When more than one hundred voices sing perfectly, it sends chills down my spine. The harmony by MOS, as they are known, must take hours and hours of practice. I forgot the time and closed my eyes and listened. Several solo musicians performed with the chorus and then, about half way through the evening, a small orchestra came onstage to perform a special piece created by Mary McAuliffe, who flew in from Ireland that evening for the performance.
She was presented with a big bouquet of flowers by Michael O'Neal, conductor.
McAuliffe was born in Cork in southern Ireland. She studied music at University College Cork. She is considered one of Ireland's leading and most performed choral composers.
So many Irish songs come from the poetry of W.B. Yeats and other poets. I like the lilting songs and love the haunting and mournful music of Ireland.
I am a big fan of Celtic Thunder and Celtic Woman. Their shows on PBS are always recorded on my TV, and I watch them often. If you enjoy Irish music and performers, be sure to check out these groups.
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| Here I am with one of the original Celtic Thunder group. Paul Byrom is a fantastic Irish Tenor |
Like the refugees from war torn countries today flooding into Europe and Canada, who don't want to leave their homelands, but can't live there anymore, I'm sure those Irish immigrants felt the same way. But they made America their home and reared their children in the new country. Have you read Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt?
In time, the new country and the old country bonded. People in the United States celebrate St. Patrick's Day no matter if they don't have a drop of Irish in them. In fact, some of our countrymen dress in weird green glasses, hats, and wear shiny green ties. I saw one of them at Lucky's, the best hamburger place in Roswell, Georgia.
In time, the new country and the old country bonded. People in the United States celebrate St. Patrick's Day no matter if they don't have a drop of Irish in them. In fact, some of our countrymen dress in weird green glasses, hats, and wear shiny green ties. I saw one of them at Lucky's, the best hamburger place in Roswell, Georgia.
But I will write about Lucky's in another post.
Until next time, I hope you will visit me at www.profilesandpedigrees.blogspot.com and leave a comment at the end of this post.
It sounds like a blissful day. And we all need more of those.
ReplyDeleteI read Angela’s Ashes years ago and remember being impacted by it. Thank you for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteWe had fun, EC. Yes, I certainly needed one last week with my heat going out and other problems. But today is better although we have SNOW here just as the calendar says it is Spring!
ReplyDeleteDJan, I was enthralled with Angela's Ashes, although I read some reviews that were awful. I remember I had trouble reading it at first because of the way it was written. But Frank McCourt had a way of putting the reader smack in the mud and the misery of the poor people of Ireland when he was a child. Because I am such an empathetic person, I felt the harshness, the pain and sadness of those children just as if I were one of them. But I was overjoyed at the success Frank eventually found in his life.
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