Launch of Martha Guiney’s debut CD ‘The Raven’s Call’. Sat 25 Feb, Belfast Winter Weekend 23

Launch of Martha Guiney’s debut CD ‘The Raven’s Call’
Sat 25 Feb, Raidió Fáilte Belfast.
Part of Belfast Tradfest Winter Weekend 24-26 Feb 2023

Listen and order CD here https://marthaguiney.bandcamp.com
Martha's website https://www.marthaguiney.com/
The Raven's call is available on all good music streaming platforms.

https://raidiofailte.com

@marthaguiney @radiofailte, @befasttradfest

Accompanied by Shane McGowan (Guitar), Marty Barry (Bazuki), Conor McCreanor (Bass).  Sean O’Neill (Bodhran), Susan Guiney(Fiddle).

Martha is a traditional flute and whistle player from Glenn, County Down. She has been immersed in the Irish Traditional Music scene from her childhood and has toured internationally and collaborated with many renowned artists in Scotland, Denmark, South Korea, Norway, Brazil, Italy and the US. She is a renowned teacher both nationally and internationally. Martha graduated with a First Class Honours Degree in Music at Dundalk Institute of Technology and later graduated with honours from her postgraduate studies in performance at the Irish World Academy, University of Limerick. Martha has recently won the prestigious BBC Northern Ireland and Arts Council of Northern Ireland Traditional Young Musicians' Platform Award 2019.

Content
0:00 Welcome and background to the new CD
01:15 Set 1 - The Crosskeys, The Dawn of Dara, The Ogham Stone
04:12 Discussion- background to Martha's music
05:22 Set 2 - Match Day / An Damez Kozh
08:40 Discussion - musicians intro, picking tracks
09:55 Set 3 - Ellie Goes West, Ebony Air
16:02 Discussion - ordering the album
17:50 Set 4 - Breton Waltz
21:02 Set 5 - The Raven’s Call, Mama Mena’s
25:46 Set 6 - The House Boat, Foxy Roxy’s, Larry’s
30:10 Thanks and wrap up
31:05 Set 7 - (Reels) Séamus Tansey’s, The Road to Ballygirreen, Cap and Bells
34:19 Close

Notes on Sets from CD (https://marthaguiney.bandcamp.com)
Set 1 - The Crosskeys, The Dawn of Dara, The Ogham Stone
The first Jig is a composition by banjo and guitar player, Stevie Dunne. I got the second from Armagh native, Barry Kerr, a composition he penned for his nephew. The last tune in the set is a Michael McGoldrick slide.

Set 2 - Match Day / An Damez Kozh
The first is a march I composed for Connor. We met when Down were in the all-Ireland final against Cork in 2010. An Damez Kozh is a beautiful ridée composed by Breton guitarist, Gilles LeBigot.

Set 3 - Ellie Goes West, Ebony Air
I got both of these pieces during master classes when I was studying at the Irish World Academy in Limerick. The first is a beautiful composition by Brian Finnegan, which he penned for a friend's wedding. In 2019 I had the privilege of performing Ellie Goes West with the Ulster Orchestra as part of my award. Ebony Air is a gorgeous 7/8 composed by Mayo musician, Stephen Doherty.

Set 4 - Breton Waltz
I've been listening to Breton music for some time now. This Erwan Hammon composition is one of my favorites to play. As part of my 'Young Musicians Platform Award' in 2019, the incredibly talented composer Graeme Stewart arranged it for orchestra and I got to play it with the Ulster Orchestra at the Ulster Hall in Belfast, a highlight for sure!

Set 5 - The Raven’s Call, Mama Mena’s
In August 2020, our beautiful son, Fiachra was born, I composed The Raven's Call shortly after for him. The second tune is a jig I composed for my amazing mum, Philomena.

Set 6 - The House Boat, Foxy Roxy’s, Larry’s
I got the first tune from Niall Keegan, it's a Liz Carroll composition. I wrote Foxy Roxy's for my very young at heart 96 year old granny, Roseanne. I also penned the last jig, Larry's for my wonderful dad back in 2018.

Set 7 - (Reels) Séamus Tansey’s, The Road to Ballygirreen, Cap and Bells
I was so blessed to have Séamus Tansey as my flute teacher from day one. Séamus didn't often compose, when I asked him about the name of this tune I'd heard he said he doesn't have a notion why it's widely known as Séamus Tansey's. The last reel was composed by Armagh Piano and fiddle player, Josephine Keegan.