CEARA CONWAY, known for unique use of traditional song and lament in contemporary art, has released the single ‘An Caoineadh’, a taster for her debut album, Caoin.
‘An Caoineadh’ sees the Connemara born vocalist/artist accompanied by Francesco Turrisi on piano, Ultan O’Brien on violin, and Kevin Murphy on cello.
“I first heard and learnt this pre-Christian lament from the well-known singer Nóirín Ní Riain,” says Ceara of the new single. “The lament is strong and pure in its expression of the loss of a mother grieving the death of her child.”
Filmmaker Myles O’Reilly collaborated with Ceara on creating visuals to accompany the song. “Ceara's rendition of the ancient 'An Caoineadh' is truly the sound of an emotion transported through the ages, to be felt by anyone who hears it now,” he said. “It was important to me not to disturb such an ancient artefact. The video needed to be a vessel to deliver the song, without interfering. I found that container in nature's greatest light show, in the mystical and sensitive embrace of nautical twilight.”
.
Caoin will be released on CD and digitally on Thursday March 31. Along with Turrisi, O’Brien, and Murphy, Ceara is joined by Seán Mac Erlaine (clarinet, electronics, production ). It will be a collection of sean nós songs with contemporary musical arrangements that explore the beautiful sounds and sentiments of longing and loss found in traditional praise songs, lullabies, and mourning songs.
For more information see https://www.cearaconway.ie/ and Bandcamp.
