The Long Arm of the Tradition

Episode 42 – The Long Arm of the Tradition: how jigs and reels have inspired people outside of Ireland
This Irish Music Stories episode aired June 9, 2020
https://www.shannonheatonmusic.com/episode-42-the-long-arm-of-the-tradition

– Transcript edited by Susan Zazzali Mittelstadt –

Speakers, in order of appearance

>> Shannon Heaton: flute player, singer, composer, teacher, and host of Irish Music Stories 
>> Kerstin Otten (flute, accordion), Germany
>> Guillermo Del Val Rodriguez (flute), Spain
>> Andy Xuhang (winds/pipes/instrument maker), China
>> Gregor Brinkschulte (banjo/guitar), Germany
>> Santiago Molina (flute/pipes), Argentina
>> Alasdair Fraser (fiddle), U.S./Scotland
>> Rolf Wagels (bodhran), Germany
>> Brent Cassidy (bodhran/voice), Finland
>> Alex Navar (uilleann pipes), Brazil
>> hatao (Tomoaki Hatekeyama) (flute), Japan
>> Jinyang Chung, (harp/flute), Korea
>> Eungyeong Choe (concertina/button accordion), Korea
>> Soomee Han (whistle/concertina/harp), Korea
>> Geoffrey Lim (winds), Phillippines
>> Ted Cizadlo (mandolin), New Zealand
>> Andy Linton (guitar/fiddle), New Zealand
>> Nigel Heaton: young announcer for Irish Music Stories

______

>> Shannon:  I’m Shannon Heaton, And this is Irish Music Stories…

>> Kerstin: (In German) This is Irish Music Stories

>> Guillermo: Esto es Historias de Musica Irlandesa

>> Xuhang: (In Mandarin) This is Irish Music Stories

>> Shannon:  This is the show about traditional music, and the bigger stories behind it….

[ Music: Tune: “Migratory,” from tricolor BIGBAND

Composer: Koji Nagao 

Artist: tricolor ]

… Like the vast reach of Irish music, and how it’s inspired people around the world.

>> Gregor:  To me Irish Traditional Music is more than just a beautiful style of music. It also means a social connection to many different kinds of people,  The music is crossing so many borders—be it international borders, social classes, or be it the border of age. … 

>> Shannon:  That’s Gregor Brinkschulte, in the West of Germany. And this tune is from Japanese Irish band Tricolor.

In this episode, I’ll talk to people who play Irish music in Europe, the Far East, Australasia and South America. I’ll try to learn about their local Irish music scenes… and about the perspective and dimension they get from playing jigs and reels…

Because while persistent infections like Covid-19 … and racism… loom large, these little tunes can form big bridges. Learn a tune and share it with a stranger, and you could create more light in the world…  or maybe you’ll form a lifelong friendship.

——

So I know that Irish music has spread to many countries outside of Ireland. When I was in Japan last year, I met great trad players there. And I dedicated all of episode 30 to the Japanese Irish music scene.

I’ve also met many excellent Irish musicians while traveling throughout Germany, Holland, and Switzerland.

And of course, I know many trad players in North America, especially all around Boston where I live.

I know that this music has bust across borders.

But I’m still surprised and MOVED by the very international group that I’ve connected with at the weekly YouTube session that my husband Matt Heaton and I have been running during lockdown.

Flute player Guillermo Del Val Rodrigez has joined us for Saturday tunes from his home near Cadiz Bay, in the Southwest of Spain.

And that’s where we’ll start this Irish music stories virtual tour of trad music communities around the world.

Now all of these interviews are gonna be in English, which for most of my guests in this episode is their second, third, or fourth language.  I am immensely grateful to everybody for being so flexible and so well spoken. It’s really inspiring to hear.

>> Shannon: So how’s your evening?

>> Guillermo: Fine, it’s sunny day here… perfect to go to the beach.. It’s what we’re going to do after the interview

>> Shannon: Sounds great

>> Guillermo: Yeah, it is. And I need to thank you deeply. because especially in the hardest days of this pandemia the Covid-19… 

>> Shannon: Yeah

>> Guillermo: …it has been very helpful. This Saturday session has been really, umm, helpful in order to, yeah, in order to play with people, and nice repertoire.

>> Shannon:  oh, good, well, I thank you, too, for joining us. I mean, because all of us we are not alone. 

>> Guillermo: Yeah…

>>Shannon:  But it doesn’t feel very natural to just all be in our own little cells. So in that moment when we’re sort of able to play together, but also the chat… it’s so sweet. Yeah.

>> Guillermo: It is. It is, definitely.

[Music: plucked guitar]

>> Shannon: I’ve heard Guillermo play flute for a few years. He’s really dedicated and he’s worked hard at Irish music. But he likes to remind me that he’s new to traditional music—he only started playing Irish flute in 2016.  

>>Guillermo:  As you know, I’m a classical flute player mainly. My job is a flute teacher. But since I was a kid… like 12 years old… I discovered Celtic music from a Galician musician that is called Carlos Nunes.

[ Music: “The Flight of the Earls (El Vuelo De Los Condes),” from Brotherhood of Stars (A Irmandade Das Estrelas)

Artist: Carlos Nuñez ]

>> Shannon: Galicia is an independent community in the far northwest of Spain. It’s wicked old. And it got its name from the first inhabitants there—the Celtic people, who named it Galicia (like Gaelic, Gallic, get it?). 

Wind instruments are big there, like flutes, ocarinas, whistles, and the gaita (which is a type of bagpipe),

When the band The Chieftains met Galician musician Carloz Nuñes, they invited him to pick up his bagpipes and recorder and go on the road with them.

