 |
 |
Sleeve Notes
Eugene learned the set dances on this record while dancing in Derry in his early teens. Versions of all of them can be found in O'Neill's Dance Music of Ireland (Chicago, 1907). Planxty Drury and Planxty Maggie Brown are compositions of the renowned 18th century harper, Turlough O'Carolan. Eugene never actually had to learn them formally: he just picked them up from hearing them so often. He also learned the slip jigs. Barney Brallaghan (O'Neill's Music of Ireland, Chicago, 1903, #1145) and Ride a Mile (#1157) at home. Both are played a lot in step dancing circles. The Bonnie Lass of Bon Accord, The Scotsman Over the Border, and Hartigan's Fancy (O'Neill, #816) were also learned at home. Da Auld Resting Chair is a composition of Shetland fiddler Tom Anderson, and Eugene learned it from the LP The Silver Bow (Topic 12TS281). He learned Planxty O'Donnell during a trip to New York, from the Bunting Collection (Edward Bunting: A General Collection of the Ancient Music of Ireland, London, 1809). Ni Fheicim Nios Mó Thu A Mhúirnín is perhaps better known as the melody to the Stephen Foster song, Gentle Annie. Foster borrowed the air from the Celtic original. Eugene learned it back in Derry. He learned The Celtic Lament from hearing it played on Radio Eireann as the theme music for weekly radio theatre productions.
Mick Moloney
Eugene O'Donnell, the youngest of six children, was born in the City of Derry in Northern Ireland in 1932. When eight years old, he began to take lessons in Irish step dancing and four years later began to receive instruction on the fiddle. He quickly excelled at both activities, and by the age of eleven won his first All-Ireland step dancing championship. He then proceeded to win an unprecedented six All-Ireland titles, establishing in the process an almost legendary reputation in Irish dancing circles, which grows with the passing years, despite his retirement ("I was over the hill!") from step dancing at the age of twenty-six.
Eugene left Ireland in 1957 and emigrated to America. Several friends of his lived in Philadelphia, so he decided to settle there and has lived there ever since. He has never done much dancing in Philadelphia, but has held several workshops over the years for Irish dancing teachers in the area. However, he has continued to play the fiddle and in recent years has performed at an ever widening circle of folk clubs, colleges and festivals all over the United States. Though he recorded some records for Irish dancers with piano player Gerry Wallace in the 1960s, these are now impossible to obtain, and this LP is the first recording of Eugene's music to be widely available to the general public.
If one uses an exacting definition which stresses informal acquisition of skills as being the cornerstone of the traditional folk process of transmission, then Eugene would probably not qualify as a traditional musician. He began receiving formal instruction on the violin at the age of twelve, and this early foundation is readily apparent in the classical correctness of his bowing and tone. However, during the years when he was taking formal lessons, he was also exposed to a wide variety of dance music, which is hardly surprising, as he was heavily involved in step dancing at that time. In addition to Eugene's brother, Charlie O'Donnell, a particularly important influence in the early years was Patricia Mulholland, a fiddler. He picked up a lot of music from such local musicians as Tony Black, Nellie Magee, Paddy McCafferty, Willie Campbell and Denis Heaney, and also from his mother and father, who learned their music in their native County Donegal. He also heard a lot of Scottish music, which was always very popular with the local musicians, and he travelled frequently to Donegal, where he listened closely to the local fiddlers in the Ballybofey area. From all this exposure and training, Eugene evolved a unique style which incorporated both classical and traditional elements. The traditional elements are unmistakably of Northern Ireland origin: the short bowing technique, comparatively sparse ornamentation, and use of triplets rather than rolls being major features of this style.
However, on this record, apart from the double and slip jigs. Eugene's characteristically Northern ornamentation is not really apparent. This is because the bulk of the selections on the record are set dance tunes. Each of these pieces has its own unique flavor and. sometimes, its own unique structure. They are usually performed in conjunction with a special dance which bears the same name as that of the tune. (This is in contrast to most dances, which can be performed to any dance tune in an appropriate time signature.) Eugene deliberately played these set dance tunes just as he would for dancers — "straight, with a steady tempo" and with the first part repeated three times instead of the customary two, which would be the case when playing most Irish dance tunes in a non-dancing context.
Eugene's remarkable improvisational abilities are well illustrated in his beautiful counterpoint accompaniment to his own playing in The Downfall of Paris, The Bonnie Lass of Bon Accord, The Three Sea Captains and Da Auld Resting Chair. Eugene simply listened to the melody once and without rehearsal played flawless harmony lines. This facility for improvisation is also evident in Eugene's sensitive accompaniment to songs. Indeed, this sensitivity and skill is the hallmark of Eugene's particular genius. It extends to playing for dancers as well. Eugene is one of the most sought after feis (dancing competition) musicians in America because of his uncanny anticipation of the musical needs of all step dancers, young and old alike.
Eugene is renowned most of all for his magnificent, vibrant playing of slow airs. Here his classical training is most in evidence, but unlike many trained players, who approach air playing as a convenient vehicle for displays of technical prowess, Eugene plays every air with restraint and impeccable taste. His strikingly beautiful interpretations of Da Auld Resting Chair, Ni Fheicim Nios Mó Thu A Mhúirnín, The Bonnie Lass of Bon Accord and The Celtic Lament possess an elegantly refined simplicity which is the hallmark of true virtuosity.
Mick Moloney
Mick Moloney was born in Limerick in 1944. He began playing the tenor banjo at 16 and learned most of his music from players in neighboring County Clare. In the 1960s he spent five years as part of The Johnstons, touring and recording several LPs. In 1971, Mick spent a short time in Norway, lecturing and performing in high schools, universities, and youth clubs. Returning to London, he worked as a housing social worker with homeless families for a year. He continued to perform evenings and weekends at folk clubs around Britain, and recorded an album for Transatlantic Records, WE HAVE MET TOGETHER, now, unfortunately, out of print.
Mick came to the United States in 1973 to begin work toward a Ph. D. in Folklore and Folklife at the University of Pennsylvania. He and his wife Phil live in Philadelphia, where he is completing his dissertation on Traditional Irish Music in America. Mick is recognized as one of the leading authorities on that subject. He headed the Irish portion of the Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife in 1976. Under the aegis of International House of Philadelphia, he has served as Director of a series of ethnic festivals in 1977-1978, with the help of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. He is an immensely gifted producer of concerts, festivals and records of traditional Irish music.
Mick and Eugene first met at the Philadelphia Folk Festival in 1973, and began to perform together with increasing frequency. They are an integral part of Irish music circles, not only in Philadelphia and the Northeast, but in ever broadening sectors of the country. 1978 saw their first tour of California, where they attracted widespread attention. They can be heard together on the Innisfree/Green Linnet album MICK MOLONEY with EUGENE O'DONNELL.
Mick is one of Ireland's finest tenor banjo and mandolin players, as well as an excellent singer and guitarist. The guitar was his first instrument, and he learned from the beginning to play melodies, not just chords, a picking style perfectly suited to Irish traditional music. Mick's accompaniment on this album is his most eloquent. His playing complements Eugene's exquisitely, and together they achieve a level of communication that is rare.