A visit with two Irish musicians

[IED0DXM%OAC.UCLA.EDU@MITVMA.MIT.EDU]

     IED just returned from the debut West Coast concert by Donal
Lunny and Liam O'Flynn. The concert was only about seventy-five
minutes of actual music, but the quality was breathtaking, and above
all the musical authenticity was absolute. They emphasized reels, jigs
and hornpipes, and played only three slow airs all night, which to
this novice of Irish music was something of a disappointment. But
overall, 'twas a truly grand evenin'.
     After attending the concert, and after waiting without result for
some time afterward outside the musicians' practice room while the
audience for the second show filed in and began getting impatient, IED
decided it was time to be obnoxious and just barge in...so he knocked
timidly.  Donal (who plays bouzouki and guitar) said yes, come in,
though "we are a bit preoccupied." Which didn't exactly put your
Love-Hounds KorrespondenT at ease; but he pressed on.
     When they heard the name "Kate Bush" spout from IED's lips,
however, they relaxed visibly and became quite friendly -- expansive,
even. IED asked them first how their parts for "Night of the Swallow"
came to exist. In the album notes Kate gives full credit to Bill
Whelan for both the writing and the arranging of the parts for Uillean
pipes, etc., and Donal and Liam basically confirmed that fact.
     But Liam explained that this was _not_ because Kate had no music
in mind when she sent them the tape (which they also confirmed was a
twenty-four-track tape which already included a rough mix of the song
and a computer time-code on the first couple of tracks, making it a
"slave"). On the contrary, Liam said. Kate went to Bill Whelan to find
notes that the Uillean pipes were capable of playing in that spot on
the track, because (and this IED didn't really understand, because
Liam is such an absolute master of the instrument) Bill was better
able to define the technical limitations of the pipes than anyone
else. When the new tracks were finished, however, Donal said that Kate
worked on and shaped every tiny detail in them to suit her ideas.
Donal said it was clear that, although in the end she hadn't actually
changed any of the specific melodic lines that Bill had come up with,
it was very clear by her care with each note that if there had been
anything that didn't suit the piece, she wouldn't have had any
difficulty changing it herself. It was more out of respect for their
own work, in other words, than out of any indecision on her part, that
led her to work with Bill on the writing of the music.
     Donal then began to rhapsodize about Kate's personal beauty, and
when he started saying how she was like a fairy princess and rolling
his eyes meaningfully, IED felt it was time for another question about
music...
     Did the process change at all for the work on "The Ninth Wave"?
Not really, they said, though as they described the sessions it became
clear that considerably more work had gone into the actual playing for
"Jig of Life", "Hello Earth" and "And Dream of Sheep". For "Jig of
Life", especially, they had played for a very long time, many many
hours. Donal said that she asked them to "do what we do". Since these
two musicians are almost exclusive one-instrument specialists (pipes
and bouzouki), and since their styles are by now very fully formed and
identifiable, it was immediately clear what Donal meant by this. The
interesting thing, though, he said, was that Kate knew precisely what
notes she wanted to hear: again, she didn't give them the specific
musical ideas, but it was clear that she had the ideas of the melodic
and harmonic lines in her head. She let them play and play, but
afterward, she tailored their work with an exactitude they had never
encountered anywhere before. IED is not exaggerating this at all.
Donal especially was _extremely_ impressed with Kate's perfectionism.
     He said that he remembered one part of their sessions on "The
Ninth Wave" particularly well. It was for the tiny bit of whistle
heard at the end of "And Dream of Sheep". Love-Hounds will know that
this passage, which is devastatingly beautiful in the final version,
consists of only one or two notes by the whistle. Donal said he
remembered how Kate had that tiny bit of piping music played for her
over and over again:
     "I mean it went on and on. She worked all day at it -- for just
one note! It was great. She'd say 'That's terrific...  but now see if
you can't just make that note _bend_ just a little more...' We ended
up working on one note for more than three hours!"
     Liam, who seems by nature to be a little less open and talkative
than Donal, was nevertheless equally respectful of Kate. They both
commented on her total command of the studio and her perfect
understanding of the musical problems of each part. Finally, I asked
Liam if he had worked on anything with Kate _since_ "Hounds of Love".
The answer was no. This was a bit of a surprise to IED until he
remembered that Kate has been working with Davy Spillane this time --
perhaps she wanted to experiment with a newer style of piping for the
new record.
     Alas! IED must end this report on a disheartening note. The last
thing IED asked Liam was whether he had had any talks with Kate about
possible concerts. He said, "No, not at all. You know, I don't think
Kate has gone on tour in several years now!" IED was quick to let him
know just how bloody many years it had been (though not in those
terms). Now this doesn't mean that Kate _hasn't_ been planning a tour,
since Liam didn't seem to know about Kate's work with Davy Spillane,
either, as far as IED could tell. But it certainly doesn't sound very
encouraging.
     Anyway, thus ends the tale of an L.A. Love-Hound's all-too-brief
chat with two brilliant and kindly musicians from Ireland. IED signs
off for now, but his fingers remain crossed, and he can still hear
that note floating.

-- Andrew Marvick