Transcript of the above article (cover feature) in Folk Magazin (Germany) June / July 2017

Máire Ní Chathasaigh

By Gabriele Haefs

Vielleicht erinnern sich noch einige an den ersten Auftritt dieser großartigen Harfespielerin in Deutschland - oder eher die Auftritte. Es war nämlich 1978, im Rahmen des Irish Folk Festivals, das damals im Frühjahr stattfand. Sie war nicht allein, sondern gehörte der Gruppe Comhluadar an, und mit der ist sie auch auf der damals aufgenommenen LP (mit Cover von Gertrude Degenhardt!) und der viel später erschienenen Querschnitt-CD der ersten Jahre des IFF zu hören. Es war ihr erster Auftritt in Deutschland, aber nicht ihr letzter, wie sie erzählen kann: „Seit damals war ich immer so gern in Deutschland.” Später war sie mehrmals mit ihrem Partner Chris Newman beim IFF dabei, und mit ihm zusammen kann sie auch auf etliche Auftritte zwischen 1996 und 2008 zurückblicken.

Seit 1978 ist viel passiert, in Rezensionen wird sie heute bisweilen als „Doyenne des irischen Harfenspiels" bezeichnet. Doyenne klingt erst mal beeindruckend und beunruhigend zugleich - man denkt doch an eine furchterregende ältere Dame, so eine Art Mischung aus Agatha Christie und Margaret Rutherford als Miss Marple - und dann die fröhliche lachende Máire Ni Chathasaigh? Aber sie sieht das nicht so düster: 

„Es ist doch sehr nett, als Doyenne bezeichnet zu werden, eigentlich ist es eine Ehre, und vielleicht eine Anerkennung der Tatsache, dass ich als erste traditionelle irische Tanzmusik im korrekten Stil auf der Harfe gespielt habe. Damals war ich die Einzige, die das machte, aber inzwischen gibt es viele von uns.”

Die Frage ist natürlich, wie sie dazu gekommen ist, zur Musik, zur Harfe, zu allem. Und das lag an ihrem Elternhaus. Die Familie wohnte in der Nähe von Cork, und da gab es eine reiche Musikszene. Máire sagt dazu: „Meine Mutter war eine wunderbare Sängerin und spielte Harmonika - das tut sie übrigens noch immer, im Alter von 94! Bei uns zu Hause wurde deshalb immer gesungen, angeblich konnten wir Kinder erst singen und danach dann laufen. Meine Mutter wusste eben, wie man Prioritäten setzt! Eine meiner frühesten Erinnerungen ist, dass ich für meine Oma, The Star of the County Down' gesungen habe, da war ich so um die zwei. Meine Eltern haben damals alles Geld, was sie übrig hatten, für Musikinstrumente und Musikunterricht ausgegeben. Was immer wir spielen und lernen wollten, durften wir lernen.” Aber warum Harfe, damals eher ein mit klassischen Konzerten assoziiertes Instrument und zudem arg teuer? Das scheint ihr im Blut gelegen zu haben. „Offenbar wollte ich immer schon Harfe spielen, und als sie dann bei einem Ausverkauf in einem Musikgeschäft in Cork eine Harfe entdeckten, haben sie die für mich gekauft. Da war ich elf. Mit sechs hatte ich Klavier gelernt und Geige mit zehn.

Meine Schwester Nollaig und ich fingen gleichzeitig mit Geige an, gleichzeitig mit Harfe und dann später gleichzeitig mit Tin Whistle. Aber mein Lieblingsinstrument war die Harfe und ihres die Geige, und wir haben dann so richtig professionell zusammen gespielt. Unsere Schwester Mairéad spielt Geige und Harfe, und wir alle drei eben Whistle..."

Jetzt sind die Schwestern erwähnt worden, Nollaig Casey (die die englische Variante des Nachnamens benutzt) und Mairéad und Máire Ní Chathasaigh haben 2015 zusammen die CD „Sibling Revelry" herausgebracht. Sie spielen alle drei zusammen, klar, und jede singt ein Lied. Singen können sie nämlich auch, diese Familie ist wirklich beneidenswert hoch begabt. Im FM wurde die CD gewaltig gelobt, aber nicht nur hier. Natürlich darf nun die Frage nach weiteren CD-Plänen nicht ausbleiben. „Sibling Revelry war so eine persönliche CD für uns, und dass sie so gut aufgenommen worden ist, bedeutet uns wirklich sehr viel." Aber wann es eine neue Produktion der drei Schwestern gibt, steht noch längst nicht fest. Mit Chris Newman allerdings ist eine CD halb fertig, und Máire hat ungefähr zwei Drittel einer Solo-CD eingespielt. Wir werden berichten!

