Sacred Harp in No Depression - and from Cork, too

In its '50 States of Folk' series, No Depression magazine posted on 21 Aug. an article by Kara Kundert entitled 'The Sacred Harp of Henagar, Alabama'. Though Kundert singles out Liberty Baptist Church in Henagar, Alabama, as an important centre, the article is a much more wide-ranging survey of Sacred Harp singing and serves well as a general introduction to this powerful genre.

Moreover, one of the videos embedded in the text shows 146 'Hallelujah' being sung at the second Ireland Sacred Harp Convention (3-4 March 2012). This can also be seen on YouTube, where it is one of the many videos on the Cork Sacred Harp YouTube channel. (The Cork Sacred Harp logo is shown above because it's neat; with no disrespect to the Sacred Harp communities in Belfast, Dublin, and Galway.)

A playlist of thirty-second samples of shape-note singing is appended to the article.

Cork Sacred Harp celebrates a decade with 10th Annual Convention, 29 Feb.-1 Mar. 2020

Thanks to Laurie Skelton of Cork Sacred Harp for this logo and press release (a fine introduction to Sacred Harp singing for those who are new to it):

Cork Sacred Harp will host the tenth annual Ireland Sacred Harp Singing Convention on 29 February through 1 March 2020 at St Maries of the Isle on Bishop St. in Cork city.

The Sacred Harp Singers of Cork have been meeting every week to sing melodies from the Sacred Harp for over a decade. Drop by the Unitarian Church on Princes Street any Thursday at 7.00 p.m. and, as you walk through the front door, you’ll be met with a booming chorus of voices singing a cappella 'shape-note' harmonies. Once inside, however, you may be surprised to find the number of people singing rarely matches the impressive sound heard from the street. In the centre of the room, somewhere between seven and fifteen people are seated in a small cluster of chairs arranged in a square formation. Here, the community is small and the voices are big.

Sacred Harp music isn’t your typical choral music and Sacred Harp singers aren’t your typical choral singers. The music itself uses a system of 'shape notes' — comprised of squares, triangles, circles, and diamonds—as an extra visual aid for reading music. When singing a song from the book, singers first 'sing the shapes' on the page as syllables before singing the song with the words. Singers are typically — though not required to be —untrained, and sing in their full voice. Some come to singing through generations of family tradition, while others simply fall into it.

Over the past ten years, the group gathering to sing every week in Cork has fluctuated, occasionally growing and occasionally shrinking. Sometimes twenty people show up. Sometimes four. But the spirit has never wavered and the singing has never stopped. And, no matter how small the group becomes, their numbers swell exponentially each year in March as hundreds of singers from all over the world show up to Cork for the annual Ireland Sacred Harp Convention — come rain or sleet or snow.

The Ireland Sacred Harp Convention is one of the largest in Europe and draws quite the crowd of shape-note singers from all across Europe and North America. The sound is impressive and the atmosphere is both warm and welcoming. Singing along is highly encouraged. To get a sense of what the music sounds like, you can find recordings from Cork Sacred Harp on YouTube and Bandcamp. For those interested in participating, all voices are welcome and no experience is necessary. More details are available on Facebook, on Meetup, and at corksacredharp.com.

Thurs. 27 Feb. 2020: 19.00–21.00, weekly singing in the Unitarian, Princes St., Cork
Fri. 28 Feb. 2020: 19.00–21.00, Singing School with Sadhbh O'Flynn in St Maries of the Isle, Bishop St., Cork
Sat. 29 Feb.-Sun. 1 Mar. 2020: 10.30–16.00, Tenth Ireland Convention in St Maries of the Isle, Bishop St., Cork (09.30-10.00; registration on both days)

Banjo instruction wanted in Cork city

Damian O'Connell in Cork would be glad to know of any 5-string banjo teachers in the city who would be interested in teaching a 50-year-old man who is an absolute beginner.

There are certainly several excellent 5-string players in Cork who would be fully capable of doing so. Would any who are prepared to give instruction please either let the BIB know, or contact Damian directly by e-mail?

Update 9 Apr.: See comment below from Betty Foley (no contact details), who would also be interested.

The Prairie Jaywalkers

Prairie Jaywalkers: (l-r) Kevin Gill, Geraldine Gill, Dave Riordan

Thanks to a BIB reader for awakening the BIB's conscience; we should long ago have featured the Prairie Jaywalkers of Cork city. Cork has been a hot spring of bluegrass and old-time music in this island for half a century, and the PJs (Kevin Gill, banjo, dobro; Geraldine Gill, rhythm guitar, lead vocals; Dave Riordan, mandolin) come from the deepest and hottest parts. A good basic bio can be found here, dating from 2016 (when they also played at the Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival). This year they will be headlining the Friday night concert at the 3rd Woodbine Bluegrass Jamboree (13-14 July) at Athy, Co. KIldare.

