By ROB BLANKENHORN
The Towne Courier, East Lansing
March 16, 2003
Born in Britain under the
name Succat, the man who would eventually become St. Partick was captured
and enslaved by Irish marauders at the age of sixteen before escaping to
Gaul six years later.
The young man would eventually
return to Eire as the appointed successor to the first bishop of Ireland,
St. Palladius. Using the shamrock as a symbol of the holy trinity, St. Patrick
would devote his life to the conversion of the island.
So beloved was the former
herdsman by the Irish that, on the first anniversary of this death, they
observed the day as a religious holiday, forgoing the usual Lenten prohibitions
to drink, dance and feast.
Just as the celebration in
honor of Ireland's patron saint has continued unabated for over sixteen centuries
since, so, to, has the Gaelic music that was performed on that first commemoration.
The lilting tunes played to the tin whistle and drum are still an integral
part of Irish music to this day. Although new instruments such as the fiddle
and guitar have been added to the mix their addition has not diminished the
essence of the Gaelic sound.
Those possibly searching
out their Irish roots for the coming St. Patrick's Day might wish to take
a trip back in their history and listen to the latest CD by a wonderful local
group, Shepard's Folly.
Made up of four very talented
musicians - Phil Shepard (tin whistle, flute), Ray Kamalay (guitar-vocals),
Patti Anne Lea (Vocals-guitar) and John Sands (fiddle ) - the group is a
mainstay for Irish festivals throughout the Midwest. The quartet specializes
in the traditional ballads, reels and jigs of the Emerald Isle along with
Gaelic music from Scotland and other lands as well. Their CD is a well balanced
mix of the genre, blending well-crafted instrumentals with the occasional
lilting ballads sung by Patti Anne Lea.
The album itself has an almost
hypnotic effect, drawing the listener back to a different place and a time
long ago. The band's strictly acoustic instrumentation, combined with Paul
[sic] Shepard's haunting passages on the tin whistle and flute, make this
recording a treat for anyone who is a devotee of Gaelic music.
Ray Kamalay's guitar, sweet
singing voice and harmonies are a perfect fit with Patti Anne Lea's evocative
vocal work. Known as an internationally acclaimed jazz guitarist, Kamalay
certainly has the ability to play as fast and flashily as the best of them,
yet on this album he keeps his instrument's presence subtle, with an obvious
reverence for the Gaelic style. Fiddler John Sands also plays his instrument
with the same sense of affection toward his music. His jigs and reels are
fluid and precise, with a clear sense of the natural rhythm that the tunes
demand.
The Shepard's Folly CD was
recorded locally at LA Productions, engineered by Rick Nalett, who is better
know to Lansing as a former rock-and-roller. Still, Nalett has worked well
within the acoustic world of producer Phil Shepard to fashion a professional
disc whose cuts delightfully capture the subtle nuances of Shepard's Folly's
Gaelic sound.
The opening cut, "McMahon's
& Christmas Eve," is a stirring medley of two Irish reels that sets the
tone for the entire album. Other high points to the recording were "Neil
Crow's [sic] Lament on the Death of His Second Wife," "Red is the Rose,"
"Shetland Fiddler's Society #1" and "Dancing the Baby."
All in all, Shepard's Folly
is also noteworthy because they reside here in Mid-Michigan. This is a band
that certainly could command a greater audience should they ever choose to
uproot to the east or west coast. For whatever reason the group has
decided to keep Michigan as its base of operations, and Lansing is certainly
the better for it.
In an era where the music
scene's supposedly hip "new" sounds seem to change at a whim every other
day, it is refreshing to find musicians who appreciate a style of music that
has a soul as deep as the Irish
Sea and a heart as old as the hills of Tralee.
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