Neben ihren CDs (und da gibt es Solo-Produktionen und solche mit anderen zusammen) hat Máire Ní Chathasaigh zwei Bücher mit Harfenmusik veröffentlicht. Das erste erschien 1991 und enthielt mehrere für die Harfe arrangierte Stücke irischer Tanzmusik, mit sehr detaillierten Anweisungen für Griffe und Rhythmus, die ein Spielen im authentischen Stil ermöglichen sollten. „Es war das erste Buch dieser Art, das je veröffentlicht wurde. Mein zweites Buch hatte dann vierundzwanzig Arrangements von Kompositionen von Turlough O’Carolan. Ich habe eigentlich genug Material für drei weitere Bücher, aber ich habe sie noch nicht einmal in irgendeine brauchbare Reihenfolge gebracht. Ich hoffe, ich werde in diesem Jahr die Zeit dazu finden." Hm. Klingt nicht gut, wo derzeit alle Welt Kriminalromane schreibt, wäre da nicht ein Harfenkrimi wunderbar? Máire lacht, ihr fehlt die Zeit, es gibt noch keine Pläne für den großen Harfenroman des 21. Jahrhunderts.

Neben der Musik ist in ihrem Leben die irische Sprache wichtig, eine Sprache, in der sie viele Lieder singt. Dieser Sprache gehört ihre Liebe, so sehr wie der Musik. „Sie ist ein Teil meiner Identität, ein Teil meiner Seele. Es ist eine wunderschöne, vielseitige und ausdrucksstarke Sprache, die ich sehr liebe. Ich bin zwei-sprachig aufgewachsen, und das betrachte ich als großes Geschenk. Alle zweisprachigen Menschen wissen aus eigener Erfahrung, dass jede Sprache ihre ganz eigene Art zu denken hervorruft. Deshalb sollten sich meiner Ansicht nach alle vernünftigen Menschen überall um das Überleben von gefährdeten Sprachen ebenso sorgen wie um das von gefährdeten Arten."

Und endlich bleibt die Frage nicht aus, wie sie damals zu Comhluadar geriet. Ganz einfach, durch einen Telefonan-ruf. „Ganz unerwartet rief mich Pádraig O Carra an und fragte, ob ich mit Comhluadar auf Tour gehen wollte, da ihre bisherige Harfnerin verhindert war. Ich war damals noch sehr jung, und die Tour hat mir wirklich die Augen geöffnet. Pádraig war einfach ein reizender Mann, und er hat dafür gesorgt, dass ich mich in den Band sehr wohl gefühlt habe. Bei der Tour war auch Mairtín O'Connor vorübergehend dabei - es war wunderbar, mit den beiden zu spielen. Ich bin damals zum ersten Mal vor tausenden von Menschen aufgetreten, und das war doch eine umwerfende Erfahrung.” Dass sie immer sehr gern in Deutschland ist, hat sie schon gesagt, sie sagt es wieder und fügt hinzu: „Wir können es gar aufzutreten. Wir hoffen, dass es bald so weit sein wird."

Also ihr Veranstalter, gebt euch mal einen Ruck!

Infos über Tourdaten, die CDS usw. auf der Website!

http://www.mairenichathasaigh.com/aboutmaire.html

Interview with Máire for Listen to the World, a program of the Sacred Bridge Foundation, Jakarta,  Indonesia

Máire Ní Chathasaigh: The Harp’s Desire

Being called “Virtuosic, fascinating, dramatic, original, inspired, gloriously adventurous, dazzling, brilliant, stunning, impassioned, electrifying, bewitching, moving, achingly beautiful, influential, revered, unique...” by well-respected media such as The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Irish Times, The Scotsman, and Folk Roots, or “the most interesting and original player of the Irish harp today” by the late Derek Bell—Northern Irish harpist virtuoso—should already speak enough of a musician. Máire Ni Chathasaigh is certainly one of Ireland’s most influential harpers of our time.