[Music continues]

Thanks to Carlos Nunez, Guillermo caught wind of the Chieftains, and that’s how he learned about Irish music

Guillermo: I started to play tin whistle by myself. I basically had to listen and try to repeat, but I didn’t know the ornaments properly.  I started to watch videos in internet, and learn it better the tin whistle.  Then I started to create my own whistles.

>>Shannon:  So he’s working away, learning tunes from videos, handcrafting tin whistles. And then he turns to the Irish flute.  

[ Music: “Kiss the Maid Behind the Barrel,” from Living Room recording Artist: Guillermo Del Val Rodriguez ]

>> Guillermo:  I started to focus more on Irish music and practice every day. And also I discovered the session, the session concept…Talking with a friend, he told me there was a festival, a Fleadh, in another bigger town called Caceres. There I saw what a session was. I, I was, like, overwhelmed. I don’t know how, even, to express it in Spanish. But I discovered that I like this so much. And I want to learn and get deeper into the Irish concept. Then I travelled for the first time to Ireland. 

>> Shannon:  Those trips—to the Caceres Fleadh and to the Joe Mooney Summer school in Drumshambo, the week in Ireland—they helped Guillermo understand sessions, and demystify the real trad world.

>> Shannon: You have a session where you are, right?

>> Guillermo:  Yes. The session has been changing because, you know, here there is an American base, American military base in Rota. And sometimes American people come over here and some of them, they play banjo or they play fiddle So the session is something live. 

[ Music: “The Golden Ticket,” from The Western Star, Artist/Composer: Eric Merrill ]

>> Shannon:  So you’re been to Ireland. Is there anything different about how your session runs versus Ireland? Like is there anything Spanish about it?

>> Guillermo:  No, they are not really different because we drink beer, too. Not really black beer, because there is not many good places that know how to serve it. And we used more to drink lager. Yes, blonde.

>> Shannon:  I would think a blonde beer would be much more refreshing in a hot climate than a real heavy black beer.

>> Guillermo:  Yes, it is. That’s the reason! 

>> Shannon: Yeah.

>> Guillermo:  The sessions I’ve been in Ireland are very traditional. Not so fast. Not a lot of guitar playing and a lot of melody. A lot of fiddles, a lot of concertina, accordion, banjo, all instruments. And here the main melody instrument is flute. Sometimes they play Galician and Asturian music. Sometimes the kind people that play the bagpipe or the flute but in a Galician style and then change a little bit the reperoitre. 

>> Shannon: Cool.

[ Music: Pipers in Lugo, Galicia c/o Duperier ́s Authentic Journeys ]

>> Shannon:  Santiago Molina plays these Galician pipes. They’re the same ones as Carlos Nuñez. He also plays Irish flute and whistle. And lives in the former Spanish colony of Argentina, in Buenos Aires.

>> Santiago Molina:  I started with music really early in my life. I started to play wind instruments from the north of Argentina. I played Pingusho, it’s like a whistle, but with 7 fingers holes in the front and one in the back, like a recorder, also. It’s a really, really nice instrument. Then a few years later I started to play Galician bagpipes. My great grandfather was from Galicia. So I started with folk music, Celtic music, from there. And then comes the whistles, and the Irish music, and Galician music, and folk music in general.

>> Shannon:  Here’s Santiago playing his own tune, “Para Ani”

[ Music: “Para Ani,” from Historias
Composer: Santiago Molina
Artists: Santiago Molina with Félix Pérez guitar ]

>> Santiago:  Well, The music scene here in Buenos Aires, it’s really good. We have one session, but it’s made once a month. Apart from that we have gigs and concerts with Irish music, Scottish music, Galician music, music from all over the over the Celtic world. And besides that I teach music, Irish music. I teach tin whistle, Galician bagpipes, and Irish flute. So I have students from all over, all over the city. So we have here a really, really good scene. It’s really, really live, and growing.

For me it is one of the most beautiful musics in the world. It’s really live, really exciting music. And we can do a lot of variations, make sets, jam from one tune to another, from one rhythm to another rhythm. I love that. And, of course, I love the variety of instruments. A lot of wind instruments. I love the violin playing. Also the way of sharing the music in a pub with some beers, with friends, with a lot of craic. So the music is THAT, it’s sharing it with friends and having a really, really good time. 

>> Shannon: Oceans apart, back in Spain, Guillermo shares Santiago´s love for the same tunes, for this same music culture:

>> Guillermo: What I love is the freedom and joy of playing Irish music. It’s hard to describe…the flow, the rhythm, the rules that are different to the classical music. And to be able to play both, I think, makes me a more complete musician. 

[ Tune: “Foliada!” from Ports of Call
Artists: Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas ]

>> Shannon: Like the Cáceres Irish Fleadh where Guillermo had his Irish music start, Crisol de Cuerda in Burgos has also brought traditional music lovers together in Spain. Scottish fiddle player Alasdair Fraser has been running this camp in the Northeast of the country since 2008.

>> Alasdair: I just love the Spanish way of being. I need it in my life, I need it in my soul. It’s a very generous, spirited place and they hold the arts in a special place there. So yes, we started a camp there. And there’s a hunger for life. Like there’s a hunger index. You can almost talk about it to people, like, “How bright do their eyes burn?” And that’s one of the things we get to see as musicians as you travel around. You can tell when an audience is on the edge of their seats ready. 

>> Shannon: Alasdair runs Crisol de Curerdos in the same way he’s run his camps in Valley of the Moon and Sierra fiddle camps in California. Yeah, dinner in Spain is later and there’s a siesta in the middle of the day. But the camp philosophy is consistent. It’s about experimenting with music and groove, with universal components that you can apply to Scottish, Irish, Spanish, or whatever type of traditional music. 

