The Goodman Trio performs a special collection of music that originated in the southwets of Ireland in the mid-nineteenth century at the beatiful Abbeystrewry Church in Skibbereen.
Wednesday, November 3, 2021 at 8:00 PM.
Father and daughter duo Mick O’Brien and Aoife Ní Bhriain join Emer Mayock to perform music from a very special collection of music which originated in the southwest of Ireland in the mid-nineteenth century. Collected by Canon James Goodman (1828-96), this music was sung and played in the years before traditional culture in that region was devastated by the Great Famine of the 1840s. The Rector of Abbeystrewry, Canon Goodman undertook the building of a new church in Skibbereen in 1890 and it is in this church that the Goodman Trio perform today’s concert.
“These melodies have been chosen and interpreted by some of the finest traditional musicians we have. They bring to life old music we haven’t known in a new and very beautiful way.” Martin Hayes
Meet the Artists
Father and daughter duo Mick O’Brien (uilleann pipes/flute/whistle) and Aoife Ní Bhriain (fiddle, viola, concertina) join Emer Mayock (flute/whistle/pipes to perform music collected by James Goodman (1828-96) in the southwest of Ireland in the mid-nineteenth century.
The manuscripts, held at Trinity College Dublin and now published in two volumes by the Irish Traditional Music Archive are of great significance because they preserve much of the traditional music of the south of Ireland as it was sung and played in the years before traditional culture there was devastated by the Great Famine of the 1840s.
Peter Browne of RTÉ Radio invited Mick O’Brien and Emer Mayock to take part in a documentary entitled Tunes of the Munster Pipers (named after Dr Hugh Shields’ edition of Goodman’s manuscripts), but it was only when Aoife Ní Bhriain joined in for a performance at the National Concert Hall in 2009 ‘that the musicians decided to explore the music further and to complete a recording entitled Tunes from the Goodman Manuscripts.
Having received a TG4 Gradam Ceoil Award in 2014 for their collaborative role in the revival of the music of the Goodman manuscripts, this recording marks a development in the trio’s musical approach, at times enlarging the instrumental palette and adding layers or paring things right back. The resulting sound is in places quite different from the previous recording having continued to develop through live performance for a number of years now.
Abbeystrewry Church
Abbeystrewry Church is in the centre of Skibbereen, the West Cork town which was one of the worst-affected areas in Ireland during the Great Famine. In 1867 James Goodman was appointed Rector of Abbeystrewry and Canon of Ross and in 1890 he undertook the building of a new church, to replace the original one which had been erected in 1827. Canon Goodman was a devotee of Irish music and played the flute and uillean pipes. He is remembered as one of the great collectors of the Irish music which was sung and played in the years before traditional culture there was devastated by the Great Famine of the 1840s. For the past twenty years, the popular Skibbereen Farmers Market has taken place in the Fair Field, alongside the Church.
Masters of Tradition runs until 17 November and features concerts filmed at beautiful locations in West Cork including the elegant mansion Bantry House, Future Forests and historic Abbeystrewry Church in Skibbereen.♦
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