Born 1956 in Cork City, Ireland, Máire was familiar with and interested in music since a very young age. She started from playing the piano at the age of six, the violin when she was ten, and finally the harp at the age of eleven. And having a self-conviction as a full-time professional harper in times like now—instead of any other ‘popular’ instrument—has certainly made her a true artist. She also has earned recognitions such as won a first prize in All-Ireland and Pan-Celtic Harp Competitions on a number of occasions, and received Irish music's most prestigious award, that of Traditional Musician of the Year - Gradam Cheoil TG4 - "for the excellence and pioneering force of her music, the remarkable growth she has brought to the music of the harp and for the positive influence she has had on the young generation of harpers” in 2001.

Now once again, we are proudly pleased to present you this interview session with one remarkable musician, yet a very humble woman.

LTTW: First of all, we’d like to know a bit of your background. At what age did you get interested in (playing) music? And at what age do you decide that music is your thing?

Máire: I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t interested in music. My mother tells me that I could sing before I could walk! I’ve therefore been singing since I was tiny. I started to play the piano when I was six, the violin when I was ten and the harp when I was eleven.

When at school, I was interested in everything and studied as wide a range of subjects as I possibly could. I was very fortunate that the school facilitated this, as Irish schools these days would be far too concerned with the accumulation of the maximum number of points towards university entrance to allow me to get such a broad exposure to so many diverse disciplines. I was accepted into the Medical School in University College Cork, but changed my mind on the day of registration when I realised that medical studies would leave very little time for playing music! I decided upon Celtic Studies – the study of Irish, Welsh and early Irish history – instead. After completion of a post-graduate teaching diploma, I embarked on a music degree, but after one year of this my parents “suggested” that I might like to get a job! I taught in a second-level school for three years, during which time I became convinced that the creative life was for me not a choice but a necessity. I therefore resigned from what was a very well-paid position and embarked on the insecure but rewarding career of a professional musician.

Where did you have your musical training?

I was fortunate to grow up playing both traditional Irish music and classical music in parallel – it has been a great advantage in life to have the ability both to learn by ear and to sight-read. My earliest musical training was provided by my mother. Traditional music education was provided within the family and through membership of the Cork Pipers’ Club. Classical music education on piano was provided by a private teacher, followed by teaching in the Cork Municipal School of Music. Good harp teaching was very hard to find outside of Dublin at that time, so I had to make do with rudimentary teaching from a lady who taught singing to harp accompaniment. I wanted to be able to play traditional Irish dance music on the harp – tunes that I had been playing on the tin whistle and fiddle – so during my teens I developed the special techniques necessary to perform it in an authentic-sounding style, which I still use to this day. I didn’t get “proper” harp tuition until I was 21, when a wonderful pedal harpist called Denise Kelly came to Cork to teach at the SchoolMusic. The great grounding which she gave me in classical harping enabled me to refine and polish my approach to the traditional music I really wanted to play of.

OK, now in the subject of Celtic music; Celtic music is found in many areas across Europe, from Spain, France, England, Wales, Scotland to Ireland. What is the common denominator(s) among them, and what are the unique features of each?

Linguistically, the Celtic languages can be divided into two branches: P-Celtic and Q-Celtic. The languages currently spoken in Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland, and in the past in the Isle of Man, belong to the Q-Celtic branch and are closely related. Welsh, Cornish and Breton belong to the P-Celtic branch and are closely related. Though there would be no mutual comprehension between the speakers of Irish and Welsh, for example, the languages when examined are similar in grammar and syntax. The civilisation of medieval Wales was however similar to that of Ireland in social organisation, literature, myth and legend and in the primacy of the harp in musical expression.

Irish and Scottish musical traditions are closely related, but are very different to Welsh, Cornish and Breton musical traditions – certainly in the form in which they’ve survived into modern times. There are no obvious common denominators.

So, strictly speaking, one can speak of Pan-Celtic language, culture, civilisation, art – but not of a Pan-Celtic musical language. In the music market, Celtic is one of the most well-known among the world’s roots music with Latin and African as perhaps the main “competitors”. How do you think Celtic music reaches that level in the world?

