Reflection and restoration: Both can be found in abundance in the experiences of this year’s TG4 Gradam Ceoil recipients. While they mostly had no choice but to put their instruments down for a long period of time, they also used this time to enjoy the melodies and songs that primarily lured them to the music. For some, life and music have grown together to follow unexpected paths.
Young Traditional Musician of the Year Sorcha Costello is a violin player and teacher from East Clare who has sunk into the lazy swing of her homeland. The daughter of accordion player Mary McNamara is graduating from the University of Limerick as a music therapist this year after immersing herself in a completely different type of music education over the past two years.
“I was very busy with music,” she says, “but in a different sense than I’m used to. I use the violin in music therapy, but this was about how to use music in so many other ways, not just for fun. “
Costello is confident of the blessings and curse that marked the dramatic halt to the live performance of Covid in the context of her own life plans.
“While most people would say the pandemic was the worst that ever happened, and of course it is, it actually was a salvation for me,” she admits. “I’ve had an extremely busy musical life – teaching here, playing there. I’ve been everywhere. Then it all stopped and I could focus on music therapy while still playing my own piece at home. To have the time because I didn’t teach was very intense, but I’m so glad I had the time. “
Angelina Carberry. Photo: Maurice Gunning
The banjo is an instrument that has often taken a back seat when it comes to being recognized for its role in tradition. Angelina Carberry’s calm, humble, but precise and heartfelt way of playing comes into the limelight over time as she is named Traditional Musician of the Year. Carberry comes from Manchester, has lived in Ireland since 1997 and is traditional. Her father Peter plays both the accordion and the banjo and shaped them from an early age.
“My earliest memory is hearing my father play,” says Carberry. “He taught me. And I have so many memories of musicians coming and going, putting their instruments in the car and going to a session. I started playing the banjo when I was 14. My father taught me. My grandfather played the banjo It had an open back and he wrote the names of the melodies on the inside to remind him. “
Resilience
Carberry’s humble demeanor belies a resilience that has been tested over the past 18 months. She is confident that her life as a musician has suddenly come to a standstill.
“It was a challenge,” she notes. “I’ve done a few online concerts and workshops. This is all new to me and I really enjoyed it. But I definitely felt it this year – no festivals, no meeting. I just keep going and I’m happy. We will definitely appreciate it when this is all over. “
The traditional singer Niall Hanna was also immersed in the tradition from an early age. He learned a lot from the singing of his grandfather Geordie Hanna, even though Geordie had died before he was born. He was nominated for an RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Award in 2018, toured with The Rapparees and released his debut album Autumn Winds in 2018. After Hanna qualified as a teacher, Hanna returned to the classroom when the tunes stopped abruptly in March 2020.
Niall Hanna
“I was lucky,” he admits. “I was making music full-time, but I was able to go back to teaching while still recording in the background. It gave me a bit of time – I learned a lot of new songs and I wrote songs too. It let me catch my breath and concentrate very much instead of playing gigs all the time. “
excitement
Music in all its forms has been sorely missed in the lives of so many people during the pandemic, and Costello awaits its return with excitement and concern.
“I definitely think that people who aren’t musicians may not have valued music in the past, now appreciate it more,” she muses, “because so many people turned to music during the pandemic and realized how important it was can. Hopefully it will continue like this. “
She senses an inevitable conflict between the time the pandemic has offered her to take stock and the driving desire for camaraderie and excitement of a meeting.
“I still want time to work on new music, but I would love to just get back to what it was before,” she admits. “For once, I enjoyed thinking about music for myself instead of teaching because I do so much. It was really nice to think about what I want to do. I started to really enjoy playing at home again. I stopped because I was so tired from teaching all day. “
The power of tradition lies in the intimacy of its transmission, from one musician to another, Carberry believes. Big band formations became very popular in the 1990s and 2000s, but nothing for them can match the intimacy of playing with a fellow musician or two.
“For me, it’s definitely duets that I love,” she says, “as well as playing in sessions. But it’s also friendships: meeting musicians and listening to other people’s melodies. The melody carries the memory of the person you learned it from, I think. “
Seán Ó Sé. Photo: Maurice Gunning
And the Gradam goes to …
Traditional Musician / Musician of the Year: Angelina Carberry
Young traditional musicians: Sorcha Costello
Lifetime Achievement: Lifetime Achievement: Seán Ó Sé
Outstanding Contribution / Gradam Comaoine: Glengormley School of Traditional Music
Traditional singer: Niall Hanna
Composer / Composer: Steve Cooney
TG4 Gradam Ceoil 2021, recorded at Whitla Hall, Queens University, Belfast, will air on TG4 on Sunday October 31st at 9:30 p.m.