SÍLE DENVIR
Anamnesis
Philippe Cousin
Sean-nós, literally old style, is a traditional way of singing Irish, usually unaccompanied. It's a style that reflects the way these songs are usually performed in community and informal contexts.
Síle Denvir, whom I mentioned a number of years ago as one of the founding members of the women's group Líadan, is a harpist and sean-nós singer. She has toured extensively with The Chieftains, Barry Kerr, Liam Ó Maonlaí and Martin Hayes. She is a regular contributor to TV programmes on TG4, the Irish-language channel. And recently she was musical director of Bláth na hÓige, a group of talented young Irish sean-nós singers.
Born in Connemara, she was deeply influenced by her upbringing in the West of Ireland. A native Irish speaker, her singing is deeply rooted in sean-nós, and on her album Anamnesis, she presents nine songs in this style.
Her album is an invitation to travel through song, within a meditative world of sound. This is particularly well rendered by Caroline Dale's haunting cello and a few touches of synthesiser and bodhrán.
She shares with us nine superb songs from Connemara, songs rooted in the Bardic tradition that tell stories about the eternal human condition, but also stories of love, life, death and the loss of loved ones. The link with nature is present throughout the album. Síle's approach is heavily influenced by the singers who came before her and whom she heard in her youth.
From start to finish, calm, tranquillity, serenity and munificence are just some of the words that suit this nuanced album.
Autoproduit – www.siledenvir.com