Even though “Celtic” is not a good or accurate label artistically or historically, as a commercial construct it has been inspired! It’s the best marketing wheeze ever thought up by a record company.

What does Celtic music means to its people? And what does it mean to you personally?

I can only talk about Irish music, which is immensely important to Irish people and intimately bound up with our sense of self. It is hugely important to me personally and is the conduit through which I choose to express myself artistically.

What kind of influence and/or contribution do you think that Celtic music has given to the world of music?

It has a special aesthetic that even in diluted form sparks the imagination of so many people. Musical languages, like languages, encapsulate and represent the spirit of a people and the greater the number of them that flourish, the more they enrich us all. It’s fascinating to see how our particular musical language has moved from a peripheral and endangered position to a prominent one. I’m sure practitioners of currently obscure forms of music will be heartened by this and will be emboldened to introduce themselves to the wider musical world…

There are quite a few women in Celtic music, but only a handful playing the Celtic Harp that includes you of course. Why is that? What made you decide to take on the harp?

My mother tells me that I’d always wanted to play the harp (though I have no recollection of this), so therefore they bought me one when the opportunity arose. I was eleven at the time. There are now lots of female harpers in Ireland, but only a handful who play professionally.

How different is the Celtic harp compare to other harps, physically? Does it require specific playing techniques as well?

There isn’t really such a thing as a Celtic Harp, historically speaking. A very specific type of harp – usually referred to as the Ancient Irish Harp - was played in Ireland and Scotland for over a thousand years, until the beginning of the nineteenth century. It had several unique features: its forepillar had a pronounced curve and was T-shaped in section; its soundbox was hollowed out of one piece of solid willow attached to a soundboard; it was strung with brass and played with long nails; it was held on the left shoulder; the melody was played with the left hand and the accompaniment with the right; since it was very reverberant, the harpers used very complex stopping techniques to shape phrases. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, this harp was replaced by what is often called the Neo-Irish Harp. This looked superficially like the old Irish harp in that it had a curved forepillar, but it was constructed in a modern manner and played with the pads of the fingers and is the harp, with the addition of modern refinements, that we still play today. It is the harp people normally mean when they refer to the Celtic Harp.

The Welsh harp, by contrast, was always physically very different, and still is so today, though it too was played on the left shoulder.

The Irish/Scottish harp in itself does not require specific performance techniques. However, the stylistically correct performance of Irish dance music does require the use of specific techniques. The techniques I developed for this purpose in the 1970s – there had hitherto been no tradition of dance music performance on the Irish harp - have since then been widely adopted and adapted.

Music in general has transformed into a subject that is merely treated as entertaining and income generating activity. Its other roles and functions, along with its ritual side, continue to disappear. Does this happen to Celtic music as well? Shall musicians and societies accept this change as the future way of looking at music?

Traditional Irish music’s “other roles and functions, along with its ritual side” do seem to be “continuing to disappear”. A number of older musicians in Ireland feel despondent about this change, which from their point of view dates from the creation of the “Celtic Music” marketing brand and the subsumation of Irish music into that. I am much more optimistic, however. I know from personal experience that it is possible to be a professional musician (i.e., “entertain and generate income”) and be true to oneself artistically. It’s unfortunately the case that many musicians for whom commercial success is of over-riding importance do abandon any ambition to touch the heart – with the result that music which is heavily hyped and expensively marketed tends so often to lack soul. But I have a lot of faith in people’s capacity to be moved by music and am constantly amazed by it. Music is the most abstract of all art forms, while at the same time being the most emotionally transfixing. I know that certain 17th century Irish harp airs have the capacity to pierce the heart of the most unpromising audience. Such moments can’t be faked or forced and are what make performance so endlessly rewarding.

We must never accept the commodification of music. As artists we must make common cause with and draw strength from others with the same ethic and world view - and remember that the environmental movement was once considered to be hopelessly romantic and impractical!

Fame and fortune also seem to replace passion as the instrument in measuring the “success” of an artist. How do you reply to this matter?

To me, passion is all-important.

How do the young in UK perceives and (un)appreciates Celtic music?

The young in England are generally speaking uninterested in Celtic music. Large numbers of older people like it very much, I’m happy to say, as our concerts in England are usually very well-attended! They are however perhaps not so emotionally attached to it, as England is not a Celtic country. A good percentage of the young in Celtic countries like Scotland and Ireland are very interested and engaged with the music.

