Shaun Davey and Rita Connolly
Jonathan Rossney
Shaun Davey (harmonium), Rita Connolly (lead vocals and guitar), Eoin Begley (concertina), Gerry O’Beirne (guitar)
St Mary’s Church, New Ross, Co. Wexford
8 February 2009
Best known for The Brendan Voyage, an innovative work which combineduilleann pipes with orchestra, Shaun Davey has been writing orchestralworks, film music and vocal works over the last thirty years, all witha very strong Irish flavour. Early in the concert, which wasessentially Davey performing old favourites with his family andfriends, he joked, ‘Don’t take it too seriously, we won’t!’ Certainly,the musicians’ loose, slightly ragged enthusiasm and humorous banterseemed slightly incongruous in the sober ecclesiastical setting!
They opened with a short solo set from Gerry O’Beirne, a fine musicianand songwriter with a fervent interest in guitars of all shapes andsizes, and whose playing, which can be found on his recent recordingBog Bodies and Other Stories, I enjoyed more than his vocal style. Hisversion of Dylan’s ‘Train to Cry’ on ukulele gave me a chuckle, though.
Music from the solo albums of Davey’s wife Rita Connolly dominated thefirst half, with a lively hornpipe and jig from Eoin Begley performednear the end. (Begley’s playing seemed unaffected by his self-confessedhangover.) It would be difficult to dispute Connolly’s talent as avocalist, and the ensemble of harmonium, guitars and concertina gaveher the ideal setting. The swinging version of ‘Same Old Man’ made anice change from the laments and songs about parting.
A wildly eclectic mix followed the interval, from polkas and reelsplayed by Begley (including the delightfully titled ‘Eels in the Sink’)to Joni Mitchell’s ‘A Case of You’. They also played an impromptuversion of ‘May We Never Have To Say Goodbye’, the lugubrious piececomposed for the Special Olympics in 2003. Davey informed us that theyhadn’t rehearsed it, and one could see him mouthing the key changes toO’Beirne. They even threw in a version of ‘Mamma Mia!’ as an encore,with Davey’s daughter joining in on glockenspiel.
A new work from Davey, ‘Hymn of Happy People’ was a curiosity in thatit was relatively short and spiritual in quality. The lyrics, based onDaniel O’Connell’s inspirational 1843 speech, ‘In Favour of the Repealof the Union’, were backed by music that was almost melancholy ratherthan stirring. It suggested to me that Davey viewed O’Connell’ssentiments as ones all too often ignored in the years of violence thatfollowed. Davey’s work sometimes strikes me as being too focused on anarrow, populist, almost clichéd view of Ireland, but I found thispiece to be thoughtful and moving.
The charm and enthusiasm of the performers was infectious and the crowdresponded with a standing ovation. One could argue that they played afew too many Celtic-tinged laments, but the evening was more akin to anintimate fireside session with some talented musicians, and reflectedwell the activities of the organisers, Music for New Ross, who dotremendous work in bringing high-quality artists to the town.
