Kitchen Sessions

Séamus Begley and Noel Hill

On Friday 7th October 2011, Strokestown will witness the very special magic that is Séamus Begley and Noel Hill when we welcome old friends, for what promises to be an unforgettable night of the highest quality music. Set in the unique atmosphere of Strokestown Park House this will be an occasion to savour and the experience is sure to linger in the senses for years to come.

Tickets for this special event will be limited due to space restrictions so make sure you get your tickets early. You can reserve your tickets by emailing us at info@feilefrankmcgann.com. Doors open at 9pm. Entrance fee to the Friday night concert is €15, and early booking is advisable.

SÉAMUS BEGLEY

Accordion player and singer Séamus Begley is one of the most popular Irish traditional musicians, coming as he does from one of the most musically acclaimed Irish families.

Séamus is the quintessential Irish musician, an eager storyteller known for his sharp wit and famous for pumping out tune after tune at all night sessions. He plays with an energy that is alarming, bringing a frisky spontaneity to his box-playing, belting out jigs, slides and polkas with rapid sprays of reckless ornamentation before making a sudden key change into a bitter-sweet air, sung or played on the accordion. His repertoire reflects his own place and his style of playing is much influenced by a now gone generation of accordion and fiddle players who came to Céilí in his family home.

Séamus’s style is unique and he is considered by many to be one of the finest players of the dance music of West Kerry and is never happier than when people are dancing to his music. Séamus divides his time between his small holding in the West Kerry Gaeltacht and travelling Ireland and the world playing music. He has toured extensively with Jim Murray, Altan, Steve Cooney and Mary Black to name but a few.

Séamus has been a previous visitor to Féile Frank McGann and he is looking forward to enjoying the ‘craic’ at what is one of the best festivals of the year.

Given the intimate nature of the kitchen in Strokestown Park, this will be a unique opportunity to be at one with a superb and entertaining exponent of the button accordion.

NOEL HILL

"Ireland is full of great musicians but only a few set standards."
- PJ Curtis, Notes From the Heart

Noel Hill is one of those standard-setting voices in Irish music today. Few musicians in any field or in any generation achieve a position where both audiences and experts agree on their preeminence and mastery of an instrument; Noel Hill's virtuosity has firmly established him as the defining Irish concertina player of our time.

Noel Hill comes from County Clare on the west coast of Ireland, where the concertina tradition is so strong the instruments was nicknamed "the Clareman's Trumpet" and legend has it there was once a concertina in every other household. It was into one of these households that Noel Hill was born, and as a young child Noel was forbidden to touch his older brother's concertina. But he couldn't keep his hands off the instrument and was always stealing away with it. One day when his brother was laboring through a hornpipe Noel gave himself away by taking the concertina and playing the tune with ease. That got everyone's attention, and he's had it ever since.

Noel Hill has taken the humble concertina from the house dances of County Clare on the west coast of Ireland to stages throughout the world. The concertina, like Irish music itself, is currently enjoying a tremendous increase in popularity, and Noel Hill is at the forefront of this movement, not only as an awe-inspiring performer but as teacher and a well respected authority on Ireland's music.

In his hands the concertina is a new instrument, yet resounds with the integrity of generations, for Noel Hill makes the music new not through experimentation in other genres, but through consummate exploration and illumination from within traditional Irish music.