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CHICO -- Ireland's Donegal Gaeltacht (Gaelic-speaking) band Altan is playing Chico State University's Laxson Auditorium on Saturday.
Founding members the late Frankie Kennedy and his partner lead singer and fiddler, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, began their musical career while teaching in a school in Malahide in North County Dublin, playing music for fun and enjoyment, not knowing that it would become a central part of their lives and open the door for them to play all over the world.
Kennedy and Mhaonaigh started out by playing with and meeting older musicians from the Donegal tradition, such as John Doherty, Con Cassidy, James Byrne, Dinny McLaughlin,Vincent Campbell and Mhaonaigh's own father, Francie, who shared their music with them. It would be Francie who would later commit to translating the beautiful Gaelic songs into English, which Altan would transfer to the recordings.
"In Ireland, Donegal music is located in the northwest, at the very edge of Europe," Mhaonaigh said. "We are situated in a very isolated spot compared to the rest of Ireland because we are politically cut off by the Six Counties. So that makes us kind of out there on our own like an island within an island. Our music has distinctive island flavor as well because we kept an identity and a distinctive style that is stronger than a lot of styles all over the country.
"Most of our songs are common ones you learn at school. I was in my father's class at school and he taught me all the
children's songs, the traditional songs and some older songs, as well, that older people would sing. After I got really interested I went to the archives in Dublin and to the Folklore Commission and asked if I could listen to old tapes of people that were dead. I got bits of songs from them and then I went looking for manuscripts and old books and put the songs, knitted them, together. I also got songs from neighbors and relatives."
Altan was eventually honored by its government, which put the band on an official Irish postage stamp. The band members also became traveling ambassadors to countries throughout the world. They received the award for Best Group at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, along with being recognized by many of their musical peers, playing and recording with the likes of The Chieftains, Dolly Parton, Bonnie Raitt, Alison Krauss, Ricky Skaggs and others.
In recent years, Altan has been exploring and experimenting with its music using orchestral arrangements of its most popular pieces. This year, Altan released a 25th anniversary celebration album with the RTE Concert Orchestra.
When asked about whether or not the band would ever compromise its adherence to its traditional Donegal music, Mhaonaigh said, "The reason we would never play another type of music is we don't know it and we don't come from that background. I think bands can quickly lose their way when they veer off from what they do best."
At Laxson, Mhaonaigh will be singing the band's familiar ballads and performing duets with fellow fiddler Ciaran Tourish. Their complementary styles are anchored by one of the best rhythm sections in the business, with Dáithí Sproule on guitar, Dermot Byrne on accordion and Ciarán Curran on bouzouki.
Tickets for Saturday's 7:30 p.m. concert cost $14-$23 at the university box office, 898-6333. The show is hosted by Chico Performances.
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