Blackwater is the fifth studio album by Altan, released in 1996 on the Virgin Records label. Three of the songs are sung in Irish. "Ar Bhruach Na Carraige Baine" is sung partly in English and in Irish. "Blackwaterside" is sung in English. The final tune is a tribute to Frankie Kennedy written by Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh herself.

Personnel

*Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh – Fiddle, vocals

*Ciaran Tourish – Fiddle, whistle, backing vocals

*Dermot Byrne – Accordion, melodeon

*Ciarán Curran – Bouzouki

*Mark Kelly – Guitar, backing vocals

*Dáithí Sproule – Guitar, backing vocals

Guests 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 drums (track 3)

*Dónal Lunny – Bouzouki (track 10), bodhrán (tracks 4, 7, 9, 12), keyboards (tracks 5, 7, 9, 12)

*Maighréad Ní Dhomhnaill – Backing vocals (track 3)

*Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill – Backing vocals (track 3), piano (track 11)

*Anna Ní Mhaonaigh – Backing vocals (track 7)

*Brendan Power – Harmonica (tracks 3, 7, 9)

*String quartet:

:*Máire Breatnach — Viola

:*Annette Cleary — Cello

:*David James — Cello

:*Tommy Kane — Violin

Production

*Brian Masterson – Producer, Engineer

*David Scheinmann – Photography

*The Design Corporation – Design

References

* - Official video

*

Category:Altan albums

Category:1996 albums

ja:ブラックウォーター (アルタン)

Artist/Band Information

Altan are an Irish folk music group, who formed in County Donegal in 1987.. They have sold millions of records worldwide.http Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh is the band's lead vocalist and fiddler.

Origin

Frankie Kennedy, as a young musician from Belfast, used to travel to County Donegal in his summer holidays, learning Irish and playing traditional Irish music. There he met native Irish-speaker and musician Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, the daughter of famed musician Proinsias Ó Maonaigh from Gweedore, County Donegal. Ní Mhaonaigh learned the Donegal-style of fiddle-playing from her father, however, Donegal music was little known outside of the county at the time. Kennedy's repertoire included a number of obscure northern flute tunes drawn from his travels in County Tyrone and County Fermanagh. The pair married in 1981.

Pre-Altan years

Ní Mhaonaigh and Kennedy featured on the first three albums of the well-known Belfast singer and Irish language enthusiast Albert Fry. Two years later they made their first album together, Ceol Aduaidh. This record featured a then un-known musician from Gweedore, Eithne Ní Bhraonáin, now known as Enya. It was a collection of Gaelic songs and Ulster jigs and reels.

Mainstream success: 1987-present

1987-1994: Green Linnet Records

In 1987, they decided to form a band, Altan, named after a lake in Gweedore, Co. Donegal which sits in the shadow of Mount Errigal. They included bouzouki player Ciarán Curran and guitarist Mark Kelly.

Inspired by the success of their debut effort, Ní Mhaonaigh and Kennedy began to work on a new group of ballads and jigs from the north. The result was 1987's Altan, which features many of the musicians who would later join the band under that same name. In the Irish language, altan is a word that means "stream".

In 1989, Altan released their very first album, Horse with a Heart, a well-received album that featured the fiddle-playing of Dublin's Paul O'Shaughnessy.

In 1989, Altan released The Red Crow, which became the first of three Altan albums to win the prestigious “Celtic/British Isles Album of the Year” award from the National Association of Independent Record Distributors and Manufactures (NAIRD).http

In 1992 Dáithí Sproule from Derry joined, and the band released Harvest Storm.

In the meantime, Frankie Kennedy learned in June 1992 that he had Ewing's sarcoma, a type of cancer that attacks bone structure. He endured surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy in an effort to cure himself while simultaneously continuing his work with Altan. Kennedy died in September 1994. After a period of mourning, the band resumed their touring as was requested by Kennedy himself before he died.

In 1993, the band released Island Angel. Billboard cited Island Angel as the fourth-best-selling album of world music in 1994. In 1994, the band performed for US President Bill Clinton at the White House on Saint Patrick's Day.

