Taisteal na Blaman" (Traveling Through Blarney), "Balaeh an Don Dorin'' (The Path through the Wood) and "Gol na mBan sail Ar."- (The Crying of the Women at the Slaughter). (1070-1738- Learned from Families The majority of the music we play has been passed down to us," said Paddy Moloney, spokesman for the group. He was calling from Portland, Ore., where the Chieftains performed last week. My grandfather played the I lute. All members of the band learned to play from their families. Its music that wc picked up by car mostly. ' F ; i' i f "We take the old stuff, and mold it into a tone poem, you might say." Such tone poems include "Sea Image" on the "Chieftains 8" album. The suite's imagery is of the vast expanse of wean surrounding Ireland. Pounding drums depict waves breaking on the shore, and later in the piece, the lament Anach Cuan" represents a boat which meets a tragic end during a storm. The Chieltuins' tone poems olten relate actual events of Irish history, such as' The Bottle of Aughrim." which tells of a fight between the Irish and invading Vikings. On their latest album. "Chieftains Id." the band diversifies a little and includes a country dance tunc Joe." lrom America. "Cotton-Eyehoe-dow- n t d i. Ir 6 "We were down in Austin. Tex., last Moloney in his heavy brogue, "and someone played us a cassette of it and said, 'You ought to have a go at this for a bit of fun.' We recognized the song as one of our own tunes, The Mountain Top.' We were having such a great gas down there, we decided to do it as an encore at the concert. The tune itself is an old Irish tune, hut we decided to give it the year." said American treatment." The Chieftains, Moloney plays the tin whistle. from left to right. Matt Molloy, Derek Bell, Kevin Conneff, Sean Keane, Paddy Moloney, and Martin Fay. I illeann pipes and " 'Uilleann' is Celtic for 'dhow.' " said Moloney, "and that is what you use to squeeze the air bag with." The pipes were developed in Britain in the loth when century. Moloney explained Queen Elizabeth forbade the playing of war pipes because their blaring sound so excited the younger soldiers. The Uilleann pipes have a much softer tone. With the bellows under his elbow and the drones over his lap. Moloney from a produces a rainbow of sounds with lively jig to a mournful lament his instrument. Harpist Derek Bell's roots are in classical music. He studied at the Royal College of Music in Ireland, as well as two-octa- studying abroad with, among others. America pianist Madame Rosina Lhevinne. Bell has performed with the symphony orchestras of London. Pittsburgh and Moscow, and with the Budapest Philharmonic. His harp playing is particularly delightful on Caro-lan'- s rich melodies. Watching Kevin Conneff play the hodhran defies belief. With one hand. Conneff pounds out incredibly complex goatskin rhythms on his hand-heldrum, which sometimes is referred to as the "Irish tambourine." Conneff's forearm muscles bulge as he underpins a lively jig or reel with a military beat, or repeats a subtle motif to a lament. Newest Member Flutist Matt Molloy was bom in Bullughuderren in Roscommon Country. an area of Ireland renowned for its musicians. Molloy's solos arc jocular and lively, with his wood instrument producing a rustic tone. He is the newest memler of the ensemble, havn ing played previously with the Irish group, the Bothy Band. well-know- Martin Fay and Sean Keane, the fiddlers in the Chieftains, have two distinct styles. Keane is the more flashy of the two. bringing a youthful energy to his solos. The older Fay is all cool experience as he paints a pastoral landscape with his playing. One gets the feeling that Martin Fay enjoys few tilings more than sitting around the fire on a damp night and bowing his fiddle. As he himself says. "There's nothing better than to get hack home and enjoy a quiet pint. Besides their many albums, the Chieftains have scored several films and television programs in the 18 year history of the hand. Their score for Stanley Kubricks "Barry Lyndon" won an Academy Award. The longer the hand stays together, the more demand there is for their music. "We are up to our eyes in film at the moment," says Moloney. This weekend in Los Angeles. Moloney is firming up a deal to compose the score for The Lion of a film to he based upon Ireland. Megan Llewellyns novel. The project particularly appeals to Moloney be cause it tells the story of Brian Born, the Irish king who in 1014 was slain in the battle of Clontarf. The Irish army achieved a stunning victory in the battle over invading Vikings. Clontarf. which is now a district of Dublin, is where Moloney was Ixirn. The Chieftains recently completed the score to the Canadian film "The Grey Fox." which will be entered in the Cannes Film Festival this year. Other tilm work includes "Tristan and Isolde." starring Richard Burton, and a television mini series "The Year of the French." based iqxm the French armada's invasion of Ireland in 1708. The Chieftains influence on xpular music continues to grow. In the past, they have eollaliorated with such artists as Eric Clapton. Van Morrison and Art Garfunkcl. Moloney appears on Paul McCartneys new album, due next month, playing his unusual piiH's. On Monday, the entire band goes into the recording studio with Don Henley, drummer for the popular rock group the Eagles, to add a track to his upcoming album. The Cliictains seem to thrive on exposing new audiences to their music. Oil Monday. UCKA will host hundreds of children from poor areas of Los Angeles to a free Chieftains concert . during which the musicians will explain their instruments and history of their music. Moloney says, "I'm dying to see what's going to happen. I'll bet you anything we have them dancing by the end of tile show." Plans China Visit Next year, the Chieftains will accept an invitation from the government of mainland China to visit that country. One of the Chieftains biggest fans is Pope John Paul II. who first heard their music when they performed "Carolan's Welcome" at a Papal mass in Dublin two years ago. The pontiff later invited them to the Vatican for a private audience. "It w as tin most memorable moment in our careers, said Moloney. "He gave each of us rosary beads and told us. 'It must have been the music that got St. Patrick to the Emerald Isle.' " f - jj i Moloney said this year St. Patrick's Day will Ik spent away from home for the first time in years. We normally never like to play on Patrick's Day. We leave it free and sxnd it at home with our families. It's a church holiday, and public holiday as well, in Ireland. We wear a piece of shamrock, of course, and go to church. A lot of sporting events take place. It's like a Sunday, the pubs won't be open all day. just like Sunday. It's a rest day more than anything." This year tin Chieftains will spend St. Patrick's Day in Phoenix. Ariz. "Seeing that we are in the middle of a tour like this, we decided wed give it a spin and see hmv the cowlxiys celebrate Patrick's Day." k w Galaxie t BUY CL ightingvnc t DOOR AT REG. 1 PRICE, 2ND DOOR AT V2 PRICE THE IRON CURTAIN i: Low, Low Prices to FEATURES si H the Public ORNAMENTAL IRON STORM DOORS SECURITY FOR YOU SLIDING & PATIO DOORS ..it p,,,i,..,. Lighting fixtures Mirrors 8 PROTECT Monday-Frida- y Lamps 2 Galaxie lighting Jnc. 3663 SOUTH MAIN SERVING YOU MON. THRU FRI. 8 AM TO 5 PM 262-553- O'lU'M.i DECORATE I! 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