Roots music such as Celtic is very much associated with acoustic instruments. Do the growing use of electric instruments and digitalization affect the acoustic features of Celtic music?

I don’t think that the use of electric instruments in any way affects the essence of the music. The equating of “acoustic” with “authentic” is to me a complete red herring. I myself use an electro-acoustic Camac harp in my duo performances with Chris – the harp sounds the same as it does acoustically, only louder! An instrument is just a vehicle which conveys musical thought and feeling and the fetishisation of its acoustic properties by those I dub “acoustic fundamentalists” is to me simply wrong-headed, and largely to miss the point of music…

You have travelled distances to perform, and have had many chances in getting acquainted with music of other cultures. Are there any of them that inspire or impress you more than the others? And why?

Even the most cheerful Irish music often has a melancholy undertow: I love this duality of mood in music, so am naturally attracted to other music which shares these characteristics – Swedish, Old-Time American, Eastern European, Middle- and Far-Eastern… Traditional African music has a gentle, limpid quality that is immensely attractive.

Who influence and/or inspire you the most, and why them?

So many things inspire me – not just music, but poetry, art… I’ve always been drawn to the music of Bach: so intricate and perfectly balanced. In terms of traditional music, I’ve always loved the singing of Máire Áine Nic Dhonncha (d.1991) and the piping of Willie Clancy (d. 1973): their music is endlessly subtle and creative.

Did you have a dream(s) that you have lived it? Anymore is yet you would like to live in?

I have many dreams!

It’s great that you still remember Sacred Ryhthm Festival at the Nijo Castle in Kyoto. Would you join again if Sacred Bridge Foundation organized another cultural event?

Absolutely! We would love to take part in another such cultural event! Our trip to Kyoto was extraordinarily memorable, from so many different points of view…

Any messages you would like to say to the audience?

Trust your instincts. Don’t allow marketing men to convince you that black is white: beauty in music is life-enhancing and its absence saps the spirit.

…And any words of wisdom for Listen To The World?

No words of wisdom, I’m afraid! I will simply say that I love Listen to the World’s ethos and its ambition to present the real, the true and the beautiful in music.

(The above interview is accessible at http://www.listentotheworld.net/interviews/maire-ni-chathasaigh-harps-desire/

Transcript of feature about Máire and Chris in The Irish Examiner, 19 September 1996.

Traditional limitations are ignored: Classy twin act hits a high note

Light and shade ... Máire Ní Chathasaigh and Chris Newman explore new music territory with unusual pairing of harp and guitar.

by Pat Aherne: Between the Jigs and the Reels

FIRST, lest there be any further confusion, Máire Ní Chathasaigh is the same person as

Miriam Casey, harp player extraordinaire from Bandon.

Generally known as Miriam when she lived in Cork, she has used the Irish form throughout her professional career, hence the occasional bafflement.

It was difficult to avoid Máire/Miriam on RTÉ television last Sunday night. She appeared not once, but twice: on the promising new traditional music series, The High Reel (both solo and in duet with her sister Nollaig/Noelle on fiddle), and, later, Cursaí Ealaíne with the English guitarist, Chris Newman.

Together, Máire and Chris have created a new existence for the unusual pairing of harp and guitar. Their music is firmly based in the Irish tradition, with a particular emphasis on Turlough O'Carolan, but it encompasses influences that range from classical through jazz to bluegrass. Both have ignored the conventional limitations placed on their instruments and have explored fresh and exciting paths, often developing new techniques in order to achieve their goals.

Máire and Chris are a classy double act whose music, for all its subtlety and elegance, lacks nothing in power. Their back catalogue is impressive: The Living Wood, The Carolan Album, Out of Court and last year's Live in the Highlands all give evidence of their extraordinary virtuosity. However, they know better than to confuse virtuosity with musicality. There is a sure-footed confidence, bordering on bravado, even in the most technically demanding passages.

