Sounds Irish, from Minnesota Public Radio Music

M I N N E S O T A P U B L I C R A D I O P R E S E N T S

I N A S S O C I A T I O N W I T H L Y R I C F M

Made possible in part by ireland.com
March, 2001

Listen Online

Hour 1 | Hour 2
For complete listings, view the program playlist.

Sounds Irish, the classical way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Showcasing the best and brightest of Ireland's vibrant classical music scene, this transatlantic celebration of Irish culture and music airs nationwide in time for the holiday. Check your local public radio classical music station for airdates and times. Sounds Irish is produced in association with Lyric fm, Ireland's national classical music and arts radio station, who will also air the program in Ireland on St. Patrick's Day.

The Program
All-new and back for the second year, Sounds Irish features music by and conversation with some of Ireland's most prominent classical artists and ensembles, including James Galway, two harp players (Minnesota's Ann Heymann and Clíona Doris of County Down) in studio sessions, singer Caitríona O'Leary, remembering composer Joan Trimble and more. View the complete playlist.

Host Tom Crann
Tom Crann is a classical music host and producer for Minnesota Public Radio. In May 1999, he became the first American "presenter" with a daily program on national radio in Ireland. He was one of the original voices of Lyric fm when RTÉ (Radio Telefís Éireann), Ireland's national broadcaster, put that country's first full-time classical music and arts station on the air. He was also a founding voice for Classical 24, Minnesota Public Radio's national classical music network, when it first went on the air in December 1995. A New Jersey native, he's managed to put his love of music and his English degree from Providence College to use in public radio since 1987, working at stations in St. Louis, Evansville (IN), Buffalo and Los Angeles.

Listen
Cúpla Focal

Listen (RealAudio | How to Listen)

Ní dhéanfadh an domhan capall rása d'asal.
The world would not make a racehorse of a donkey.

Bíonn dhá insint ar scéal agus dhá leagan déag ar amhrán.
There are two sides to every story and twelve versions of a song.

Tá onóir ag an aois agus uaisle ag an óige.
Age is honorable and youth is noble.

Is teann gach madra gearr i ndoras a thí féin.
Every terrier is bold in the doorway of its own house.

An té thabharfas scéal chugat tabharfaidh sé dhá scéal uait.
He who comes with a story to you will bring two away from you.

The "cúpla focal"
Every school child in the Republic of Ireland takes compulsory Irish classes for 12 years. It's the first official language of the modern Irish nation. A recent census found that 41% of the country's population knows some Irish (a few words, or the "cúpla focal") and 10% speak it fluently. Some scholars believe it's been spoken on the island since about 300 B.C. It has a rich history of literature and song, and has enjoyed a revival in modern times thanks to figures like literary scholar Douglas Hyde, the modern nation's first president, and the playwright John Millington Synge. Its influence is strongly evident on the way English is spoken in Ireland today.

The singer Caitríona O'Leary, one of my guests on Sounds Irish, said that her family used to earn 5 pounds a month when she studied her Irish as a young child. She's mastered it beautifully, as you'll hear on the program, and she demonstrates how musical a language it is. Many of my former colleagues at Lyric fm are fluent Irish speakers, including Maíre Nic Gearailt the presenter of Lyric Notes each weekday morning. Listen to her mellifluous voice with some of the great old wit and wisdom in a few of Ireland's proverbs as Gaelige.

To listen to more of the Irish language, tune in online to Radió na Gaeltachta.

Sounds Irish is made possible in part by ireland.com.
Produced by Minnesota Public Radio
Distributed by Public Radio International

			MPR Home \| News \| Music \| Radio Listening \| Events \| Your Voice \| About US \| Support Us \| Help
				Search Music: