Lasairfhíona Ní Chonaola is far from being a stereotypical traditional singer, writes Siobhán Long
The Aran Islands have produced more than their share of artists, most of them literary. But although they have never had a shortage of songs, few locals have had the impact of Lasairfhíona Ní Chonaola in the past year. It has taken her just one outing to the studio, to make her debut CD, An Raicín Álainn, to dispel all manner of myths associated with traditional singing.
Far from being a finger-in-the-ear singer, Ní Chonaola takes possession of the songs handed down to her with the alacrity and comfort of a singer who's not even on conversational terms with the hang-ups of a generation reared to believe that sean-nós was a wry joke played by islanders bent on recreating the delights of root-canal treatment for unsuspecting listeners gathered round the session.
And then there are her own songs. Tales with a tincture of the magic realism of Central and South America. Gemstones that reveal layer upon layer of riches compacted beneath deceptively simple surfaces.
She may be a graduate of Celtic studies, with enough history and genealogy tucked beneath her belt to fuel a gabháil of songs, but Ní Chonaola, a native of Inishere, is a carrier of the flame from as far back as the cradle, when singing held a place long usurped in other parts of the country by the all-consuming television.
"Since I was a child I was always singing", she says, "and there's a great tradition of singing on the islands. The singer was respected. When somebody sang people were quiet. The singer and the song were equal. So I came from that tradition. There was more emphasis on the song than on music, though that has changed since. There are plenty of young musicians playing now."
Ní Chonaola isn't afraid to strip the songs bare, sometimes pairing voice with bodhrán and nothing else, as she does on Bean Pháidín.
"There's nothing like the bodhrán and the voice", she says. "They're the two oldest instruments we have. You can imagine people long, long ago. Johnny MacDonagh [the bodhrán player\] is brilliant. He has a great ear for listening to the singer, because there's a language going on other than the words of the song.There's something special, something beyond. Music reaches people in a way that maybe words don't. It's at a higher level."
For Roundstone Ní Chonaola plans to bring more than a knapsackful of songs. At Errisbeg House on Wednesday she'll be joined by her father, the Inishmaan writer and poet Dara Ó Conaola.
"My father's going to read some of his poetry, and I'll be singing some songs," she says, "but we've set up a project called Dán Aille, an Aran project with a visual artist called Seán Ó Flaithearta, which we'll be performing in other places. We were thinking that people like John Millington Synge and \ Petrie have come to the islands looking for creativity, so it's the first time that we islanders are looking at our own culture and bringing something to the people."
Ní Chonaola hasn't been shy when it comes to bringing the music to non-Irish-speaking audiences, either, as is evident by her appearance in the 10 most promising folk and trad acts in last year's Hot Press readers' poll. Her debut CD was also voted one of the top 10 debut albums of 2002. Proof, if she needed it, that the music can traverse generations as well as linguistic codes with ease.
"I was singing in the Town Hall in Galway recently, and in the audience there were a lot of French, Italian, Japanese, Germans and Spanish, and they were all very happy with the songs. Somehow, when I was recording the album, I had a load of songs, but all of the songs that made it on to the album were in Irish. It just seemed right. It's what I speak. It's my everyday language. It just seemed like a natural progression."
She has few fears of being boxed into a category of someone else's choosing. Sean-nós may strike fear in the hearts of some, but Ní Chonaola refuses to be dragged into arguments about a genre in which she feels at ease.
"On the islands there were just songs," she says. "We just sang songs. We didn't call them sean-nós. I came from a sean-nós background, but I live in the modern time, too, so there are inevitably influences there.
"I come from a creative family: on my father's side there was writing and music, and on my mother's side there was art and sculpture, so it's natural for me to be creative, and it's important for people who are creative to try out new ideas. It's natural. And on the CD there's oldness but there's also newness. And I like to push the boundaries - for myself, because I feel comfortable with it.
An Raicín Álainn is on CIC
Roundstone Arts Week is scratching its seven-year itch. The Connemara festival, which starts today and runs until next weekend, is widening its selection of artists, genres and venues.
With a far greater emphasis on music, this year's calendar of events is so full that it could lead to a melee as performers jostle for the attention of locals and visitors.
Tonight Seán Keane, of the Caherlistrane dynasty of singers, takes to the boards of the community hall while Jon Hicks, the former Lia Luachra guitarist, will bring his eclectic repertoire to Eldon's Hotel. As well as Lasairfhíona Ní Chonaola's appearance in the marquee at Errisbeg House on Wednesday and Zoë Conway's concert on Thursday, anyone with an appetite for whooping and hollering can vent their energies at the concerts by Damien Dempsey and De Jimbe on Friday, Rodrigo Y Gabriela on Saturday or Kíla on Sunday.
More details from Roundstone development office (095-35044), Errisbeg House (095-35834) or www.roundstoneartsweek.com