Mary Bergin (born ) is an

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 ...

folk musician Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...

who is widely acknowledged as one of the great masters of the

tin whistle The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, putting it in the same class as the recorder, Native American flute, and other woodwind instruments that meet such criteria. ...

. She plays in both the Irish Traditional and

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

styles.

Biography

Mary Bergin was born in Shankill,

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Her parents Joe and Máire were

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 ...

and fiddle players, respectively. Mary started learning to play the tin whistle at the age of nine. Bergin won the All Ireland tin whistle championship in 1970. Her two virtuosic recordings of the solo tin whistle, ''

Feadóga Stáin ''Feadóga Stáin'' (''"Of the Tin Whistle"''), Mary Bergin's debut album, has been credited with establishing the tin whistle as one of the first tier among the standard instruments of Irish Traditional Music. Members of Irish group De Danna ...

'' (1979) and ''

Feadóga Stáin 2 ''Feadóga Stáin 2'' is the second solo album by Irish Traditional whistle virtuoso Mary Bergin. Tracks #Reels: The Flogging Reel; The Ivy Leaf; Trim The Velvet #Jigs: The Maid On The Green; The Mooncoin Jig #Reels: Eileen Curran; Lomanach Cr ...

'' (1993), have been critically cited as "outstanding and unequalled". Bergin moved to

An Spidéal Spiddal ( ga, An Spidéal , meaning 'the hospital') is a village on the shore of Galway Bay in County Galway, Ireland. It is west of Galway city, on the R336 road. It is on the eastern side of the county's Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area) a ...

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, in the early 1970s and played with many of the up-and-coming stars of the

Irish music Irish music is music that has been created in various genres on the island of Ireland. The indigenous music of the island is termed Irish traditional music. It has remained vibrant through the 20th and into the 21st century, despite globalis ...

scene, notably De Danann and Ceoltóri Laighin. She is currently a member of the group Dordán, who perform Irish traditional music and

Baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Classical period after a short transiti ...

with pieces by

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest E ...

and a tune from

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

's Little Notebook for

Anna Magdalena Bach Anna Magdalena Bach (née Wilcke or Wilcken) (22 September 1701 – 22 February 1760) was a professional singer and the second wife of Johann Sebastian Bach. Biography Anna Magdalena Wilcke was born at Zeitz, in the Electorate of Saxony. Whi ...

. In addition to releasing two solo albums, which aided the popularisation of modern traditional Irish tin whistle playing, and three albums with Dordán, Bergin has taught hundreds of students, in

, across

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, and in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, to play the whistle.

Playing style

Bergin was exposed to the music of many renowned musicians from an early age, but her style is particularly influenced by flute player

Packie Duignan Patrick "Packie" Duignan (5 May 1922 – 1992) was an Irish flute player, very well known by music lovers of his time. He was born in Aughabehy, in the Arigna Mountains of County Roscommon, Ireland. Duignan started learning to play on a Clarke ...

and the whistle playing of Willie Clancy. She plays the whistle "left-handed", with the right hand covering the upper tone holes, unlike most whistle players who play with the left hand on top. Bergin's playing is characterized by great feeling, technical virtuosity, and a respect for the music. Music scholar Fintan Vallely has described her playing as "brightly ornamented but uncluttered", with "crisp articulation". Writer and flute player Grey Larsen uses similar terms, describing her playing as "precise", "elegant", and "streamlined".

Discography

Mary Bergin

* ''

'' (1979) * ''

'' (1993)

Dordán

* ''Irish Traditional and Baroque Music'' (1 July 1991) * ''Jigs to the Moon'' (18 October 1994) * ''The Night Before...A Celtic Christmas'' (25 August 1998) * ''Celtic Aire'' (13 July 1999)

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

*
Mary Bergin's performance of Over the Bridge with comments and scoreOfficial site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergin, Mary 1949 births Living people Irish folk musicians Irish tin whistle players Musicians from County Dublin