Shona Mooney: stories and sounds

Happy Queen, Sad Queen.

This beautiful song tune was discovered in the Henry Atkinson manuscript and it seems to be of Scottish origin. The song tells the tale of a young shepherdess who, in heartbroken distress, calls to the nymphs to tell her love Strephon that she died because of his betrayal. As Strephon passes through the forest, he notices the shepherdess “sleeping” - but soon realises this is not the case. He calls to the nymphs to work their art and bring her back to life, but alas they cannot. Struck with grief, he lies down to die on the breast of his shepherdess.

A duet with the fantastic Amy Thatcher on clog dancing and accordion. The first tune was discovered in the Northumbrian Minstrelsy, written presumably by someone with insomnia. The importance of sleep has fascinated me for some time, as the true function of sleep still baffles scientists today. The second tune is an attempt to musically depict the brain activity (sleep spindles) that occurs in stage 2 sleep. During sleep, these spindles are seen in the brain as a burst of activity immediately following muscle twitching. Interestingly, it has been discovered that sleep enables the brain to store new information into our long-term memory.

Hollin is the Scots word for holly. Pre-christian belief maintained that this plant possessed powerful magic to ward off evil and was also the symbol of life. Holy tree sprigs were brought into houses during cold months in the belief that they afforded shelter to the fairies - those tiny spirits of the forest. Lady John Scott acquired this air from Sir Walter Scott in 1825 and the melody was found in the Bronson's ballad collection. The lyrics were sourced from Boulton-MacLeod Songs of the North II.30. The birk, which is another tree mentioned in the song, was known as the watchful-eye' because of eye-like impressions on the tree bark. I have reinterpreted the original melody int he form of a triple-time strathspey, a jig and finally a fiery 5/4 reel. The rhythmical intensity eventually gives way as we return to the original air once more. This live recording was taken from my recent Master recital at Newcastle University. It was part of a performance titled, Tak' Tent o' Time. I was accompanied by a group of wonderful musicians and the fantastic artwork was produced by Robert Fernandez Castro. Many many thanks to everyone involved!

Amy Thatcher - Piano Accordion

I have just landed back home from a fantastic tour with the wonderful Nuala Kennedy Band plus Canadian fiddler and pianist Troy MacGillivary.  What a time we had!  Lewis to London, then over to Ballaghnadreen and Dundalk in Ireland.  I even managed to catch a Flamin' Lips gig whilst on tour in Edinburgh too.