Irish airs and compositions with the Symphonic Orchestra of Kladno
Last week we gave a concert with my duo with Vojtěch Jindra ( the fiddle and the acoustic guitar) together with the Symphonic Orchestra of Kladno.
The orchestra with its more than a hundred years tradition has been running a lovely series of concerts called ” Magic of Music ” where besides their classical repertoire they invite artists from different musical backgrounds to arrange music and perform together. Our part was called ” Irish ballads. ”
We played our compositions from our brand new Neotrad CD together with a couple of melodies that Vojtěch arranged for the duo and the orchestra. Apart from compositions we decided to arrange and play the beautiful and famous Irish traditional melody Inisheer, called after the smallest and the most eastern island among the Aran Islands on the west coast of Ireland. I visited those islands several years ago….When you survive these rather rough sailing moments on the boat from the port of Dingle, besides the warm and soft sweaters made from the Aran wool you discover the real music form of ” air ” in the most traditional and authentic singing way you can ever imagine! The way the singers use silence as a part of their session performance is just stunning!
Inis Oirthir, means “east island”
All the bright shades of grass, so green, those low walls made of stone and a couple of incredibly clean sheep among the rear houses with red roofs that are glittering in the hazy sunshine during the precious moments when the permanent horizontal rain stops…:)
We have played this tune for the first time spontaneously inspired at a friend’s wedding.
Castles in the Sand – Vojtěch’s composition from our Neotrad CD.
In the town of Písek in the Czech Republic, on the riverbank, there are some sand figures. Only drunks and stray cats know the sculptures live their own lives. Like human existence, the time of the sand figures is limited. Their noses and hands fall off….It is not metaphysics: after knocking off a bottle on a dusky riverbank you realize you are made of sand as well. A gust of wind and a turret goes off; a wave comes up and the whole fort disappears into the wide sea.
Playing these melodies with the power of all the strings and winds behind your back was amazing.
Tha arts were linking again. Mona Rosa created for me the ” Mar ” dress inspired by the color of the ocean around the isle of Inisheer, Lenka živná and Markéta Tepříková took photos…
A video by Daniel Vojtíšek coming soon!
You can listen to some of our Neotrad melodies here: