Two launches of a new book on the life and music of Chris Droney

[Dan Worrall]

Hi all,

 

As promised, here is some information on the release of a new book about the life and music of Chris Droney. Some on this site managed to get a draft pre-release copy when the publisher – Gary Coover – left it on Amazon's sales site for a few minutes too long when we were making some check prints! Amazing the global speed of the internet.

 

The book is Chris Droney of Bell Harbour and the Tradition of the Concertina in North Clare, by Dan Worrall and Jarrett Branch, with a Foreword by Ann Droney Kirrane. It includes a biography of Chris as well as of his father and grandfather, a tutorial with imbedded recordings of the Droney playing style, and careful transcriptions of over 130 of Chris’s recorded tunes as he played them. The project was a real labor of love, and was put together with the kind assistance of Ann Kirrane and her brother Francis Droney.

 

The book will have two launches before it is released for online and brick-and-mortar sales: a limited launch in East Texas in March, and the main launch in County Clare in April.

  

This year’s Palestine Old Time Music and Dulcimer Festival (www.oldpalmusic.com ) occurs March 23-25 in Palestine, a small town in East Texas. The concertina workshop – a part of the larger old time music festival - has occurred every year (excepting Covid!) since 2004. This year the plan is 1) for workshops by Gary Coover (visiting from Honolulu) on playing the Anglo concertina in the harmonic style, on playing for sea shanties, and one workshop for English concertina.  Gary has published several fabulous new books this year, among them The Anglo Concertina Music of Phil Ham (by Gary), and Anglo Concertina from Beginner to Master by Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne, both in the harmonic style. Gary will use excerpts from them, along with his own tutor, Easy Anglo 1-2-3, in his concertina workshops. 2) Dan Worrall and Jarrett Branch will hold two workshops on the Droney/north Clare Anglo concertina style, as well as a complete beginner’s workshop on that style, all utilizing transcriptions from the new Chris Droney book. Old Pal will constitute a limited book launch of it, with copies available at half price for those who attend and place an order in advance for delivery at the festival. Gary’s new books will likewise be available to attendees at half price. No worries, one needn’t purchase any of these, as sheet music will be available for those confirming attendance in advance via email. Please send Dan and/or Gary a message via this website for more information if interested in attending!

 

The formal launch of this new book on Chris Droney will occur at the 2023 Consairtín (www.consairtin.ie) in Ennis, County Clare the following month (April 13-16). The opening night of Consairtín will kick off with music by Ernestine Healy, followed by the new book’s launch and a celebration of the life and musicianship of Chris Droney. Music and set dancing will be provided for that opening event by the Droney family, including Ann Kirrane and her brother Francis Droney along with musical family and friends, as well as Dan and Jarrett, who will briefly discuss parts of the book in between music segments. The full schedule is available at the Consairtín website. Book copies will be available or purchase at Consairtín, and afterwards will be available for online purchase and at some brick and mortar outlets.

 

So please do join us at either at Palestine or at Consairtín! It will be great to see you all, and to reminisce about one of the great concertina players of Ireland.

 

Edited January 22, 2023 by Dan Worrall

[Stephen Chambers]

1 hour ago, Dan Worrall said:

The formal launch of this new book on Chris Droney will occur at the 2023 Consairtín (www.consairtin.ie) in Ennis, County Clare the following month (April 13-16).

 

See you in Ennis Dan, it's been too long!

 

[Dan Worrall]

On 1/21/2023 at 1:29 PM, Stephen Chambers said:

 

See you in Ennis Dan, it's been too long!

 

Indeed it has, Stephen!

[Keith Trobe]

When will the book be available to buy in the UK?

 

[Dan Worrall]

8 hours ago, Keith Trobe said:

When will the book be available to buy in the UK?

 

I think Rollston Press will make it available on Amazon on April 13, the day of the book launch; Amazon prints in both the UK and the US. I know that Gary is sending some copies to Red Cow Music about that same time, so they should be available there in the UK. 

[Joe G.]

Dan, were there many editorial changes after the premature copies escaped from Amazon? I haven't noticed anything in mine that would have called for editing, but I'm curious. I look forward to meeting you at Consairtín.

 

 

[Dan Worrall]

Joe,

 

Yes, there were some changes....the wait was good so that we could shake them out. Some blown key signatures, missing repeats....minor stuff. And a few cosmetics. Authors are always their own worst critics, and I am no exception....but perfection is of course something for the next world. At Consairtin they will be sold at a quite heavy discount - we want to get them in people's hands - so your might find it cheap enough to upgrade!

 

Looking forward to meeting you there.

 

All the best,

Dan

[Peter Laban]

The launch night in Ennis was very pleasant, lovely music by the Droneys, family and friends.

Haven't had much time to look at the book in detail but first impression is a positive one. Kudos to all involved

 

Three wise monkeys, Edgely, Branch, & Worrall:

 

 

Brought back memories of the man himself:

 

Inside Crotty's, Kilrush, with Mick Mulcahy.  1997

Edited April 14, 2023 by Peter Laban

[Peter Laban]

Having spent a bit more time with the book I must say I love it,  a great contribution to the music of North Clare and a great tribute to Chris and his music.

My inner pedant spotted some minor oversights in the notes to the tunes, all of them wood for the trees issues, insignificant so never mind those. 

