“A blessing on every one who shall faithfully memorise the Táin as it is written here and shall not add any other form to it.” (unknown scribe, The Book of Leinster 12th C.)

"Lorcan MacMathuna gathers from the air something which is older than the Tain - ageless, primaeval and haunting. He has caught and manifest for us a sound which is fundamental; which has existed since men and women first sang - sang to express what they felt and what they knew to be true. It is the music of mythology - all the cadences of history and prehistory residing in one man's voice. It calls to the soul. And the soul answers. And we are privileged to listen and to hear in our own blood and in the fibres of our understanding." -KATE NEWMAN, Poet and Publisher

“But I who have written this story, or rather fable, give no credence to the various incidents related in it. For some things in it are the deceptions of demons, others poetic figments; some are probable, others improbable; while still others are intended for the delectation of foolish men.” (unknown scribe, The Book of Leinster 12th C.)

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AN TÁIN BÓ CUAILNGE FROM THE BOOK OF LEINSTER

Deep End of The Ford's An Táin involves the voice of Lorcán Mac Mathúna; Eoghan Neff on fiddle and looping station; Flaithrí Neff on VPipes, uileann pipes, and low whistles; Seán Mac Erlaine on bass clarinet and live electroniccs; and and Martín Tourish on Accordion. It is a modern treatment of Gaelic Ireland's foundation tale, An Táín Bó Cualaigne, as transcribed in from the Book of leinster

An Táin is perhaps the most important piece of Irish literature because it is a story of a shared epic; that all the tribal peoples of a culturally mixed Iron age ireland; see as a formative founding tale. It is an heroic epic which gives birth to the notion of a Gaelic concept.

At the core of An Táin is the villianous Meadhbh, driven by greed and the quest for power, and the heroic Cú Chulainn who stands alone in the way of the massed armies of Meadhbh's alliance. Ulster is left defenceless because of the curse which arose from the shameful treatment by the Ulster nobles of the Wife of Macha, and but for the stand of the youthful Cú Chulainn she could march through the plains of Muirthemna, despoiling and looting uncontested, to seize the object of her envy, the prize bull of the Ulster people, The Donn Cuailgne.

The manipulative Meadhbh cannot get the better of Cú Chulainn until she cajoles and extorts Cú Chulainn's foster brother, Ferdia, into challenging Cú Chulainn to single combat. And so she sets the scene for the tragic but titanic battle of the blood brothers which raged so furiously that the ford in the river boiled and the river diverted its course.

The music for this piece was composed by Lorcán Mac Mathúna and the words were taken from the mediaeval Irish manuscript, The Book of Leinster. The lyrics are in their origional form un-translated and unaltered

Reviews

AN PÍOBAIRE December 2010

St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral provided the spectacular background to the afternoon concert appropriately called ‘Pipes in the Cathedral.’

The highlight of this concert was the World Premier of a commissioned piece from the Cork singer Lorcan MacMathuna entitled ‘Tain Bo Cuailgne’, the ‘Cattle Raid of Cooley’ one of the great epic stories from the Ulster Cycle of heroic tales. Armagh was a most appropriate setting for the inaugural performance of this piece commissioned by Armagh Pipers Club and supported by a traditional Arts Award from An Chomhairle Ealaion/Irish Arts Council.

The words come directly from the Book of Leinster and the piece follows the action of the Tain through eight descriptive pieces sung by Lorcan MacMathuna. The story is one of the great epics of the Scottish and Irish Gaelic Oral tradition handed down through the centuries and finally written down by scribes in the first millennium. The story also survived orally throughout Ireland and Scotland right to the present day. This was a truly magical performance rising to the occasion and captivating the audience. The entire piece is controlled by MacMathuna’s spell binding singing which ranged from low chanting to full throated and powerful vocals that echoed through the Cathedral. The musical accompaniment of uilleann pipes, fiddle, saxophone and piano accordion also included pre-recorded electronic music. This was one of the never to be forgotten moments of the entire festival.

PIPING TODAY December10/January11

After lunch it was up to St. patrick’s cathedral for the world premiere of Lorcán Mac Mathúna’s An Táin. This was a musical interpretation of the Ulster epic tale of An Táin from the book of Leinster, which tells of the Connacht king and queen’s war against Ulster and the young Cú-Chulainn’s attempt to defeat them. Lorcán put this to music and presented it in the spectacular surroundings of the cathedral.

Lorcán is one of the younger generation of Sean Nós singers and he sang the eight-parted story, the supporting musicians – Seán Óg Mac Fhirléinn on bass clarinet, Flaithrí Neff on Uilleann pipes/whistle, Martin Tourish on accordion, and Owen Neff on fiddle – echoed the story with atmospheric sounds that emphasised the moodiness and foreboding or energy and rage as needed. Once the initial sound balance issues were sorted, this settled into a compelling piece that engaged and enthralled with each twist and turn in the story. The supporting slide show of beautifully crafted illustrations gave visual clues for the non-Gaelic speakers, and there was some very clever use of loops recorded live and played back immediately to add depth and complexity to the music. At just shy of an hour this was a substantial piece that deserves to be heard more.