Have an Irish song and dance

Niamh Ni Charra brings music from Ireland to the city

March 17, 2017 12:36 am | Updated 12:36 am IST

Niamh Ni Charra

Niamh Ni Charra

When one thinks of music from Ireland, the names of the bands U2, Thin Lizzy, the Cranberries and Snow Patrol, or singers Van Morrison, Rory Gallagher, Gary Moore, Gilbert O’Sullivan, Enya, Sinead O’Connor and Fionn Regan instantly crop up.

The country also has a rich folk tradition, known for playing songs using the uilleann pipes, fiddle, concertina (a free reed instrument) and bodhran (a frame drum). The band Chieftains popularised such music in the 1970s.

Now, Mumbai will get a taste of Irish music when popular singer Niamh Ni Charra performs for the St Patrick’s Day celebrations at the Irish House, Lower Parel, on Friday evening.

Excited about her first visit to India, Charra has many interesting things to say about Irish music. Besides vocals, she plays the fiddle and concertina. The first thing she clarifies is the difference between folk and traditional music. “For us, folk music is more contemporary and song-based rather than instrumental. The songs are mostly in English. Traditional music is older, and consists of most instruments with tunes meant for dancing. The traditional songs are almost all in Irish, and tell stories from the past. All the songs I sing are in Irish and are very old.”

Charra says the political unrest in Ireland has had its impact on the music. She says, “Since some songs talk about past events, they tend to be sad. But the Irish cannot remain sad for too long, and hence we quickly get into the dance numbers. Different dance styles like reels, jigs, polkas and slides are performed.”

The instruments normally used in traditional Irish music are the uilleann pipes, fiddle, flute, tin whistles, accordion and concertina. Accompanying instruments consist of guitar, bodhran and in the recent past, the stringed bouzouki.

A winner of multiple awards, Charra began playing at the age of four. “I had asked Santa Claus for uilleann pipes, but he felt a concertina was better. Shortly after, I saw a fiddle at a music shop and felt like playing it too. There was a lot of traditional music in the area I grew up in. So the initial exposure was vast.”

On this tour, Charra will be accompanied by guitarist Kevin Corbett, bodhran player Dominic Keogh and dancer Damien Doherty. “Kevin and Damien have been playing with me for a long time now. Our regular dancer Shane couldn’t make it so Damien has taken his place,” says Charra.

The singer is happy with the fact that traditional Irish music still has its following. “I suppose like any indigenous music, it might be treated as a poor version of commercial genres like pop and rock. But many Irish people have settled in other parts of the world, and are in search of their roots,” she says.

According to Charra, Irish music has in a small way influenced other genres like American bluegrass. “Even our well-known rock acts have their roots in traditional music, and try to blend it where they can. Another trend is that all these years, most Irish musicians primarily went for shows in the U.S. Of late, however, they have been visiting different regions. So the spread of our music is getting wider.”

On this tour, Charra hopes to make contacts with Indian musicians. “I have played in many folk and world music festivals, representing Ireland. Many Indian musicians would also come. But the schedule would be so hectic we never got to know each other. The first Indian music I heard was Ravi Shankar and his daughter Anoushka, but that was on tape and now YouTube.”

Maybe, this will be the first of many tours. Meanwhile, Mumbai can soak in some good traditional Irish music, with some green beer between the dances.

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