Tuesday, March 17, 2009

St Patrick's Day Craic

A celebration of music by Bill Whelan at Belfast's Waterfront Hall

Like last year, the weather was good on St Patrick's Day. Unlike last year, I didn't get outside to enjoy it, but sat glued to the phone (actually hovering above a speaker phone) for seven hours working through the chaos that is the end of the financial year.

But in the evening we tootled up to the Waterfront Hall to enjoy this year's St Patrick's Day concert, organised by BBC Radio Ulster and Belfast City Council. Last year featured the music of Shaun Davey. This year it was the turn of Bill Whelan - best known for the 1994 Eurovision interval act Riverdance - but the composer behind many other gripping pieces.

Not too diddle-dee-dee. But a mix of mature music to sit back and enjoy after a hard day's work. The first half dominated by the enormous (augmented?) string section of the Ulster Orchestra, and the second half become more boisterous, ending in a crescendo with the seven minute orchestrated version of Riverdance. A great night, in great company.

To go all tabloid for a minute, you'll be able to spot Sharon Corr on fiddle in the shot below. Worth a listen until it drops off the end of Listen Again next Tuesday.

A celebration of music by Bill Whelan at Belfast's Waterfront Hall

Update - Big hello to everyone visiting from The Corrs Club ...

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