There's one thing bugging me, though:  the claim Séamus Ennis composed the Cuckoo hornpipe. This is easily laid to rest when welisten to Michael Coleman's recording of the tune, as Murray's fancy. It was made in the spring of 1921, when Ennis was barely two years old.

 

Edited April 17, 2023 by Peter Laban

[gcoover]

Thanks, Peter, I shall pass this info along to Dan and we can easily make any updates - the beauty of print-on-demand publishing. Lovely photos, thanks for posting!

 

Now that the official launch is over, the Droney book is available worldwide on Amazon in paperback, and perhaps soon through retailers like Custy's Traditional Music Shop and McNeela Music in Ireland, and Red Cow Music in the UK.

 

No word yet on a Kindle edition, but I have suggested it to Dan. Perhaps in a few weeks or months.

 

Gary

 

 

Edited April 17, 2023 by gcoover

[Dan Worrall]

Thanks for the kind words, Peter. Mea culpa on the Cuckoo; I was led astray on the internet! I’m sure it won’t be the last gremlin found…perfection is not for this life, at least for me. I’ll fix it, and also add a few more old photos of the Droneys during threshing….they didn’t surface until I put together the slide show for the event.

 

Consairtin was a thoroughly wonderful event; lots of great music, and I met many old and new friends. My only regret is that I didn’t meet up with you there. I don’t know what you look like! So if you are at Kilfenora this weekend and our paths cross, please step forward!

Here is a photo of myself and Jarrett Branch with Ann Kirrane and our book.

cheers

Dan

 

ps thanks for posting the photo of the ‘three monkeys.’ I guess we have arrived, so to speak, since we’ve been photographed by Peter Laban!

Edited April 18, 2023 by Dan Worrall

[Peter Laban]

Just as a means to bump this thread to the top and for anybody into that sort of thing: I just got myself a copy, fresh off the press, of Helen O'Shea's excellent book on fiddle player Paddy Canny, 'No better boy'.  Included in it are notations of the Cuckoo hornpipe from the playing of both Michael Coleman and Paddy Canny. Reading these side by side with the Droney version can give some insight in different styles and approaches among traditional musicians. If you're into that sort of thing, ofcourse.

Edited May 6, 2023 by Peter Laban
eradicating typos

[Dan Worrall]

For those interested, Vic Gammon in this quarter's Folk Music Journal (UK) reviewed the Chris Droney book. Here it is.

 

By the way, Chris's daughter Ann Droney Kirrane will teach concertina in that style at our annual concertina workshop at the Palestine Texas Old Time Music Festival, March 21-23 next year (see my posting elsewhere on this site). I've been in touch with several fans of Chris Droney's music and distinctive style of playing  in various parts of the US and Canada who plan to come. Send me a message via this site if you plan to come, and I can send you the dots to a number of jigs reels and hornpipes that we will play in sessions, from the north Clare/Droney repertoire.

 

Gary Coover also will be teaching at the workshop, in the harmonic style. It'll be great fun.

Cheers,

Dan

Folk Music Journal review Worrall and Branch 11 20 23.pdf

[LR71]

Hi Dan, I enjoyed the book quite a bit.  I chanced across a copy of The Flowing Tide when I was starting out playing 30 years ago and always fancied his playing.  One thing I was curious about is how many of the observations or objections you have about how Chris played vs the cross row approach have exact parallels with the drama concerning the two button box tunings - people for a long time have found the B/C tuning too smooth, less suitable for dancing, that it emulates ornamentation from other instruments, that is the one and only way and that the C#/D tuning was outmoded - indeed you couldn't enter competitions for a long time without playing a B/C box.  Things changed after Jackie Daly came along, thankfully.  I assume you know all this, what with you having been playing the music for so long, and having an interest in accordions too.  Perhaps it would have seemed out of place in a book about a  concertina player.

 

[Dan Worrall]

Glad you liked the book. And your observations of the parallel between box playing and Irish concertina are spot on. We humans tend to love things to death, layering on complexity after complexity to things that could be simple! But we do enjoy it. I'm working now on a revised and much-expanded version of my 2005 book about William Kimber's playing, and am impressed yet again with his two row simplicity of accompaniment; modern players go for 38 buttons and their fingers roam freely over all three rows, in the eternal search for the right chord. And they sound great! But the minimalist in me continues to be drawn back to the simpler styles of farther back in time.

[Stephen Chambers]

1 hour ago, LR71 said:

... you couldn't enter competitions for a long time without playing a B/C box.  Things changed after Jackie Daly came along, thankfully.  

 

In fact Jackie had to learn to play the B/C to compete in the All Ireland, then packed it up on the spot and went back to his own C#/D style again.

[Dan Worrall]

1 hour ago, Stephen Chambers said:

 

In fact Jackie had to learn to play the B/C to compete in the All Ireland, then packed it up on the spot and went back to his own C#/D style again.

What a great story!

[richard]

Hi 

I am really enjoying this book and trying to soak it up. It is clear besides being so full of information and music, it is a project of love.

 

I don't read music so well and I would like to utilize all the transcriptions of Chris Droney's playing that are in the book. Are those transcription somewhere online where I can use them to plug into a midi player, or what ever technology that will play them for me to learn?

 

Thanks,

Richard