The commentary is done by Mark and Bill Jordan, who’s love for Celtic music exceeds their actual heritage. We’d love to hear your comments as well! We review these CD’s independently so any similar comments are pure luck.
Bill Says…
“Here and There” Takes you Places
“Here and There” by Cormorant’s Fancy will take you places, but they aren’t places everyone will want to go. The playing is solid, the vocals are mostly on, and many of the melodies are gorgeous, but man is it melancholy. There are some upbeat tunes as well, but I wouldn’t recommend putting this one in the disc player if you are on Prozac, have just had a couple Guinness, or are generally having a bad day (though perhaps it would help you realize it could be worse). That said, if you don’t listen too closely to some of the lyrics, you’ll be treated to a litany of gorgeous tunes that are played with skill and emotion, and that will do for your ears what a beautiful sunset over a rolling Irish hillside will do for your eyes. Of course, there are times when we all desire to subject ourselves to a little sadness too, and those times are ripe for pairing these beautiful melodies to the lyrics, and having yourself a good cry.
The CD begins with the tune that our own “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” borrowed (or stole perhaps), so it will be familiar to most. Frankly, I never much paid attention to the words to “When Johnny Comes Marching Home,” but if they are anything like those in “Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye,” well, I’m just glad I’m not Johnny. The tune is upbeat, but poor ol’ Johnny wasn’t going to do any jiggin’ to it unless he strapped on a couple of broomsticks and tried to prance around on those. Musically, I enjoyed the bodhran and guitar work and the instrumentation in general, but I thought the lead vocal faltered a bit here and there (no pun intended), and overpowered the harmonies when they occurred.
Sticking with the war theme, the second track features an emotional male vocal celebrating a victory. Excellent vocal range! Some nice fiddle work is featured, and a very well-controlled pennywhistle is part of the mix. The pennywhistle can have a tendency to sound harsh in the wrong hands (like mine), but that is most definitely not the case here. Nicely done.
“Rakes Set” is a happy combination of jigs and reels that features some very smooth tempo changes and made me want to grab my own bodhran and play along (though the band’s bodhran player was far more competent with the instrument than I would have been). I enjoyed the blend of accordion and whistle, and the dual whistles on the ending jig were nicely synced.
“Four Green Fields,” according to the jacket notes (which were very thorough and informative), features a lot of symbolism. Since I hadn’t yet read the notes, I took the lyrics more literally, and it actually caused me to tear up a bit as I listened to the story of the old woman who lost her sons in battle. Those damn melancholy Irish. The tune is beautiful, the vocalizations pleasant, and in spite of the sadness, I enjoyed this one a lot.
“The Sad Courting” is sung in the traditional Irish a cappella style, and reminds me of a number I’ve heard on one of my “Chieftan’s” discs. The female vocal was strong and showed some fine dynamic range, and the story was remarkable and haunting. Damn those melancholy Irish.
Track 7, “I Am a Maid that Sleeps in Love,” picks up the pace, but like track one, I’m not completely enamored with the lead vocal. Very catchy tune though, and I heard some very nice bodhran work (can you tell I’m a bit partial to the drum). And I absolutely loved the dissonance that ended the piece.
I thought “The Kerry Recruit” was the most “pub-worthy” track on the disc, as I could easily imagine folks singing along to this one while raising a glass overhead (and likely spilling it on that of their neighbor).
Track 11, “Si Beag set,” is easily my favorite. It starts out slow and melancholy (there’s that word again), but breaks into several tempo changes throughout, some of which were downright titillating. I was ready to fall into a pleasant sleep one minute and pull a hammy while faux Irish step-dancing around the room the next. All of the traditional instruments were here, handled expertly and blended perfectly. Great job.
I don’t know if I’ve used the word “melancholy” yet, but it definitely suits track 12, “Kilkelly Ireland.” Dagnabit John (and what is it with the Irish and the name “John”), you could have paid your father a visit over the course of thirty years. This one features whom I believe to be the best vocalist of the group. Another tearjerker if you listen closely enough.
A short, beautiful, and yes, melancholy instrumental closes the set. Flute and guitar are a stellar combo.
“Cormorant’s Fancy” is a skilled group, and “Here and There” is worthy of your time. While some of the vocalizations are a bit off on a number or two, you can’t escape the beautiful melodies of the chosen selections and the emotion that the lyrics extract. The Irish love to tell their story in song, and much of that story includes tragedy, longing, and sorrow. But what makes us feel more alive than emotion, no matter what that emotion is. “Here and There” will most certainly make you feel alive.
Buy Cormorants Fancy products here
Mark Says…
“Here & There” by Cormorant’s Fancy
www.cormorantsfancy.com
Musicians and Singers:
Andy Rosenfeld, Dan Diviney, Stephen Folkemer, Beth
Folkemer, Joel Folkemer, Margaret “Meg” Folkemer, Norman Nunamaker and a guest
musician Nathan Folkemer
Note: From the website it appears the band now consists of Dan Diviney, Stephen Folkemer, Beth Folkemer, Joel Folkemer, Margaret “Meg” Folkemer and Chuck Krepley
Since some are apt to read more than others I will sum up the sound and atmosphere of this CD “Here & There” right from the beginning with a series of words and short phrases. They are ballads, well-arranged, pleasant, soft, traditional, melancholy, battle songs, fine singing, good instrumentals and smart. If that intrigues you read on.
If you want a fix of very traditional, easy listening, Celtic folk pieces and ballads for a peaceful day or overall stress relief, then this is a CD to consider. Not only are the songs traditional but they are well arranged versions and performed by excellent musicians. There is little to complain about on “Here & There” by Cormorant’s Fancy. I found I got a little too peaceful on some numbers and wondered off into “la-la” land. But another cup of Irish Breakfast Tea and I was back to reality. This is not a CD that will necessarily make you want to dance.
The first striking item of note is the liner notes. This is why many times you need to buy a CD and not download it. The notes on “Here & There” tell you a little about each song and whet your appetite to hear the song. For instance on “The Banks o’Doon’ it says, “3:30. Written by Robert Burns (1759-1796) in 1783. The river Doon, known in Scots Gaelic as Abhainn Dhuin, flows from Loch Doon to the Firth of Clyde in Ayrshire.” Look how much you learned from that alone! It was a very intelligent decision to include such helpful notes.
This is a CD that was released in 2009 and is produced by the band and Sal Chandon. It is over 64 minutes long, so expect to take some time listening to it. There are 13 songs with a variety of instruments present including bones, pennywhistle, low whistle, concertina, guitars, Bodhran, bass and fiddle. 5 of the members sing on this CD. The liner notes will tell you who did what on what song (another smart decision).
I was impressed with all the singers as they all did a fine job carrying a tune and emphasizing the lyrics where they should be emphasized. The females were the standouts (as usual) with both being excellent singers. I especially enjoyed Beth’s Irish accent-tinged singing on tracks 5 and 10, sung A Cappella at that! Meg is excellent as well with a more operatically full voice. All of the Folkemers had good voices.
You would expect this band to have a larger sound but they have a knack for playing gently on most of the songs which helped to emphasize the stories and vocals, making up the important parts of the ballad type songs. Perhaps it was the mixing technique as well. I must make a note to see them live. The mixing of the CD was quite good though and all the instruments could be clearly distinguished. Where they could have drowned out the guitar, they did not. I enjoyed the duel pennywhistles on a few songs and the vocal harmonization. All the members are good musicians as mentioned before.
There were a number of war ballads on this CD. I counted three. They were “Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye”, “Follow Me Up to Carlow” and “The Kerry Recruit”. There were two A Cappella songs and two instrumentals. Listen to the stories on the vocal songs where you can (some are hard to understand as is usual with Celtic music). The stories are quite interesting, but somewhat depressing at times.
One of my favorites on the CD is the instrumental “Si Beag” set. It was a stunning and memorable arrangement of tunes. My least favorite was “Kilkelly, Ireland” which became a little too repetitive for my tastes, but well sung none the less.
Cormorant’s Fancy is the house band in The Fairfield Inn at 15 W. Main St, Fairfield, Pennsylvania. Check them out when you can. They play the third Friday of the month from 6-9 PM.