''The Year of the French'' is an Irish folk album by The Chieftains. Produced by

Paddy Moloney Paddy Moloney ( ga, Pádraig Ó Maoldomhnaigh; 1 August 1938 – 12 October 2021) was an Irish musician, composer, and record producer. He co-founded and led the Irish musical group the Chieftains, playing on all of their 44 albums. He was parti ...

, it was recorded at Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin, in September 1982 and released in 1983. On this album The Chieftains appeared with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, conducted by Proinnsias O'Duinn, and with Ruairi Somers on

bagpipes Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, No ...

. All the music was composed and arranged by Paddy Moloney to accompany an RTḖ television series.

Track listing

#"Killala: The Main Theme" (Chieftains and Orchestra) (2:06) #"The French March" (Chieftains and Orchestra) (4:52) #"The McCarthy Theme" (Chieftains)/ "The Looting" (Orchestra) (3:41) #"Treacy's Barnyard Dance" (Chieftains) (5:34) #"The Irish March: March of the Mayomen"/ "Uillean Pipes Lament" (Chieftains and Orchestra) (3:11) #"Killala: The Main Theme" (Chieftains and Orchestra) (2:01) #"The Irish March: March of the Mayomen" (bagpipes, Chieftains and Orchestra) (3:20) #"

Cúnla "Cúnla" is an Irish folk song, originally composed in the Irish language. History Cúnla is a sean-nós children's song believed to have been composed sometime in the 14th century. The song is still well known and widely sung in Ireland and rec ...

" (song)/ "The Yearling Fair Reel" (fiddle) (3:06) #"Killala: The Opening Theme" (uilleann pipes and Orchestra)/ "Killala: The Coach Ride" (Chieftains) (4:03) #"The Bolero: McCarthy's Arrest" (Orchestra) (1:36) #"The McCarthy Theme" (flute and harp)/ "The Wandering" (Orchestra) (3:52) #"The French March" (Chieftains and Orchestra)/ "Cooper's Tune" (Orchestra) (2:31) #"The Hanging"/ "Sean O'Di" (Chieftains) (2:45) #"Killala: The Main Theme" (Chieftains and Orchestra) (2:08)

Personnel

– uilleann pipes, tin whistle * Seán Keane –

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

Martin Fay Martin Joseph Fay (19 September 1936 – 14 November 2012) was an Irish fiddler and bones player, and a former member of The Chieftains. He was born in Cabra, Dublin, Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scot ...

– fiddle, bones * Derek Bell –

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

, tiompán * Kevin Conneff – bodhrán, vocals * Matt Molloy –

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Year of the French The Chieftains albums 1983 albums