Máire Ní Chathasaigh and Chris Newman are at present in the middle of an Irish tour. The remaining dates are:Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann Theatre, Monkstown, Co. Dublin, 8 pm, Tuesday September 24; Triskel Arts Centre, Cork, 8 pm, Wednesday September 25; Ulster Canal Stores, Clones, Co. Monaghan, 8.30 pm, Thursday 26 September; Clifden Community Arts Week, Clifden, Co. Galway, 8.30 pm, Friday September 27; and Ballymena Arts Festival, Ballymena, Co. Antrim, 7.30 pm, Saturday September 28.

Transcript of feature / interview in The Irish Examiner, 11 January 1996

The traditional harp on the net: String stars Maire Ni Chathasaigh and Chris Newman

Between the jigs and the reels with Diarmuid O'Flynn

HARPIST Máire Ní Chathasaigh, or Miriam Casey as she is better known [in Cork], is strongly independent woman with persuasive and considered views on traditional music and, in particular, on her instrument, the harp.

Growing up in Bandon in the '60s and '70s as part of a musical family, she faced both the taunts of 'diddly-aye-diddy' from local youngsters and an awkward instrument that carried with it an array of cultural baggage.

In the context of the time, the harp was associated with Bunratty banquets, Kathleen Watkins and Mary O'Hara - a ladylike, if dull, accompaniment to ladylike, if dull, songs.

From the time she started, however, Máire was determined to play traditional dance tunes, rather than bland accompaniments.

“There was nobody to copy," she says. "Nobody was doing it at the time. I had to develop a technique from scratch. Every instrument uses different techniques to produce the same effect. The whole point is to create the 'aural illusion' that the effect is the same.

By the end of her teens the method had taken shape.

"I had an idealistic view of wanting to create a new tradition for the harp in Ireland. The only way you can do that is to teach people and not just teach by rote, not just ‘this is what you do’, but ‘this why is you're doing it’ she says.

For many, the absence of any reference to Máire Ní Chathasaigh was a glaring omission in the episode of ‘A River of Sound’ dealing with the harp. Indeed, the impression was given that the playing of instrumental traditional music on the harp was a recent development, evolved by players such as Laoise Kelly. For someone such as Máire, who has always shared her knowledge and techniques generously, this lack of acknowledgement must have been galling.

Máire's 1986 solo album ‘The New Strung Harp', was a collection of tunes she had played for some time. "I should have done it years before. But the attitude - I'll be better next year' - is a stupid kind of perfectionism. You feel that ‘this is my defining statement’, but, in fact, it's like a chapter in your life."

The following year saw the opening of a new chapter and a particularly fruitful collaboration with English guitarist, Chris Newman. Together, they developed a highly attractive blend of harp and guitar, based on traditional Irish music but with influences ranging from classical to jazz.

"Outside Ireland,” says Máire, "people have completely open minds about harp and guitar. The first time they come out of interest: the second time, they bring their friends."

It's difficult for some, particularly within Ireland, to accept that it is possible to travel the world, as Máire and Chris do, filling concert halls, rather than playing background music in restaurants.

Máire and Chris have released four albums together to date, the most recent ‘Live in the

Highlands’ (OBMCD08, distributed in Ireland by Claddagh Records) was recorded during a tour that took in Inverness and the Western Isles of Skye, Harris, Benbeculla and Mull. This gave them the opportunity to present their live set in intimate surroundings, with the added bonus that the recording equipment could safely be left in the car overnight.

The result is a warm and thoroughly accomplished album that balances virtuosity with a deep respect for the music.

Traditional musicians, generally, do not analyse their craft in any great detail, and some, almost superstitiously, have a fear that such an exercise would rob their music of much of its magic. Máire, on the other hand, believes that it’s most important that traditional music is explained properly.

She explains the differences between classical music - which she describes as “a misnomer, a catch-all covering phrase many different types and styles of music” - and traditional music by drawing on an analogy from the visual arts.

"Beethoven and the Romantic composers of the 19th century and, later, Mahler, composed landscape paintings with bold, broad strokes on a huge canvas; traditional music is more like a miniature painting”, she says.

"If you think of the broad strokes in classical music as macrodynamics, then the dynamics in traditional music are microdynamics - everything happens on a very small scale. Subtlety is highly prized in traditional music. There is something deep in the Irish psyche, in our way of expressing ourselves, that values subtlety in every art form."

When Máire started, she was alone, now hundreds of harpists in Ireland use the techniques she invented.

That is an extraordinary legacy.