>> Alasdair: So I’m not going there to teach Scottish fiddle music to Spanish people. I’m going there to light a fire for the people from these places to find their own culture. Just as I had to do. Cuz that’s really what I love doing is lighting fires. It’s go deep into your traditions, establish a safe zone where you can be yourself. A lot of people have never been in a situation where they can actually feel that safe.

>> Shannon: And you can’t just do this on Youtube or some remote learning? 

>> Alasdair: No, no. I mean, you could reinforce it with those who have been there, you know, and witnessed it. Because once you’ve spent quality time in a safe zone with a bunch of people in the woods, for a week, it’s for life. It’s incredible, you know, you have the bonds that are made, they’re some of the deepest bonds. They’re way deeper than some kids make at school, with their friends they see every day. And adults. So once you have these bonds happening, I think you can reinforce it using distance learning techniques or remote virtual learning. Um, we gotta gather. I would feel so cheated if we never just gathered and had that flesh and blood moment. Eyes. The way we’re setting here talking to each other. I love it!

>> Shannon: Yeah, me too.

>> Shannon: Alasdair and I spoke right before we all got cheated out of flesh and blood gatherings. Before Covid 19 cancelled loads of sessions, concerts, and in-person music camps. 

[ Music: “G Meditation,” from Production Music for Irish Music Stories
Artist/Composer: Matt Heaton ]

Of course, group gatherings will remain tricky for a while. Especially for wind players. Because even if we’re playing a concert for a tiny audience in a huge hall… or we’re playing a session in the garden, with musicians seated 8 feet apart, the air stream thing is challenging. My friend Lisa Danforth, an Irish flute player and engineer has a prototype Irish flute mask. I’ve got info at Irishmusicstories.org if you wanna see it.

But still, it’s all a bit uncertain and scary at the moment.

And this is temporary. Irish music around the world is here to stay. For camp leaders like Alasdair, and flute players like Guillermo. So for now, we’ll move on from Spain

>> Shannon: Have fun at the beach! Adios y que tengas una buena noche.

>> Guillermo: Muchisimas gracias y igulamente para tí.

>> Shannon: Gracias, okay. Bye…

>> Guillermo: Bye…

>> Shannon: So we move from light lager and siestas to the land of dark beer. To Germany where Irish music has been popular since the folk boom of the 1960s and 70s. 

[ Music: “Heartstrings Theme,” from Production Music for Irish Music Stories
Artist/Composer: Matt Heaton ]

Just like in the U.S. and Japan and lots of places around the world, when people heard singing groups like the Clancy Brothers and bands like Planxty and the Bothy Band—these new sounds and instruments inspired small Irish music communities outside of Ireland.

Nowadays in Germany there are sessions, workshops, and big touring shows (like the biannual Irish Folk Festival that Petr Pandula organizes). Here’s Gregor Brinkschulte again. You met him at the top of this episode:

>> Gregor : I’m Gregor from Dortmond, in the western part of Germany. I play the banjo and guitar. I can really say that Irish trad music has changed my whole life. Apart from meeting several friends from Irish sessions, I also met my partner Marina in a session in Munster, Germany. First we were sharing tunes at sessions. Then sharing tunes at private sessions. Since then we were also sharing our lives. We’ve been together for more than 12 years by now!

>> Shannon: Just over 12 years ago, I met bodhran player Rolf Wagels with the German Irish band Cara. We caught up over Skype, just after he’d moved house, to Shruplinsen, a very remote village near Hanover.

>> Shannon: Hi! Nice to see you! Long time, no see. 

>> Rolf: Nice to see you, indeed.

>> Shannon: So congrats on your recent move. Was that tricky in the middle of Covid?

>> Rolf: Uff, it was weird because, as you said, you don’t meet the neighbors… but, um, yeah, it’s okay… we’re fine.

>> Shannon: Behind Rolf I could see boxes and many, many bodhrans. He’s got a showroom in his home.

>> Rolf: You know I run this little bodhran shop and I’m sending bodhrans to Singapore, Japan, as well, Russia and Siberia.. South America (Chile, two or three are in Argentina, couple in Brazil). All over the place

>> Shannon: Yeah

[Music: “Masters of Consequence,” from Horizon
Artist/Composer: Cara ]

>> Shannon: Matt and I were talking about the first time we met… at the Champlain Valley folk festival! 

>> Rolf: I remember that, yeah. I think it was actually the first gig I think we ever did in the states with Cara.

>> Shannon: And how long did you play with Cara?

>> Rolf: 15 years, yeah.

>> Shannon: OK, so let’s go back. How did you first get into playing Irish music?

>> Rolf: I was playing french horn in a youth orchestra. We had an exchange with both Ballimina Academy in the North of Ireland, and later with the Christian brother school in Nenagh. 

That was the first time I heard trad. That was 1988. I liked the music, I heard it more and more. And got hooked basically. 

[Music swells]

>> Shannon: That’s wild. So you went from the French Horn to the bodhran!

>> Rolf: Yes, and then the bodhran… why do you start the bodhran? I liked the sound. So I got stuck with the bodhran because that worked for some reason. 

>> Shannon: Hahah! So I’m glad you got stuck with the bodhran!

>> Rolf: Yeah it just developed from there. And then I started to teach workshops over here in Germany. And then we have concerts. But we also have the Germany uilleann pipe society. So we bring over teachers, not only pipes but also other instruments. Then there is session meetings where people just meet up for a weekend and just play tunes all weekend. Just like a little fleadh in the end. This is where you meet other people, and then you form bands and then you start practicing. And then you start touring, and then things got more and more professional. 

