- Music
- 01 Oct 03
The lyrics on his debut solo album are a revelation, opening up a vanished world in which romance and the supernatural find their way seamlessly into workaday farming and fishing life
Singer, piper and flute player Meaití Jó Shéamuis Ó Fátharta has been Musical Director with Raidió na Gaeltachta since 1995 and is also a music collector and teacher of sean-nós singing. The lyrics on his debut solo album are a revelation, opening up a vanished world in which romance and the supernatural find their way seamlessly into workaday farming and fishing life: in one verse of ‘An Bhó Bhán’, for example, the singer is lamenting the loss of one of his cows, while in the next he’s listening to the violins of the fairy women. Several sets of tunes feature alongside the songs, and there’s a charming track featuring Meaití Jó lilting a couple of reels to harp accompaniment from Aisling Ní Neachtain.