1994-2000: Virgin Records

After the release of their first greatest-hits package in 1995, entitled The First Ten Years, they were signed by Virgin Records. The band line-up at the time was Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (vocals, fiddle), Ciarán Tourish (fiddle), Ciarán Curran (bouzouki), Dáithí Sproule (guitar) and Dermot Byrne (accordion).

In 1996, Altan released Blackwater, their first album on Virgin Records.

In 1997, Altan released their next album, Runaway Sunday.

2000-present: Narada Productions

In 2000, the group released Another Sky, their first album on the Narada label.

In 2002, The Blue Idol featured the vocals of American singer Dolly Parton, who became close friends with the group after she invited them to play on her 2001 album Little Sparrow. The album garnered them the award for Best Group at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

In 2002, Altan (along with other artists signed to Green Linnet such as Cherish the Ladies) sued for unpaid royalties. Most artists were paid and most claims were settled in 2006 as Compass Records (who would later sign Altan) bought the company.

In 2003, they released another greatest hits compilation CD called The Best of Altan: The Songs.

In 2005, they recorded Local Ground. Like almost every other Altan offering, it was met with positive and enthusiastic reviews.

On 28 December 2008, the band's singer and fiddle player Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh released her début album, Imeall, at Scoil Gheimridh Frankie Kennedy in Donegal.

On 27 April 2009, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh announced that the band would be going into the studio at the beginning of May 2009 to record a new Altan album with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. - Ryan Tubridy Show

In July 2009, Ní Mhaonaigh announced that Altan would release their first DVD, also with the orchestra. - Summer Is Here!

2010: Celebrating the 25th anniversary

To commemorate their 25th anniversary, Altan released a live album, recorded with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra in January 2010 in Japan during their Winter 2010 Japanese Tour and in February 2010 in Western Europe and North America.

Altan launched their 14-date "25th Anniversary" Irish tour on 23 April 2010 in Dublin. A 6-date UK tour is scheduled to take place in September 2010. - Altan 2010 Tour Dates

Legacy

A winter school of music is now held in Gweedore, County Donegal each year in honour of co-founder Frankie Kennedy, The Frankie Kennedy Winter Music School. Ni Mhaonaigh is regarded as one of the great female singers of Ireland, standing alongside the likes of Mary Black, Moya Brennan and Sinéad O'Connor.

Discography

Frankie Kennedy and Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh albums

* Ceol Aduaidh (Music of the North) (1983)

* Altan (1987)

Altan studio albums

* Horse with a Heart (1989)

* The Red Crow (1990)

* Harvest Storm (1991)

* Island Angel (1993)

* Blackwater (1996)

* Runaway Sunday (1997)

* Another Sky (2000)

* The Blue Idol (2002)

* Local Ground (2005)

* 25th Anniversary Celebration (2010) a compilation of studio re-recordings of previous material (plus two new songs) with orchestral arrangements

Altan compilations

* The First Ten Years (1986–1995) (1995) a Green Linnet Label 1-CD compilation

* The Best Of Altan (1997) a Green Linnet 2-CD compilation (the 2nd CD is a 50-min Bonus CD of a live performance in Germany in 1989, the only live recording available from the band to date)

* Altan's Finest (2000) a Valley Label 1-CD compilation of the Green Linnet years

* Once Again 1987-93 (2000) a Recall Records UK Label 2-CD compilation of the Green Linnet years

* The Best of Altan: The Songs (2003) a Virgin Records Label compilation of songs from the Virgin and Narada albums: five songs from Another Sky, four from Runaway Sunday, three from Blackwater, and two from The Blue Idol

Solo albums

Although the band members record solo albums, various Altan members sometimes appear as guests.

*Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh - Imeall (2008)

*Dáithí Sproule - A Heart Made of Glass (1995)

*Dáithí Sproule - The Crow in the Sun (2007)

*Ciarán Tourish - Down The Line (2005)

References