[ Music: “Bb Intro,” from Production Music for Irish Music Stories
Artist/Composer: Matt Heaton ]

>> Shannon: So not everybody takes it in a professional direction. But even touring musicians head out to informal sessions. They’re a touchstone—musically and socially—for players of all levels.

>> Rolf: In Hanover we are very blessed. We have a session twice a week. We started it on a Sunday, a Sunday afternoon session 20 years ago and that’s still running. 

>> Shannon: Yeah, wow.

>> Rolf: But it gets bigger and bigger. If I compare with 20 years ago, we have so many young people that are interested in Irish trad. So the community is growing. And I was lucky when I started playing the bodhran that there was a scene in Hanover, where I started. That people showed me what it’s all about. 

>> Shannon: Yeah. So you feel kind of moved to show other people—because people showed you?

>> Rolf: Yeah, I love teaching it. Starting it with the uilleann pipe society at first. Then in 2001, we started the bodhran weekend. Still got that with a friend of mine, Guidot. That’s been running since…it’s almost twenty years. It’s not only about bodhran but the relation to the music that we love, because that’s the way I feel about it.

[ Music: “Little Bird Lullaby,” from Production Music for Irish Music Stories
Artist: Matt Heaton ]

>> Shannon: So do you have a favorite activity, like sessions, like recording, like performing. teaching?

>> Rolf: The favorite would be a good session, that’s where the heart of the music lies. I like recording, I like the stuff we did with Cara touring. Who’d have thought that me playing the bodhran would bring me all around the world, as you said. And it’s fantastic. But even then, the sessions at the big festivals. That was the best part.  The interaction with people that you probably never met before through music. It’s just fantastic. It’s just a lovely, lovely way of communicating. 

>> Shannon: It is a lovely way of communicating. And of meeting people. I first met flute player Kerstin Otten when she was in the States. She’d been playing for a while then. 

>> Kerstin: The first time I listened to Irish jigs and reels that was in the late 1980s. A friend of mine went to Ireland then (she was an au pair). And when she gave me two cassettes with jigs and reels. And I was fascinated. Really. I couldn’t play the tunes, they were fast! But, they, yeah, I liked the rhythm, I liked this kind of music. And it made me think of the Lord of the Rings and stuff like that. I listened to that kind of music all the time, but then the cassettes broke. Full stop. Break. And then 15 years later, or something like that, a friend of mine, a coworker of mine, he played in an Irish band and, well, I joined the band. They did mostly Dubliner’s  songs. And well, I invented interludes and started to learn tunes. I learned more tunes. I met people. And I went to sessions— as a listener, and later as a player. It was magic to me.

>> Shannon: This tune is magic to me. Kerstin wrote it. It’s called 44 Mill Street.

[ Music: “44 Mill Street,” from The Blue Dress
Composer: Kerstin Otten
Artist: Shannon Heaton, Maeve Gilchrist, Paddy League ]

>> Kerstin: I liked it because it was a kind of folk music. We don’t have a great folk music tradition in Germany anymore, because of the war and stuff like that. 

>> Shannon: Ooof. German folk music took a real hit during WWII. I wondered if Irish music has maybe been a way back to folk traditions for some Germans.

>> Kerstin: I’m a little sad that we don’t have this kind of tradition here. I mean it’s cool we found it somewhere else, but it would have been nice to have an own tradition. Yeah.

>> Shannon: I imagine there are some songs where you could just never sing them again because they were misused so badly?

>> Kerstin: That’s one problem. And the other problem is that the Nazis made, um, they really said sing these songs, and it all belonged to the concept of being German. So after the war no one wanted to sing folks songs any longer.

>> Shannon: Singer and instrumentalist Gudrun Walther & guitar player Jürgen Treyz, released a double album a couple of years ago. There’s a Celtic side and a German one. Unlike their bigger project with Cara, their band with Rolf, this album was all duo. And they included a German folk song from 1500s. 

[ Music: Ich weiß ein fein brauns Mägdelin, from Duo, Artists: Gudrun Walther & Jürgen Treyz ]

>> Kerstin: I live in Mainz, which is quite in the center of Germany and Frankfurt is close by. So we have a nice session in Frankfort. We have session here, in Mainz, and we have a session in a tiny town, Kierschammboulanden. And they have a lovey session there at a pub. And the owner of the pub, he plays and sings himself. And he loves to sing German songs and it’s great because they´re fun. Yeah.

>> Shannon: What do you think with this Covid thing. Do you think we’ll be able to play  again in sessions again any time soon?

>> Kerstin: Ahh.. not soon. But we will play, again. But I mean, we have these virtual sessions, and really, it’s such a pleasure to do that. I mean, they’re fun so it’s cool to play with them, to find new tunes! I mean, you have a session here, you have a session there. And it’s mostly always the same tunes being played. So that’s nice to find new stuff in this crazy time.

>> Shannon: t’s been really fun to have you there on the Saturday sessions. And, also, to stay in touch over the years. It means so much to me.

>> Kerstin: Yeah, to me as well. Yeah, it’s cool!

[ Music: PRETTY GIRL Milking Her Cow, Artist: Droichead ]

>> Shannon: So Kerstin and I bid adieu until our next video chat or until the next Saturday session, when I’ll get to connect with her and players in Russia, Serbia, Syria, all over the U.S., Canada, Ireland… and all over Europe, where we’ll continue our tour to Finland…

…. to the happy land of the far north. Where Brent Casidy brings Irish culture lovers together every year for the world’s northernmost festival. This year would be the 15th annual Irish Festival of Oulu. But even before he was leading the festival, Brent was finding fellow Finlanders for nights of tunes.

