Well, you know what they say:

There’s cauld Kail in Aberdeen

I reckon that’s a good thing. Maybe it’s a less good thing. Anyway, it’s a fun song that Jeffrey Jones-Ragona will be singing in our upcoming Celtic Fancies concert (see details below). There are lots of fun pieces, ne’er you fear, to balance out the sad love songs, the happy love songs, the longing love songs, the. . .well, you get the idea. Some of the most romantic songs express love for specific places in Scotland, like The Birks of Invermay, The Braes o’ Ballochmyle, Etrick Banks and, of course, The Broom of Cowdenknows. . .well, there’s quite of variety of aspects of love mixed in that one song alone.

Peter Walker (NY) will be featured on a variety of Scottish smallpipes—think of them as chamber bagpipes, ‘saft and sweet’—and will be featured, along with Cayla Cardiff and Ryland Angel, in the Game of Thrones portion of the concert, based on an historical event in 1630: murder, deception, revenge. Frennet Hall. Amazing! And you don’t need HBO to catch it! Jenifer Thyssen sings a few of Robert Burns’ best poems, Jenny Houghton sings The Broom, David Lopez will warm your heart with his rendition of The Birks…, and all 5 guys (Jeffrey, David, Peter, Ryland, and Danny) will make you laugh with The Pleugh Song, an amazing, epic, 16th-century advertisement for. . .wait for it. . .plows!

Click on the CD images below to listen to more audio teasers!

Besides Peter Walker on pipes, we will feature always-amazing Peter Maund on percussion, Therese Honey and Elaine Barber on harps, and our Ballad Band (see below) with reels, strathspeys, and more! “We are a band compleatly fitted to be joyly!”

“We’ll please ourselves with mutual Charms, as we did lang syne.” Ok, yes, it’s an earlier Auld lang syne than the one that we all sing without really knowing…

Join us! It’ll be wonder bonny!
-Danny

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Celtic Fancies: Music From Ireland & Scotland, c. 1500–1800

Saturday, February 16, 2019, at  7:30 pm
St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, 8134 Mesa Drive
Sunday, February 17, 2019, 3:00 pm
First Presbyterian Church, 8001 Mesa Drive, Austin, TX

Admission $30 general; $25 seniors (60+); $5 students (at the door only)
Tickets available in advance online or by cash, check, or credit card at the door.

Take advantage of preferred seating and other perks by sponsoring a concert!

For more information, call 512-377-6961 and leave a message,
or email info@early-music.org.

Celtic music is very popular, beautiful, and exciting in the 21st century. But what was it like in earlier periods, 200-500 years ago? Well, it was popular, beautiful, and exciting! Even the English held the Scottish ballads in high esteem and our own Ben Franklin adored these songs and considered them the height of great art. TEMP enjoys presenting this repertoire because of its musical challenges and rewards and because of its musical link to another time and place—one that is still vibrantly alive in many ways.

TEMP’s featured singers for the ballads are Jenifer Thyssen, Cayla Cardiff, Jenny Houghton, Jeffrey Jones-Ragona, and David Lopez, as well as frequent guest singers from New York, Peter Walker and Ryland Angel. Peter Walker will also play a variety of evocative Scottish smallpipes and reelpipes, and will join the TEMP “ballad band” for several exhilarating dances. Harpist Therese Honey will perform traditional music from Ireland and will be joined by guest artists Peter Maund (percussion) and TEMP core players Marcus McGuff (flute), Elaine Barber (harp), Bruce Colson & Stephanie Raby (violin), John Walters (mandolin), Scott Horton (lutes and guitar), and Carolyn Hagler (cello).

Join us for an exhilarating / heartbreaking / knee-slapping funny /
bonny sweet concert.
I guess I could’ve just said it has lots of variety!

Click on the image above to buy tickets now!