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Written in Southern Rag (later renamed fRoots) issue 22, 1984


SHAUN DAVEY
The Pilgrim
Tara 3011 (1984)

This is wonderful: strong tunes played and sung by great Celtic performers in conjunction with an orchestra and three choirs, one Welsh and two Cornish, all written and arranged by Shaun Davey, who made the beautiful Brendan Suite.
      The record itself is only a part of something, though. It's a selection, partly recorded live, of pieces from the 75-minute Lorient Suite, a huge undertaking which I think illustrates an important difference between us and at least some of the Celtic countries in the way native traditional music is perceived and used. In Shaun Davey's country it's 'Irish music', not a minority 'interest' for ruralists, historians and, from time to time, followers of fashion. It's a continuing and respected wellspring, a suitable field for the work of 'classical' musicians such as Davey, Micheál O Súilleabháin or Seán O Riada, whose work involves collaboration with, and respect for, the artistry of traditional instrumentalists and singers. I suppose that's what's called a 'living tradition'. Compare and contrast with the situation in England.
      The Lorient Suite was the result of a commission for Davey from the festival organisers following the performance in 1982 of The Brendan Suite at the Lorient Interceltique Festival. The remit was 'to place in orchestral settings a variety of Celtic traditional instruments, singers and choirs from the seven Celtic countries". In order to accomplish this, he had to get to grips with the characteristic forms of each country, write tunes embodying them, find lyrics, arrange, find musicians capable of performing what he'd written, which had to be planned so that parts didn't fall outside the scope of the instruments, and give it all some sort of thread of continuity, bearing in mind that it might be regarded as some kind of political statement.
      It could have been a great soggy, overblown, pompous disaster - but the thing is, Shaun Davey writes great tunes. It sounds like a pointless exercise to try to sum up the music of a country by writing something new, rather than by picking and perhaps combining the most evocative existing traditional tunes, but he gets away with it. As in Brendan, he draws traditional elements together to make strong new tunes, not pastiches. The theme of movement, of stories and literati (in particular saints) between the mediaeval Celtic countries, provides a thread, but the music isn't a historical exercise. The styles and techniques of the Celtic musics are expressive and relevant now, and they're strengthened by the mutual contact and exposure which major projects like this bring.
      With a cast of 200, I'm not going to start on individual credits. Rita Connolly is a wonderful singer, though, and Bernard Pichard's bombarde, and Liam O'Flynn (again)...

 
© 1984 Andrew Cronshaw
 

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