CELTIC HARMONIES 

Journalist: Nancy Nourse    Date: 2011-10-04    Region: Memphremagog

The Celtic Harmonies International Festival will be sharing their amazing talent with audiences at The Piggery Theater, in North Hatley, on October 7 & 8  (8 p.m.). Solstice will open the show for The Tannahill Weavers (October 7) – a group who are considered “top shelf” among Scotland's traditional bands.... 

They have been trailblazers for Scottish music, with tight harmonies and powerful, inventive arrangements, winning over fans from beyond the folk and Celtic music scenes. "The Tannies" summon rock-n-roll intensity or haunting introspection with equal ease. Their tight vocal harmonies and powerful, inventive arrangements on guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, fiddle, whistles, bodhran and pipes, have captivated audiences worldwide. They may “play acoustic instruments, but the atmosphere at their shows is electric’! 

On October 8, Sarah Burnell (Ontario) will open the show for the group Fernhill, from Wales. This quartet makes new, beautifully lyrical, intense folk music that has enamored audiences worldwide. Central to their sound is the voice of Julie Murphy, described by Time Out as “a must hear, must see” performer. This music evokes the soughing of the winds in the vales and crags of this storied land, and reinforces the Welsh concept of hiraeth–an indefinable and nebulous sense of nostalgia.

The new and improved Celtic Harmonies International Festival has chosen the Eastern Townships as the perfect location to relaunch their Festival, hoping to help people rediscover their sense of wonder for the natural environment.  A decision was made to change the format and venue of the Festival to correspond to several key factors: nature was sanctified by the Celts; Celtic music is rooted in an older tradition and in the small, close-knit communities that have kept this music going. Its revival and universal appeal seem to come from people’s desire to hold on to some of the more positive community values of times gone by.

The Festival has presented some of the best Celtic artists worldwide, representing all eight of the Celtic nations in Europe as well as the amazing talent found on this side of the ocean, and showcased the entire range of Celtic music, from the very traditional to the newest tendencies.

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