Feis Spe – We had a Great Night

 

The Backroom of McGrory’s of Culdaff provided the ideal setting for what was a great night of traditional music and song performed by young traditional musicians from the Inishowen Peninsula, Letterkenny and the Highlands of Scotland.

Fèis Spè has been providing traditional music tuition and performance opportunities for young people in Badenoch and Strathspey for the past 21 years. Each year a group of eight musicians is selected to participate in the Cairngorms Ceilidh Trail. This year Inishowen was included in their tour and provided the opportunity to meet and perform with Inishowen musicians and pupils of Ceol na Coille music school Letterkenny.  The concert was managed  by Roisin Mc Grory of the Inishowen Traditional Music Project and Paul Harrigan of Ceol na Coille. The young people spent a few very enjoyable days together, rehearsing and arranging their concert program, while making new friends and strengthening the links between Inishowen and Scotland.

Anthony Doogan, chairman of the Inishowen Traditional Music Project introduced the concert to a full house.

We were treated to top class performance and fine arrangements of dance tunes, airs and songs in Irish and English from the Inishowen and Letterkenny performers. All instruments used in Irish Music were on stage providing great variety of sound and lively performance.

Young performers from the “Ceolan School of Music Moville” under the leadership of Clodagh Warnock supported the concert with fine renditions of Slides Mazurkas and Polkas.

Our visitors entertained us admirably, beginning their performance with Strathspeys played in unison on two sets of Scottish small-pipes. Again, all of the traditional instruments were used to deliver fine dance music and airs from the  Highlands and with a couple of Irish Jigs thrown in for good measure. The songs in Scottish Gaelic and the “Mouth Music” were a real treat.

The last act  brought all performers on stage together, an action that didn’t seem to pose any problem for our sound wizard (and historian) Neil Mc Grory!

The final set was an Irish / Scottish set and included a very fine arrangement of the Scots Skinner tune “The Music of Spey”.

There’s no doubt that both performers and audience enjoyed themselves immensely in the relaxed surroundings of Mc Grory’s Backroom.

The Highland Exchange was supported by the “Colmcille Eire is Alba” programme.

Find out more at  http://www.colmcille.net

Learn more about Feis Spe at  http://www.feisspe.org.uk

Visit Ceol na Coille at   http://www.ceolnacoille.ie

Visit   http://www.mcgrorys.ie

Sign up for music classes at Ceolan School of Music Movlle.

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