>> Brent: Brent Cassidy here from Oulu, Finland. Basically I’m Irish American, born and raised in North Carolina, and I’ve lived here in Oulu, Finland for 20 years. I live in Oulu. Finland, I came as an exchange student. But after a few years I learned that Irish music was also present here and has been for 30 years. So that gave me opportunity to learn more here. And you know, it’s not too far from Ireland, so traveling back and forth is quite normal.

>> Shannon: Brent got into Irish music before he moved to Finland, when he was researching his Cassidy family genealogy. On trips to Fermanagh and Donegal, he fell in love with sean nos, old-style unaccompanied singing.  

[ Music: “Celtic Grooves,” from Production Music for Irish Music Stories
Artist/Composer: Matt Heaton ]

>> Brent: I play the bodhran as well as sing in the sean nos Donegal style. I’m also fluent in Irish Gaelic. So this has been quite a journey, and it’s far from over. But we have a very regular Irish music scene that’s quite respectable here in Northern Europe. We have the sessions twice a month with two major big sessions. One being St Patrick’s Day, where we lay the whole day, and the other being one being December 5th, which is the day before Finnish independence day. Our regular sessions normally have anywhere from 3-15 musicians and we also have a lot of musicians who travel as far away as Helsinki which is 700 km away, or sometimes even Russia or Sweden, just to join in our session, which is quite remarkable. From the sessions of 2006 was born the Irish Festival of Oulu. What I love most about Irish music is basically, it is such a worldwide tradition that the music just kind of unites us all. And at the end of the day all of this is a lifestyle, and really it’s just all about the craic. So, welcome to Oulu Finland for the Irish festival, or join us for a session sometime. Slan!

>> Shannon: It really can be great craic, and deeply nourishing, to play tunes with people. And to gather to do something, together. You know what else seems like great craic? (Or not…) Traveling to China from Finland by train! Or by car!! It’s possible. Of course, it’s faster to travel by plane. And it’s immediate by internet. So here we go to check in with Xuhang, a flute and whistle player and instrument builder in Beijing. 

>> Xuhang: This is Xuhang from Beijing, China. My name may be difficult to pronounce. So you can call me Andy, also.

>> Shannon: OK, so Andy first got into Irish music from a recording by Irish violinist Fionnuala Sherry and Norwegian pianist Rolf Løvland. Their album Songs from a Secret Garden had uilleann pipes on it. And this ignited Andy’s passion to make pipes someday.

[ Music: “Nocturne,” from Songs From a Secret Garden
Artist/Composer: Secret Garden ]

>> Xuhang: After I graduated from university in, around,  2006, I started my uilleann pipe making plan. I made some prototypes, but it was quite difficult to find a workshop with the necessary machines for pie making in Beijing. So finally I turned to whistle making, and after about six years I started to make flutes.

>> Shannon: Here’s Blayne Chastain playing one of his instruments:

[Music: “Larry Lavin’s Choice,” from Galleon Flute Demo Video, Artist: Blayne Chastain]

>> Shannon:  As Andy got deeper into making and playing Irish flute he became passionate about wanting more Chinese musicians to know real traditional music from Ireland not just Celtic-style movie soundtracks.

>> Xuhang: In China plenty of people got interested in Irish music from the movie Titanic and the famous song My Heart May Go On. Only a small percentage of them continued to learn trad music and to know about sessions. So, I wanted to find a more official way to introduce trad Irish music. I fly to Japan many times for business reasons. I was so surprised that there are lots of sessions in multiple cities in Japan, and they played very class. I heard that CCE Japan was organizing some camps and there are over 100 members.

>> Shannon: Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann or CCE is a non-profit cultural movement established in 1951 to teach and present Irish traditional music. And now there are over 400 branches around the world.

>> Xuhang: My hope is introducing the real Irish trad music to China. And let more Chinese people know the charm of Irish music.

[Music: “Planxty Fitzgerald,” from Traditional Irish Music on pipa guitar, live at Bray Mermaid Arts Centre
Artists: Liu Fang and Michael O’Toole ]

>> Shannon: So Andy and his friend Jay set out to establish CCE China, and that’s a pretty cool way to centralize and amplify the country’s interest in Irish music. To pull disparate communities from all over the country together.

>> Xuhang: In Beiing we have a regular session in a pub called Paddy O’Shea’s, every two or three weeks before the COVID-19. And I know there are sessions also in the city of Shanghai and Chuching. And sometimes we have sessions or activities in parks or tea rooms. The most activities are online. People post their recordings to video websites, which is similar to YouTube and interact by comments. I believe we will have more pub sessions in the future, because it’s not just simply a bunch of people playing music, but the social contact. I believe music is boundaryless, and it connects all of us around the world. 

>> Shannon: I feel very lucky to connect with players like Andy from my home in Medford, Massachusetts. Technology is helping a lot of us get through this era of social distancing. And tech is also helping many of us show support in the continued fight against racism and political repression. And I know that not everybody has equal access to the super highway. I know I am fortunate. And I’m also so lucky and grateful to have support from listeners. It means so much to me. Here’s my son Nigel to thank this month’s sponsors:

>> Nigel: Are you ready?

>> Shannon: Yes.

>> Nigel: Thank you to Ryne Van Horn, Dan Coffman, Finn ,Rex, Michael Crane, Bruce Douglas, Nancy Kearney, Paul Thackler, Art Costa, Linda Hammond, Chris Murphy, David Vaugn, Gerry Core, Susan Walsh, Rick Rueben, Randy Krajniak, Jon Duvik, and one anonymous donor. 

