''Blackwater'' is the fifth studio album by Altan, released in April 1996 on the

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...

label. Three of the songs are sung in

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

. "Ar Bhruach Na Carraige Baine" is sung partly in English and in Irish. "Blackwaterside" is sung in English. It was the first album released by the band since the death of founding member

Frankie Kennedy Frankie Kennedy (30 September 1955 – 19 September 1994) was a flute and tin whistle player born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was also the co-founder of the band Altan, formed with his wife Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh. The popular '' Frankie Ke ...

two years earlier. The final track on the album is a tribute to Kennedy and was written by

Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (; born 26 July 1959) is an Irish fiddler and the lead vocalist for the Irish folk music band Altan, which she co-founded with her late husband Frankie Kennedy in 1987. Today, Mairéad is recognised as a leading exponen ...

herself.

Track listing

# "Johnny Boyle's/King of the Pipers" (Jigs) (Trad/Trad) (Instr) - 3.30 # "Dark Haired Lass/Biddy From Muckross/Sean Maguire's" (Reels) (Trad/Trad/Trad) (Instr) - 2:51 # "Stór, A Stór, A Ghrá" (song) (Traditional) (Irish) - 2:51 # "Strathspey/Con McGinley's/The Newfoundland Reel" (Strathspey and Reels) (Trad/Trad/Trad) (Instr) -3:11 # "Tá Mé 'Mo Shuí (I am awake)" (song) (Traditional) (Gaelic) - 4:08 # "An Gasúr Mor/Bunker Hill/Dogs Among the Bushes" (Hornpipe and Reels) (Trad/Trad/Trad) (Instr) - 2:36 # "Molly Na gCuach Ní Chuilleanáin (The curly haired Molly)"(song) (Traditional) (Irish) - 2:35 # "Jenny Picking Cockles/Farewell to Leitrim/John Doherty's" (Reels) (Trad/Trad/Trad) (Instr) - 2:41 # "Ar Bhruach Na Carraige Báine" (song) (Traditional) (sung in English and Irish) - 2:38 # "The Dance of the Honeybees" (hornpipe) (Charlie Lennon) (Instr) - 3:24 # " Blackwaterside" (song) (Traditional) (English) - 3:43 # "A Tune for Frankie" (jig) (

) - 3:25

Personnel

Altan

– Fiddle,

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

*Ciaran Tourish – Fiddle,

whistle A whistle is an instrument which produces sound from a stream of gas, most commonly air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means. Whistles vary in size from a small slide whistle or nose flute type to a lar ...

, backing vocals *Dermot Byrne – Accordion,

melodeon Melodeon may refer to: * Melodeon (accordion), a type of button accordion *Melodeon (organ), a type of 19th-century reed organ *Melodeon (Boston, Massachusetts), a concert hall in 19th-century Boston * Melodeon Records, a U.S. record label in the ...

*Ciarán Curran –

Bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...

*Mark Kelly –

Guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

, backing vocals *

Dáithí Sproule Dáithí Sproule (born 23 May 1950) is a guitarist and singer of traditional Irish music. He is the grandson of Frank Carney and uncle of singer Claire Sproule. Biography Born and raised in Derry, Northern Ireland, at the age of 18 he moved ...

– Guitar, backing vocals

Guest musicians

* Steve Cooney – Bass (tracks 7, 9, 10, 12), backing vocals (tracks 3, 7) *Conan Doyle – Backing vocals (track 3) *Jimmy Higgins – Bodhrán (tracks 1, 3, 5), darrbuka (track 8), snare drum (track 7), wood block (track 9),

clay drum A clay drum is a variety of percussion instrument found in various parts of the world. It may refer to: Idiophones *Ghatam, from India * Udu, from Nigeria Membranophones * Alligator drum once used in Neolithic China, made from clay and alligat ...

s (track 3) *

Dónal Lunny Dónal Lunny (born 10 March 1947) is an Irish folk musician and producer. He plays left-handed guitar and bouzouki, as well as keyboards and bodhrán. As a founding member of popular bands Planxty, The Bothy Band, Moving Hearts, Coolfin, Mozai ...

– Bouzouki (track 10),

bodhrán The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'' or ''bodhráns'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or oth ...

(tracks 4, 7, 9, 12),

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

(tracks 5, 7, 9, 12) * Maighréad Ní Dhomhnaill – Backing vocals (track 3) *

Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill is an Irish traditional singer, keyboard player, and composer, considered one of the most influential female vocalists in the history of Irish music. She is famed for her work with traditional Irish groups such as Skara ...

– Backing vocals (track 3),

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

(track 11) *Anna Ní Mhaonaigh – Backing vocals (track 7) *

Brendan Power Brendan Power is a New Zealand harmonica player, composer and inventor, living in Britain. Born in Mombasa, Kenya, Power's family moved to New Zealand in 1965 where he later attended Canterbury University at Christchurch, gaining a Bachelor of Ar ...

– Harmonica (tracks 3, 7, 9) * String quartet: **

Máire Breatnach Máire Breatnach is an Irish fiddle, violin and viola player. She also sings in Irish on some of her albums. Since the early 1990s, she has recorded five solo albums, participated in many collaborations, and developed didactic material for chil ...

—

Viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

**Annette Cleary — Cello **David James —

Cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

**Tommy Kane —

Violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

Production

*Brian Masterson – Producer, Engineer *David Scheinmann – Photography *The Design Corporation – Design

References

Notes

External links

* - Official video {{Authority control Altan (band) albums 1996 albums Irish-language albums Virgin Records albums