I lived in Dublin for most of the 70’s. I got to see all the great folk groups of the time, the Chieftains, Planxty, the Bothy Band, De Danaan and soon. It was a magical time to be in Ireland.
their playing what is called irish bouzouki . its like the greek only difference i think is mixed with lute & guitar too . greetings from a greek to the beautiful irish people . m my mind is here but my heart is up there . eire 4 evaaaaaaaaaa
this song reflects the beauty of much of Irish Literature and music .The instrumentation is brilliant and busy only adding to the sadness ,loss despair of the abandoned young woman .The last line of the song ,a devastating understatement ,like a line from Frank O Connor . Keep it up lads
Great tune, I love the way this song keeps a folk old world feel. Reminds me of the Lebanese music my Grand daddy listened to in that the vocal tunes are raised with the high pitch of the instruments creates a great harmony that sings to the soul Cheers from Canada
The instrumental tune at the end is east european (Bulgarian?). The instruments are a modern Irish variant of east european instruments. So, an intermediate step in the direction of the Lebanon.
Brilliant!! They just get better and better every time they play together! Thanks a million for posting this! Why-o- why-oh-why can one only award a maximum of 5 stars??????
I've listened to this so many times, I love it so much and the Balkan inspired instrumental. I can't get over it, I have gone so far as to try and learn it.
Fabulous musicians in peak form, who have played together regularly for thirty? years. The Blacksmith is one of my favorite songs from Planxty. This version is better. For me, this is one of the greatest performances of Celtic music anywhere. Thanks for adding this joy to my life.
@SpanneredSpoons It is a Bouzouki. I think it was Donal that first modified the bouzouki for their purposes. It could be called an Irish Bouzouki, for all I know. I just know it is one, but modified. If you look into the bio for Donal or Planxty, you might find the story.
@cdplaya0 It looks like Lunny's has a longer scale. Is there no term differentiation for this, or is Irvine's more in the Cittern family, albeit with 4 courses of strings instead of 5?