[ Music: “Midnight Walker,” from Celtic Graces: A Best of Ireland, Artist/Composer: Davy Spillane ]

>> Shannon: Andy Xuhang in Beijing was enticed by the sound of the ulleann pipes. Also lured by the Irish pipes? Alex Navar in Brazil, where there are a couple of Irish sessions and dance groups in the major cities. Alex found Irish music through art and he’s been hooked ever since.

>> Alex: Back in 1994 I was a graphic design student and researching other cultures I came across the with Celtic designs, Celtic knots which impressed me a lot. In the meantime I went to a city shop and saw an album called Celtic Graces, and the first track was Davy Spllane playing Midnight Walker. I was completely hooked by the sound of the uilleann pipes. That’s why I became an uilleann piper myself.

[ Music: “Triumph Theme,” from Production Music for Irish Music Stories
Artist/Composer: Matt Heaton ]

I also love to express my feelings through the sound of the Uilleann pipes. And that’s a good thing. Haha! I love Irish traditional music, I’m very enthusiastic about it. I like to be with friends also in the sessions.To listen to other players, to listen to other instruments together with the pipes. It doesn’t matter if it’s in a pub, in a kitchen, in a living room, wherever it is, but just to be with friends. To play and to have fun. That’s it. That’s what I love most in Irish music.

>> Shannon: There are other players throughout South American who have caught the Irish music bug, like Alex here. And like Santiago Molina in Argentina—you met him earlier, the flute player and piper.  And Columbia and Chile both have Comhaltas branches. And there’s reciprocal love and admiration of music styles. Irish musicians Finn Magill and Nicole Rabata have gone deep into Brazilian choro music. And here’s Cillian King in Ireland playing choro on Irish concertina.

[ Music: “Desvairada,” from Brazilian Choro he posted on YouTube (used with permission), Artist: Cillian King ]

[ Music: “月をさがして” (Looking for the Moon) from Songs of Raindrops and Breeze
Artists/Composer: hatao & nami ]

>> Shannon: Falling in love with a music culture, with a tradition that is many players strong, that is older and much bigger than anything you’ll ever play or know, this is infectious. And maybe learning about each other and really going deep into listening and hearing other sounds and stories. Maybe this helps ward off more malignant infections. Maybe it can heal.

Before Covid-19 came to town, my friend hatao agreed to be an Irish Music Stories correspondent on his next trip from his home in Japan to Korea. 

hatao is a great flute player. And he is also facile in a number of different languages. He’s published Irish music tutors in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. And he’s even translated a couple of Irish Music Stories episodes from English into Japanese. You can hear more about his music and his CeltNoFue shop, where he carries books, recordings, and instruments in Episode 30. But for this episode, hatao shared his interview from a trip to Korea. He met with up with fellow Japanese musicians and Korean musicians. Some of the players already knew each other from a summer school in Ireland a few years back. Concertina player Soul-ki hosted the meet-up in the backroom of a cafe. Hatao conducted this interview before the session. He told me it ended up being a very nice discussion for the group, that it made the connection of musicians from two countries even stronger. I just love this. I love his insights. I love the image of these musicians tucking into these topics and then playing tunes together. And I love this interview:

>> hatao: How did you get the Irish music bug?

>> Jinyang: I was traveling from New York to LA by busses or trains, so when I was in Chicago I came by a music shop and the owner, he chose a wooden flute. So for me the instrument came to me first rather than the music. 

 >> Eungyeong: In my case, one of my friends who lived in South Korea for seven years came from County Cork. He always played Irish music at home. After he came back to Ireland, I’m still getting into the music and play concertina.

>> Soomee: In my case, I always thought to play with other people  I needed to be expert. When I first went to the session, there were some professional musicians, and some players like me who just started Irish whistle. I played along with all the other people. I’m not perfect. But still I can contribute making beautiful music. And that is why I love Irish music. I can just go and meet people and then just right after I finish the set, people see me different. They see me different.

[ Music: Little Bird Lullaby Reprise ]

>> hatao: How do you learn Irish music. Do you have any teacher?

>> Eungyeong: Actually, in South Korea there is no tutor. So in my case, just listening to many albums.

>> Soo Mee:  I just watched YouTube videos. There’s a pub session that happens every two weeks. And there is a slow session  that’s once in a month.  And there are special sessions, just like today

>> Jinyang: Even though we are not able to have regular meeting, we are always aware of the friends in other countries. So all of us try to travel to other place.

>> hatao: There are many kinds of sessions in Ireland. But my impression is that they have lots of chats and joking and humor? What about in Korea?

>> Jinyang: It depends on the session.

>> Soo Mee: Speaking of today, when one set is finished, there was silence. 

>> hatao: Yes, it’s very common in Japan, too

>> Soo Mee: And then later on we are all happy to see each other, so then we start chatting.

>> Jinyang: I mean, even though we are silent, or even though we don’t talk a lot, we always feel relaxed.

>> hatao: Yeah, basically we are quite shy.

>> Everyone: hahaha

>> Jinyang: Asian people….

>> hatao: Yeah…

>> Soo Mee: We don’t want to waste …

>> hatao: Waste…hahaha…waste time by talking!

>> Everyone: Hahahaha!

>> Shannon: Many of us from the West aren’t as silent, or shy, or we just have a different rhythm. These Korean and Japanese players have spent a lot of the time absorbing Irish music and culture. They’ve put themselves out there, out of their own comfort zones to travel and to learn. Sitting in the company of people, and in particular, connecting with musical people from really different cultures, even if we’re playing the same tunes, I think there’s such power in meeting each other, and in everybody adjusting a bit.