The Prairie Jaywalkers play on Sundays from c.6.00 p.m in 'Cork's House of Music', the Corner House, 7 Coburg St., Cork city (also on Facebook), and at other venues in the city.

Bluegrass at Bealtaine Festival in Cork

Mile Twelve at the Village Arts Centre, Kilworth, Co. Cork, 25 Apr.

Thanks to John Nyhan, indefatigable tour organiser, for this release on how one visiting band is contributing to cultural activity in Ireland. In addition to the library performances shown below, Mile Twelve's evening concerts are listed in the BIB calendar.

As part of the Bealtaine Festival - 'Ireland's Celebration of Creativity as we Age'; 'A Chance to Communicate Traditions Between the Generations' - Mile Twelve, the young bluegrass band from Boston, Massachusetts, who are currently on an Irish tour, will be performing in the following libraries:

Wed. 4th: Mallow Library, 3.30 p.m.
Thurs. 5th: Mitchelstown Library (11.00 a.m.) and Millstreet Library (3.00 p.m.)
Fri. 6th: Charleville Library (11.00 a.m.) and Kanturk Library (3.00 p.m.)
Sat. 7th: Rory Gallagher Music Library, Grand Parade, Cork city, 1.00 p.m.

Anyone who has heard (or not heard) bluegrass music played live, is in for a real treat if they attend any of Mile Twelve's performances in one of the above mentioned libraries.

Enquiries: tel. 087 7921771

Chris Twomey, pioneer of autoharp in Ireland

Niall Toner sends sad news, published earlier today on his own blog:

Today I lost a good friend. Chris Twomey passed away today. He had been ill for some time.

I first met Chris Twomey, the doyen of the autoharp, in Cork in 1966, when I was transferred to the southern capital by the Lyons Tea Company. I sang a few Woody Guthrie/Bill Monroe/Hank Williams songs during the interval at a Jim O'Donnell Folk Group concert, and Chris was in the audience. He introduced himself, and we became instant, and firm, life-long friends - forty-seven years in all. We began playing music together, with Chris playing his 'DAM-GUD' guitar, an ancient instrument he had restored himself, and along with Gary Cronin, we did our first gig in the Group Theatre, opposite the Beamish Brewery, and we called ourselves 'The Kinfolk'.

Shortly after that, we teamed up with Jim O'Donnell and his group, and became 'Paddy's Goatskin and String Band'. That conglomerate performed folk songs from just about every tradition, and Jim encouraged Chris and me to feature our American songs and tunes in what would have been the interval at each gig. Our repertoire was largely drawn from the songs of the Carter Family and the New Lost City Ramblers. After being joined by my brother Colm, we named our group the Lee Valley String Band, in honour of Chris's home place in Monard, right smack in the middle of the Lee Valley. We played two guitars and a mandolin, with one guitar capoed-up to replicate the high-strung sound of Mother Maybelle Carter's autoharp.

One day, while perusing the music shops of Cork (there were several back then), I spotted an old autoharp in a place on Oliver Plunkett Street, which, on enquiry, was priced at the princely sum of £6 (six pounds). I made the purchase and presented Chris with the instrument. About three weeks later he turned up for rehearsal and played the newly acquired instrument as though he'd owned one for years. Chris never looked back, and became a true master of the autoharp, as well as being no mean player of the guitar, concertina, and dulcimer, and a unique singer too.

Chris, you will be missed by all your pals and fans in the music. I just hope that Bill Monroe and Hank Williams have recruited you into their Heavenly Band.

Your friend, Niall

The photo, taken in 1966 by Moira Toner, shows Chris on guitar and Niall on 'tater-bug' mandolin in the back yard of Parnell Terrace, off Pouladuff Road, Cork. Chris's music can be heard on his CD Midnight on the water and with the Lee Valley String Band on CD and YouTube.

Update: Niall sends this link to Chris's death notice at RIP.ie. A funeral service will take place at the Island Crematorium, Ringaskiddy, at 3.30 p.m. on Wednesday 29 May: 'No flowers please, donation in lieu to a charity of your choice.'

New old-time session in Cork

The very lively scene in the Cork area has given rise to a new session on Thursday nights at Charlie's Bar, Union Quay, Cork city, with old-time songs and tunes from the Carter Family, Charlie Poole, etc., delivered by Chris Twomey (autoharp, guitar), and Mick Murphy (guitar, mandolin). There's no cover charge, and a good listening crowd.