Yesterday, Irish musician Orla Fallon, formerly of Celtic Woman,
came to Erie to give a concert at Mercyhurst College. Before the main
event that evening, she went to the headquarters of WQLN, our local PBS
affiliate, to record a mini-concert in the lobby to promote the show.
While I couldn’t make it to the full-blown concert, my dad, grandma and I
attended this free show. It was the first event of this kind that any
of us had attended, which makes me wonder why we never went to anything
like it before. I suppose it just wasn’t on our radar.
There
wasn’t much room in the lobby, so a crowd of maybe 50 or so sat in neat
rows and munched on complimentary popcorn while we waited for the guest
of honor to arrive. She was a few minutes late, so WQLN personality Tom
New, who hosted the concert, kept us entertained with some goofy banter
that he continued with later as he interviewed her. The whole thing had a
very casual feel to it. Most of the people in attendance were retirees,
in large part, I imagine, because it was 2 in the afternoon. The crowd
was quiet but appreciative, especially once Orla and her fiddler, an
enthusiastic young Oregon native named Amberly Rosen, took their places.
Orla probably did more talking than singing, not that anyone
minded; her lilting voice has a wonderfully musical quality to it, and
she has a natural gift for storytelling. A former schoolteacher, she
discussed her appearance at an assembly at Northwest Pennsylvania
Collegiate Academy, a local high school, earlier in the day, and her
delight in addressing those students was evident. She described her tiny
hometown and her eventual decision to pursue music full-time, and she
and Amberly both talked about how the fiddler came to join her touring
group last Christmas.
She also gave some background on the songs
that she sang. As she built up her first song as a perpetual crowd
favorite, I suspected what it would be. However, I had never heard that
it was composed on a bus ride, an aspect she said adds to its magical
quality because it arrived as a gift. I also loved her introduction to
the second song, a ballad about a mermaid who is tricked into forgetting
the sea by a fisherman who is in love with her. What made this
especially neat was that while she was describing the mermaid’s renewed
longing for the ocean after she remembers her history, she pointed to my
grandma, who was wearing a sweatshirt featuring a picture of a seaside
lighthouse.
Orla Fallon is an accomplished harpist, and she
played the elegant instrument on all four songs. It was not the largest
harp I have ever seen, but its size was still impressive, and it was
mesmerizing to watch an expert play it from such a short distance away.
We sat in the second row, so we had an excellent view. There was no
stage, just a couple of microphone stands on the flat floor. However,
the harp rested upon a small pedestal. Her fingers gently plucked the
strings on each of the songs, and the harp and fiddle together created a
deeply satisfying sound.
The mermaid song was in Gaelic, and it
was followed by a purely instrumental tune. As far as I can recall, I’d
never heard either of these before. However, Isle of Innishfree, her opening song, has been one of my favorites since I first heard Joe Millar sing it at my first Irish Rovers
concert nearly two decades ago. It’s really the song that introduced me
to the flourishing tradition of Irish songs about longing for one’s
homeland. The gorgeous melody and the poignant lyrics have always had a
deep effect on me; only Ryan Kelly’s The Village That They Call the Moy
can compete in terms of emotional resonance. Orla’s clear, delicate
voice is an exceptional instrument for this song, particularly since, as
a musician who spends much of the year on the road in other countries,
she can no doubt relate to the feeling of homesickness.
The notion of separation runs deep in Irish music and is part of not only Innishfree but also the mermaid song and the final selection, a benediction of sorts called The Parting Glass. We just became familiar with that song this year thanks to the High Kings,
a traditional Irish group rather like Celtic Woman in that it is
primarily a PBS-based group. The song’s lyrics have a ring of permanence
about them; its reflection on a full life seems to be that of someone
not long for this world. However, it also makes a fitting finale for a
concert, particularly since many of those in the audience will only see
her live once. This song was especially lovely because Amberly provided
back-up harmonies, and her voice blends beautifully with Orla’s.
I
wish that we would have been able to go to the full concert, but I’m
glad that we made it to the PBS show, which had a deeply intimate feel
to it. Both women came across as very sweet and personable and were more
than happy to talk to those who cared to stick around for a few
minutes. Celtic Woman certainly lost an outstanding member when Orla
Fallon decided to branch out on her own, but her PBS set aptly
demonstrated her ability to carry a concert as a solo artist.
No comments:
Post a Comment