>> Jinyang: We have no idea who people are, but when you play together, and after the playing, we feel close together. Even though there is no information except for the fact that you play music. I like Irish music because we can play in the same breath, same rhythm and the same heartbeat.

>> hatao: For me, Irish music is to, to communicate with people, because Irish music is everywhere, and if you play instruments, and if you have tunes in common you can make friends in foreign countries. Even if you don’t speak even one word of the local language, but you can express yourself. 

[ Music: “Polkas,” from Mapo FM
Artists: Seul-Ki and Ceoltoiri Korea, including Robin Parson, Jongwook Choe ]

>> Shannon: People play Irish music in Southeast Asia, too. It’s not so big in Thailand, yet. Which would have been handy sinceI lived there as a kid, and I’m still in frequent contact with folks there. But its really struck a chord in the Phillippines and Indonesia. Phil Wilson in Indonesia told me there’s a thriving group of around 20 musicians in busy Jakarta and beautiful Bali. Some expats but mostly young Indonesians. There are a few from Indonesia who tune into our Saturday YouTube session. Over in the Philippines, I was lucky to connect with tin whistle and ocarina player Geoffrey Lim. He started getting into Irish music after looking for instruments to play and he really liked how accessible and affordable folk woodwinds can be. So he opened a shop to sell instruments and to help build and nurture a local trad community.

>> Geoffrey: Reading up about the history of trad session fascinated me as I was enamored by the concept of local music sessions at the local pub that anyone could join. I started my folk instrument shop, in part, to find people to play with. Determined people interested in the same music as me. And from there organically gained a group of likeminded musicians to play Irish trad. Almost everyone who attends our sessions is fully Filipino. We have a single attendee who is an Irish expat, so all of our players came to Irish music due to various reasons. The Corrs though was very popular in the Philippines many years ago. And I’ve heard from many of my customers who have purchased tin whistles and bodhrans that their interest in Irish music really stemmed from that.

[ Music: Excerpt of “Runaway,” from Forgiven, Not Forgotten, Artists/Composer: The Corrs ]

>> Geoffrey: We predominantly hold sessions in gardens and universities and at an Irish pub in Manila. We try and be open to new players, so we allow non trad instruments like ukuleles. And we are more forgiving of sheet music, even though that’s traditionally frowned upon. So far, our participants are a mix of informal music enthusiasts, professional musicians and music professors and teachers.

[ Music: “Belle of the South Shore,” from B&B
Composer: Shannon Heaton
Artist: tricolor ]

>> Shannon: Of course, the in-person events are suspended for the moment. When Covid-19 cases surged in the Philippines, Geoffrey closed his online shop to minimize risk to mail carriers. He donated to help doctors and healthcare workers get more personal protective equipment. And when he first resumed sales, he donated 100% of his profits to charities. On his Melody Wind Music page, Geoffrey is encouraging his community to continue sharing videos. Like lots of places, the Phillippines is begining to reopen. And this may be premature. Geoffrey is trying to keep people connected through social media and from a safer distance.

>> Geoffrey: I really enjoy the communal and informal nature of Irish music. But more importantly I really love that there’s a ton of resources in English online. I love that even if you’re starting out alone in a country that does not have any history of playing trad music there are enough resources that you can wade through and pick up on your own.  All the tools you need can be pulled from the internet. While I know that that’s no substitute for having a proper instructor having all these elements easily available and accessible is a great start. It really helps to nurture and maintain interest.

>> Shannon: Mandolin player Ted Cizadlo and Guitarist/bouzouki player Andy Linton also have also found online resources to be invaluable in building their local scene. Wellington.session.nz was meant as an info hub for traditional musicians in New Zealand; but it’s become a tune and practice resource for players all around the world. Ted and Andy have assembled recordings, tools to slow music down, a player that will loop sections to make learning easier, and even though Irish music is traditionally learned by ear, they also have sheet music AKA “the dots.” 

>> Ted: Andy and I are both pretty passionate that that’s not the best way to learn music. But it is a way that a lot of people support their learning of these tunes. And I think it’s turned out to be a nice combination of things.

>> Andy: we’ve got over 400 tunes in there. 

>> Shannon: As you can hear, they’re not originally from New Zealand. Andy was born in County Down and grew up in Armagh.  And he met Ted 20 years ago:

>> Ted: I’m originally from the United States. We moved to New Zealand from Iowa.

>> Andy: Yeah, and you can pick it up from my accent, well maybe people don’t know what a New Zealand accent sounds like, but I’m actually from Ireland originally and I’ve been living in New Zealand for about 30 years. I didn’t grow up with this music.  So I really got into this when I had a side trip to Australia and lived in Cambra and really got into playing this music a lot when I was living there. 

>> Ted: And I started playing tunes back before we left Iowa, a little bit. But I didn’t really get into Irish sessions properly until I moved here and met Andy. We met each other probably within a month of arrival in New Zealand. And Andy said you should come along to this session that we have at Kitty O’Shea’s pub.

[ Music: “D Mutey Big Build,” from Production Music for Irish Music Stories
Artist/Composer: Matt Heaton ]

>> Andy: Yeah, so there was a, like lots of other places in the world, New Zealand has or had a number of Irish bars and some of those would have sessions at them. And some of the, would be sort of a bit plastic, and not really Irish pubs at all, you know, that whole concept of the Irish pub. So Kitty O’Shea’s was actually run by an Irishman, a guy from the North of Ireland and he was amenable to us early in the week having a session there. And we had a strong session there which was lots and lots of fun, I suppose, about 6 years ago

>> Ted: About then when Kitty O’Shea’s closed. And the session then was suddenly without a home. Right about then, Andy and I are always part of this Wellington folk festival. This one particular folk festival…

>> Andy: It was 2015.

