Irish Piano Medley
I’m sending you this notice of new blog entries a little earlier in the month than usual, so you can have some Irish music prior to St. Patrick’s Day.
Back when the 21st century was dawning, I developed an affinity for authentic Irish music – not the sentimental Irish-American favorites, but the real stuff. Sure, the lyrics were a little overwrought – passionate tales of doomed uprisings and mournful lovers, heartfelt odes to the bottle. But the melodies – divorced from the emotional lyrics and rendered simply on the piano – really got to my non-Irish soul.
So in 2002 I recorded a CD album, titled Wearing of the Green – my piano versions of three dozen Irish melodies. I still listen to it a lot – especially as St. Patrick’s Day rolls around each year.
I’ve selected a dozen of my favorite tunes from the album, representing a wide variety of older and modern Irish songs – more fully described in the liner notes referred to below. The songs included are, in this order:
1. Éamonn an Chnoic
2. Fare Thee Well, Enniskillen
3. Boulavogue
4. The Fields of Athenry
5. Colonel John Irwin
6. The Wild Colonial Boy
7. Cavan Girl
8. Oiche Nollag
9. Nancy Whiskey
10. The Flight of Earls
11. Wearing of the Green
12. Danny Boy
So, for the next 20 minutes, return with me to the auld sod – any of you (Irish heritage not required) who like to hear some good melodies (albeit they’re celebrating battles, saluting martyrs, acclaiming love, reveling in rapturous surroundings, and toasting the juice of the barley).
I hope you enjoy this medley, which you can access by clicking on the play button below.
Additional information on the songs is contained in a liner notes PDF, which you can access (before, after, or while listening to the songs) by clicking on this link.