Cuan an Cheoil is a new music series starting on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta on Thursday 20th January at 7 pm, presented by Liam Ó Maonlaí. Liam will be joined by guest musicians each week, and they will take what he describes as 'a musical walk' together in a relaxed and open atmosphere. Watch a preview above, featuring Méabh Ní Bheaglaoich agus Niamh-Varian Barry le Liam Ó Maonlaí.
Sraith deich gclár a bheidh i gCuan an Cheoil, agus deir Liam gur ‘comhrá ceolmhar’ a bheidh le cloisteáil ag éisteoirí na sraithe, seachas ceolchoirm. Beidh atmaisféar teolaí, pearsanta, machnamhach sna cláracha, agus beidh Liam i mbun comhcheoil leis na haíonna freisin agus beidh deis acu tabhairt faoi roinnt tob-chumadóireachta chomh maith. The recording format for Cuan an Cheoil aimed to allow the musicians some respite from the world for a few hours, to create a space for them to relax and play together without the pressures that can often be associated with performance, as Liam describes:
"Sometimes, when we’re on the road as musicians, we can come under pressure to perform things a certain way, for the stage. In this programme, it was like we were walking together, chatting and playing music, with the team around us allowing us to do that, keeping us fed and watered, and providing all the equipment needed to capture the magic of that interaction between us."
"When I’m playing, I often think about what would happen if you were playing at home, how would this unfold naturally there, as opposed to shaping something for the stage. We had no script for this programme, we wanted to just let it flow as naturally as possible, and to then capture that magic." Beidh deichniúr ceoltóirí aitheanta ó cheann ceann na tíre páirteach sa tsraith seo a thabharfaidh ardán do cheol nua, agus do smaointeoireacht nua, agus gheobhaidh na héisteoirí léargas ar na rannpháirtithe agus ar an gcur chuige atá acu ó thaobh an cheoil de sna cláracha.
Is iad Síle Denvir agus Barry Kerr na haíonna a bheas le cloisteáil sa chéad chlár. As Conamara do Shíle, ball den ghrúpa Líadan, agus tá an domhan siúlta aici leis an ngrúpa sin agus le The Chieftains freisin. Ina teannta ar an gclár beidh Barry Kerr, ceoltóir, cumadóir agus péintéir as Ard Mhacha ó dhúchas ach cónaí air anois i gConamara. Is iad na ceoltóirí eile a bheas páirteach sa tsraith seo Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh & Nia Byrne, Peadar Ó Riada & Mick O’Brien, Mary Bergin & Conor Connolly, Johnny Óg Connolly & Liam O’Connor, Róisín Chambers & Maitiú Ó Casaide, Méabh Ní Bheaglaoich & Niamh Varian-Barry, Rónán Ó Snodaigh & Myles O’Reilly, agus Caoimhe & Séamus Ó Flatharta.
A visual stream of the programme will also be published each week at 7 pm on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta’s social media platforms, and on rte.ie/gaeilge - find out more about Cuan an Cheoil here.
