Celtic Fiddler & Friends Rock the Gaillard
Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul
MY MOST RECENT musical adventure came on Saturday, with the recently resurrected Charleston Symphony Orchestra’s absolutely smashing Pops Series concert at the Gaillard. A fair-sized and very enthusiastic crowd welcomed star Celtic fiddler Eileen Ivers (the New York Times has called her “the Jimi Hendrix of the violin”) and her crack backup combo, Immigrant Soul. Backing them up in turn was the CSO, under the snappy baton of guest conductor Morihiko Nakahara of Columbia’s SC Philharmonic. There was no printed program, and I didn’t catch all of the details announced from the stage—so please pardon any information lapses.
The first two selections were delivered by orchestra alone, beginning with the old Irish tune, “The Girl I Left Behind Me,” in a saucy arrangement from American light music master Leroy Anderson. The second was an arrangement of “Lord of the Dance” as arranged for Michael Flatley’s famous dance show of the same name. The basic tune is that of the old Shaker hymn “Simple Gifts,” that Aaron Copland first made famous in his orchestral suite, Appalachian Spring. Nakahara and company made it sizzle, with deft, fiddle-like Celtic inflections and plenty of Irish spirit.
Eileen Ivers
Enter Eileen and the marvelous members of Immigrant Soul: Tommy McDonnell (lead vocals, percussion & harmonica), Buddy Connolly (accordion, pennywhistle), Greg Anderson (guitar), and Leo Treaversa (bass guitar). After a charming spoken introduction, Eileen introduced us to her own composition, a song called “Bygone Days”—true to its title, a sweetly sentimental ballad that sounded rich and rosy with its piano-laced orchestral backup (kudos to pianist Ghadi Shayban). They then launched into a set of sprightly Celtic dances, with combo only. Ivers’ playing beguiled throughout—with its saucy Celtic style and accents, though executed with a classical virtuoso’s skill and intonation. A pleasant surprise came with the appearance of the Glornadaire Irish Dancers, an accomplished and nicely costumed quintet (four girls, one boy) based in Aiken, SC—they appeared at livelier moments throughout the remainder of the evening.
Ivers & friends—intermittently supported by the CSO—then took us to intermission with “Reconciliation,” another sad, but uplifting Irish song written in the midst of the terrorist violence that used to plague Northern Ireland. Drummer McDonnell—formerly a member of the Blues Brothers Band—coached the audience for the number’s singalong refrain, and revealed his powers as a very appealing vocalist. Add “versatile” to the band’s list of virtues, as the first half’s final number was Bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe’s “Rocky Road Blues:” you’ll recall that the Celtic music styles that early Scots-Irish settlers brought to the Appalachian regions form the foundations of modern bluegrass. Yee- HAW! Our performers whipped the crowd up into a fine frenzy; a couple of what first looked like prim Charleston dowagers in the first row ended up acting more like crazed rock-concert groupies!
guest conductor Morihiko Nakahara
The second half brought a similar sequence, beginning with a couple of well-played orchestra-only numbers: “Danny Boy,” for strings alone, and a livelier Irish tune I couldn’t catch the name of. One of my favorite numbers was “Pachelbel’s Frolics,” a Celtic-classical fusion (a takeoff on the famous Canon) that gave Yuriy Bekker, our Concertmaster, the chance to perform a sweet and sassy duet with Ivers. Things then speeded up with another set of Irish jigs and reels, with touches of other genres (like Klezmer sounds and African rhythms) adding variety and spice. The final medley, called “Blizzard Train,” reverted again to Bluegrass—complete with kinetic, chugging locomotive sounds & whistles. It began with just Ivers and her combo, but everybody onstage was in on the act by the end; clusters of musicians (like Ivers & accordionist Connolly) would pair off for what looked and sounded like some inspired improvisatory jamming.
Our screaming, foot-stomping standing O got us a fabulous encore: a brass combo from the CSO peeled off to join Ivers & Immigrant Soul for a rock-‘em-sock-‘em rendition of the joyous old gospel-hymn, “Will the Circle be Unbroken.” All I can say is that these musicians sure know how to work a crowd; everybody had a total blast!
Good review of what sounds like a fine evening. Sorry that I missed it.