>> Ted: 2015. There was a really good session that formed. And there were these two young girls that were in the session and one played a box and the other one…Do you remember? Fiddle?

>> Andy: Fiddle.

>> Ted:… and they only had a couple of tunes. They were fairly new at their instruments.  And there was this fantastic Fiddler…wasn’t it?

>> Andy: Flute player.

>> Ted:… flute player. And he said, okay hold it. What tunes do you know? And they sheepishly said…

>> Andy: Out on the Ocean.

>> Ted: Out on the Ocean. That’s right. So he said right… and he played is. started Out on the Ocean real slow, and those kids sat up and played those tunes, and everybody else played to support them and it was one of the most beautiful scenes I’d ever in one of those things in, like, ever. It was just great. And they were just shining!

[ Music: “Out on the Ocean,” from Live in Seattle, Artists: Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill ]

>> Andy: Yeah, the two of them, they were ten feet tall. They just looked at each other, and you know, it was fantastic.

>> Ted: And just to take it back all they way to this, ¨Let’s play this in an inclusive way,¨ really spoke to me.

>> Andy: Yeah.

[ Music: “Woo Dr Hythm,” from This is How we Fly, Artists/Composer: This is How we Fly ]

>> Shannon: From that late night session at the folk festival, Ted and Andy decided to start up a session for people who wanted an on ramp to Irish music. They wanted a place where they could slow things down and learn new tunes for the first hour and then morph into a faster session. They found a willing host at a Welsh pub.

>> Andy: So, there’re not many Welsh themed bars in the world, I suspect. I would say Wales and in fact our pub, the Welsh Dragon, claims to be the only Welsh pub in the southern hemisphere. So, you know…

>> Ted: The motivation for starting that whole thing, like I’ve said, was this urge, this urge to get to play some of this music. But, also, for me, personally I’ve used that slow session as a way to learn new tunes. We learn a steady pace of new tunes and we’ve probably had well over 200 since we started. And as a result, you know, I’ve got a fair repertoire at this point. 

>> Andy: Yeah. At the time we were scheming all this, I retired from work and I decided my retirement project would be the fiddle. Which is about as stupid as you can get because it’s a lifetime’s work, and I don’t really have that long, because, you know, I’m pushing 70. So it’s been a struggle. But I’ve been able to go to the slow session. So, it’s been a great thing for me

>> Ted: Ok, now this was all going fine and swimmingly until about 8 weeks ago. 

>> Andy: Yeah.

>> Ted: At which point, the world and New Zealand slammed the door and that was the end.  And Covid came and we could have no more sessions, and we were sheltering in place.  And while this was all going on, the session players found some other things to do. And I think people have probably seen those things online where somebody will lay down a tune, and pass it around and you make a session out of it. But it’s a poor substitute.

>> Andy: It’s a poor substitute. Well it’s really a, well., it’s basically a recording project. And that magic and chemistry that happens when you’re sitting next to other people and their playing lifts you, and your playing hopefully lifts them. So here we’ve had a series of levels, alert levels. And we’re now at what’s called level 2, which means restaurants and bars can open again, but you can only have groups of 10.

>> Ted: That’s right. Since the pubs reopened, we are able to, starting tomorrow night, go back and have our first session now in probably nine weeks.

>> Andy: We can only have 10 people at the table. Of course, other people can be in the pub, but but they can’t be sitting at the table. We’re going to have to manage that for the time being. But…

>> Ted: ..we’re very excited to be able to get together and play again. 

>> Andy: So everybody who’s listening, I’m sorry you can’t book a flight and come to the sessions here, because our borders are closed for the time being. But at some point we’d all love, we’d love to hear people who are traveling around. Come and see us…

> >Ted: Absolutely…

[ Music: “The Banshee, Swinging on a Gate,” from Live at the Welsh Dragon
Artist: Wellington Slow Session ] 

>> Shannon: I’m happy to report that the first session back at the Welsh Dragon went well. All 10 seats were taken. Here’s a bit of the slow session…

(music swells, laughter)

I hope it continues to be fine in Wellington, and they can enjoy pre-pandemic style sessions, or create satisfying new normals.

For now, here in Medford, Massachusetts, my husband Matt and I will play tunes in our home and through virtual sessions, we’ll appreciate the truly global Irish music community.

[ Music: “Twins’ Dance Party / Sylvia’s & Mikey’s Reels,” from Raven
Composer: John Williams
Artists: John Williams & Dean Magraw ]

If friends and mentors hadn’t taught me Irish tunes and Irish music, this moment of social isolation would be pretty different for me. I might not have connected with a lot of you. I might have a different outlet, or no outlet, for expressing some of the anxiety and joys I’m experiencing right now. I might feel more alone, even with Matt and Nigel’s company here. Knowing that folks are in their homes playing some of these same tunes that I play, on their flutes and fiddles and guitars all over the world makes me feel hopeful. I think of people learning new tunes and revisiting old favorites at home. Maybe gaining some fresh insights. Or just feeling a deeper appreciation for Irish music, and for sharing it with all sorts of different people. I’m grateful for technology that allows for virtual sessions, and chats with musicians in Spain, Germany, Argentina, Finland, China, Brazil, Korea, the Philippines, New Zealand. I imagine a time when we can meet up again, and play tunes together, wherever in the world that might be.

Irish Music Stories was produced by me, Shannon Heaton. Thank you to Matt Heaton for the production music, to Nigel Heaton for acknowledging our sponsors, and to all my incredible guests this month. Thank you so much to this month’s supporters. And if you can kick in, please head to Irish Music Stories.org. And there you’ll also find playlists and lots more Irish Music Stories.