Something old, something new, something Irish, something Clare

I was listening to Clare's CD today on my way to work. I downloaded the whole album from CDBaby when it first came out, and now that I am walking all over the place in the cheerfully freezing fall sunshine, it is the perfect time to listen to it. Again.

I have confessed before that I have a gigantic soft spot for Irish stories - almost as much as I have one for Clare. She was here last fall for the National Storytelling Festival, and took Jonesborough by storm. People still talk about her stories and her friendly smile (and her "gorgeous Irish accent", because this is America, and everyone around here is Irish :) The CD was recorded live during the festival, as one can see right in the title.
I love this fact about it. It does not only bring you the tales, it brings you the festival experience. Right at the beginning there is Dovie's wonderful introduction, and then there are the reactions from the audience, and the whole thing just feel a lot more alive than a studio recording could ever be.
Clare's stage performance translates really well into recording. The sound effects are all there, the humor comes through loud and clear (maybe I should stop listening to it on the street, because I either grin and giggle like an idiot, or jump at random times). The fact about Clare is, and one of the things I like the most in her storytelling, is that she loves all her stories with a passion that comes through even on a sound recording. She hand picks them, and nurtures them, and enjoys them with the playfulness of a child while sharing them with the wisdom of a crone.

The selection of tales is also full of treats. Some short but great stories like Half a Blanket, or the Legend of Knockgrafton mix in with the big ones, including my ever favorite, the birth of Oisin (if it wasn't for Clare, I still could not pronounce half the names in my favorite Irish tales, by the way, so extra points for that). Lively personalities, unique voices and strong emotions fill every track, and one finds herself walking through a mythic landscape guided by the voice of a trickster.

If you are thoroughly craving some Clare Murphy Irish magic by now, here is the link to her album. Have fun!

Lady Megan and the Groundhogs

Okay, so I have been out of the loop for a while, I'm just going to blame it all on the thesis (two more weeks to go!), and move on. Since there is a lot I need to write about, I will start with the most recent event, and work my way backwards. Yes. That should work.

So, this Saturday I once again bullied and bribed my friend Danielle into going to Jonesborough to see the Teller in Residence (well, to tell the truth, she did not need much bullying). This week's menu consisted of Megan Hicks, whom I have heard at last year's festival and I was completely enchanted; I have been looking forward to hearing her again ever since then. When we arrived, she was already on the stage, folding colorful paper (check out her homepage, she does origami, the really cool kind!) and visiting with her audience. I like tellers who do that. Instead of just magically appearing on the stage in a puff of smoke, they actually walk in, say hello, talk to us, and then go on into storytelling as people we already know. It makes me feel very comfortable and open to their stories.

And we got so lucky! This has been a trend, somehow I always manage to show up for storytelling when tellers do my favorite stories. Megan told the Dancing Princesses, which has been one of my favorites ever since I was a kid (I tell the Hungarian version of it). And the luck did not run out there, she did a whole fairy tale show, which made my world balance out entirely, I have been craving some fairy tales for months now (they have been hard to come by lately). She did Davy and the Devil, which I heard from her at the festival, and I have been sitting with my fingers crossed hoping I'd hear it again. Yesss! And to top all that, she also did one of her groundhog stories. I saw the CD she had at the festival, and I wondered how groundhogs figure into Grimm tales... and now I found out. Megan's traditional stories are delightful, but her fractured (groundhogged) Grimm tales are awesome! They are so adorable, I wanted to go and get myself a plushie groundhog right away to cuddle with. Instead, I got myself a CD. Even better.

Someone in the audience noted that Megan has a way of telling fairy tales without making the listeners feel like they are children. She owns her tales; she enjoys them, and knows them, inside and out, and that is what makes them suitable for adult audiences. Not to mention entertaining.

One more storyteller I will have to follow around like a puppy. The list is growing longer...