Guest Peter Laban Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 News is coming through of the death of Ennis concertinaplayer Sonny Murray, which occurred on Saturday November 14th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Chambers Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 I'm sorry to hear it, the old players are getting very thin on the ground these days - they're all gone in your photo now. Last time I saw Sonny, he was playing at Bunratty Folk Park, and I think Dympna O'Sullivan was with him... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peter Laban Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 Yes the last of those three gentlemen. Dympna took Kitty to see Sonny every now and again, they had great nights in Ennis. I was supposed to come along at some point to take pictures but that never happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Chambers Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 I was supposed to come along at some point to take pictures but that never happened. Life is full of regrets... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_mchale Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 Each generation leaves its mark. The playing of this generation will be echoed in the playing of the next just as our playing echoes the playing of the last. Thus when the old greats pass on, we can hope that part of them will remain with us... At least, I hope so. -- Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael sam wild Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 They gave us roots and wings. RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 Each generation leaves its mark. The playing of this generation will be echoed in the playing of the next just as our playing echoes the playing of the last. Thus when the old greats pass on, we can hope that part of them will remain with us... Soon enough, our own time will come to pass on... so now it's our turn to pass it on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawrence Reeves Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 Has there ever been a biography of any type associated with these great players? I personally enjoy learning about the player's life and influences. Who they may have listened to and learned from when they started out, what the in vogue tunes for dances would have been, or reflections on their perception of the current state of traditional music. I would imagine that Clare, or the archives in Dublin have folklorist / ethnomusicologists that capture interviews with these players( we have it here in Florida), and that it is a public record open for the reading/ listening of somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peter Laban Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 I would imagine that Clare, or the archives in Dublin have folklorist / ethnomusicologists that capture interviews with these players( we have it here in Florida), and that it is a public record open for the reading/ listening of somewhere.[/quote] I think you may be a bit optimistic about how things work in Ireland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Worrall Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 (edited) Has there ever been a biography of any type associated with these great players? I personally enjoy learning about the player's life and influences. Who they may have listened to and learned from when they started out, what the in vogue tunes for dances would have been, or reflections on their perception of the current state of traditional music. I would imagine that Clare, or the archives in Dublin have folklorist / ethnomusicologists that capture interviews with these players( we have it here in Florida), and that it is a public record open for the reading/ listening of somewhere. Lawrence, The very best that there is out there at present is Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin's 1990 PhD thesis at Queens U Belfast. It is an amazing 2 volume work with interviews of perhaps a score of old players; if I am not mistaken, Sonny Murray is one of them. There is a copy of that work at the Irish Traditional Music Archive in Dublin. I think there is also a copy at Brown U's library in the States, but they won't let it out on interlibrary loan. With Gearóid's blessing I have drawn some nice quotes out of his interviews there for my History of the Anglo, which is getting close to being out (looks now like January). I asked Gearóid recently whether he will ever publish his thesis--he definitely should--and he replied "someday." I doubt that will be soon! By the way, he has moved to Montreal. Many thanks, Peter, for posting this notice. I met Sonny only once, about 25 years ago. He was a true gentleman and had a very nice touch on the concertina. There are so few of his generation left now. Dan Edited November 19, 2009 by Dan Worrall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Reid Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 A remembrance of Sonny Murray is now up on the Comhaltas web site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now