Irish Music on Saint Patrick's Day

It's Saint Paddy's Day once again and for me it's always a time to pour a pint of holy water and reflect on our blessings as we watch the world crumble from compulsive lies. They say the Brits have grit and the Irish have heart yet the Irish have endured many hardships so they have.

Irish music is both happy and sorrowful. When we think of Irish music a few songs come to mind. The Town I loved so well about Derry. A Nation Once again and of course Erin go bragh Tiocfaidh ár lá. Am I allowed to say that?

Erin go bragh means Ireland Forever while Tiocfaidh ár lá means our day will come. A hopeful shout with faith in better days ahead. The Merry Ploughboy states I have always hated slavery since the day that I was born as have I. Then there's the Rhythm of Time by Bobby Sands.

There are never ending playlists of Irish music featuring the Irish drum called the bodhrán, the tin whistle and the fiddle. 

The violin is a magnificent instrument like the cello, double base and viola. They are all elegant and uplifting. Several years ago I heard someone refer to the violin as the fiddle and I shuddered. It sounded so diminishing. Yet the Irish fiddle is fun and feisty like hard shoe Irish dancing. 

The Irish drum is pretty much identical to the First Nations drum but when you change the way you hold and use the drumstick the sound and feel changes completely. 

It's the same way with the Irish fiddle. In Irish music the sound is different. It's like the difference between the Surrey Youth Orchestra and the Abbotsford Your Orchestra. My son played in both when he was young. 

The Surrey Youth Symphony were all technical masters, kicking ass on all these complicated classical compositions but they were traditional sitting in an orchestra. The Abbotsford Youth Symphony would move and dance like Lindsey Stirling. Both were magnificent but both were very different. One time the Abbotsford Youth Symphony play a waltz by Johann Strauss.

While they were doing that, they had a couple flowing across the floor doing a traditional waltz. It was stunning. After the performance I spoke with the couple and the woman said she used to remember her grandmother say she used to be able to dance x number of Strauss waltz without taking a break. 

Then it dawned on me. A Strauss waltz was meant to be danced. Sitting in the symphony is great but it's incomplete. It needs to be danced to be fully appreciated.

Lord of the Dance is another famous Irish hymn. It was originally about Christ. Michael Flatley changed that and made it all about him. Somewhat arrogant and pointless.

The harp usually sounds like elevator music but Loreena McKennitt makes the Celtic harp come alive. I saw her perform in Victoria many years ago. She wrote a powerful peace called Dante's Prayer after reading Dante's Inferno while on a train across Siberia. That's when I came up with Finian's Inferno itemizing the suffering and injustices I've seen in my travels. 

Her song makes me think of the hymn I feel the winds of God today only today I lower my sail and anchor in safe harbour. Right now the global injustices are overwhelming. Behind the dark clouds the sun is still shining but it's pretty hard to see it.