Nowhere is this criticism more bitterly expressed than in ‘Johnny Seoighe’, a satirical song in the refined allusive poetic tradition of Ireland, which can only be fully understood if one hears the accompanying scéal, the story traditionally told by the singer before singing: on Christmas Eve, the author (probably Tomás Shiúnach from Carna, in Connemara) and his family walked all the way to the workhouse only to find they couldn’t be accepted there for lack of space. They then asked the famine relief officer, Johnny Joyce (Seoighe, in Irish), for help and food, which was denied, and his wife and children subsequently died on the way back home from hunger and exhaustion. One can hardly imagine the grief that led to those subtly sarcastic and angry lines.

Here again, this song was long regarded as taboo, and kept well within the Carna community, until it started being sung in public in the... (continua)

A traditional song, often being the work of an anonymous or forgotten author, can naturally be regarded as the representative expression of a community; and, being still sung by subsequent generations, will have successfully passed the test of time. Its continuous handling down from generation to generation ensures that the feeling is an enduring one. One song in Irish which has been carefully passed on since the mid-nineteenth century, is called ‘Amhrán na bPrátaí Dubha’ (‘The Song of the Black Potatoes’)11 and was probably composed during the Great Famine by Máire Ní Dhroma, who lived near Dungarvan.

11It features ten verses, and is mostly an appeal to mercy from God: ‘A Dhia na Glóire fóir agus freagair sinn’ (‘O God of glory protect us and answer us’), initially substantiating the belief expressed by many that the famine was a divine intervention, as openly stated by C.E. Trevelyan,... (continua)

[1986]
Parole e musica di Linard Bardill

Nell’album intitolato “I nu passaran!”, con Shefali Banerjee e Pippo Pollina
Poi anche nella raccolta “Tamangur” del 1996

God da Tamangur (“La foresta là dietro” in romancio) è un bosco di pini cembri secolari, il più alto d’Europa (2.300 msl), nel Cantone dei Grigioni.

Ricordo che la presenza del pino cembro è un rilevatore importante dello stato di salute dell’ambiente montano, sia dal punto di vista vegetale che animale. Il cembro è stato infatti messo in pericolo fino a tempi recenti per via del suo legno molto ambìto e la sua diffusione naturale è molto delicata perchè molto legata alla presenza di popolazioni sane di alcuni uccelli nucifraghi, in particolare la Nocciolaia, un corvide simile alla più comune Ghiandaia, ma specializzato nel nutrirsi dei semi delle pigne, contribuendo così alla disseminazione di molte specie di aghifoglie e del cembro in particolare.

[1726]
A Broadside Ballad by Jonathan Swift [1667-1745]
Ballata da foglio volante di Jonathan Swift [1667-1745]
Originally to be sung to an unknown tune
Da cantarsi in origine su un'aria rimasta sconosciuta

Interpretata in tempi moderni da Paul Hillier e Andrew Lawrence-King nell'album Bitter Ballads - Ancient and modern Poetry sung to medieval and traditional Melodies
Recorded in modern times by Paul Hillier and Andrew Lawrence-King in the album Bitter Ballads - Ancient and modern Poetry sung to medieval and traditional Melodies

Tra le numerose cose per le quali il mondo dovrebbe essere grato a quell'acido, sarcastico, ipocondriaco e geniale irlandesaccio di Jonathan Swift, ci dovrebbe essere anche il fatto che, ai suoi tempi, era fra i non molti a non credere affatto alla pena di morte. La avversava ferocemente, e non soltanto in quanto inutile e inumana, ma anche e soprattutto perché,... (continua)