It was Thursday, the weather was nice, and I didn’t have other plans, so I went to my default Thursday plan the Irish Session at Mary O’s. The leaders were my virtual friends Caitlin Warbelow and Chris Ranney. I know them because they hosted the virtual Irish Sessions while the live ones were on pandemic leave. I went over to say “Hi” and they didn’t recognize me as they had never seen me except as a profile picture and I was wearing a mask. I wasn’t sure if it was them and I’ve seen them weekly on the streaming concerts, because they too wore masks. All the musicians that weren’t playing wind instruments were. If they didn’t let you in without a vaccination, I’d be comfortable not wearing a mask, but NYC isn’t making that mandatory for a month. I did take the mask off when I ate.
For years I said I need to go to more Irish Sessions, now I am. As so often happens the key was not being afraid of going alone. That doesn’t mean that I don’t want you to join me, I most definitely would appreciate the company. There is something Zen about a session, like meditation it takes you out of this world and into its own. The place was far busier than the last time I was there. That’s good, I want Mary to thrive. She’s a real person and a constant presence at the tavern. This is as far from the corporate music world as you can get.
Here’s what it looks like.
The music is the music of my people, even though I’m not Irish. My People is not defined by where my ancestors came from. Irish music makes me feel good and my people are the ones that feel the same. While looking at the instruments I was struck by how international music is and how it spreads around the world. The ubiquitous fiddle/violin, started in Mongolia, thus the horse-hair bows, traveled along the silk road to Italy where the modern instrument took form, and then moved across Europe to Ireland. The bouzouki has become a staple of Irish music, but its origin is Greece. The free reed at the heart of the accordion is from China but the modern instrument was invented in Germany. The banjo is of course African and came to the America with the slaves. The modern 5-string variety was probably invented by a white minstrel performer but was immediately picked up by African Americans, so the history is unclear. Then it crossed the Atlantic again to reach Ireland. The flute and drum are the oldest instrument and date back to the paleolithic. I suspect every culture has derived its own varieties. Last night the flautists were playing transverse flutes, a relatively modern European invention. I forgot the piano and instrument that evolved from the plucked wooden framed harpsichord to the modern cast iron framed instruments where the strings are struck by mallets. It’s essentially the Persian hammered dulcimer played with a keyboard. When the instruments met, they said, “Let’s make beautiful music together,” and they did.
Who is going to join me at Mary O’s on a Thursday night? It’s so much fun and the food is good. The people are wonderful and friendly. I waved goodbye when I left, and everyone stopped and said goodbye to me. Any time you want to go let me know. I might already be going and if I’m not and don’t have other plans I’ll join you.
Wise Madness 