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about
As we move into this holiday season and prepare for the shift into winter, we often rely upon rituals to see us through the transition. I came to appreciate the observance of these rituals through my friendship and work with Brian O’Donovan. He would often speak of the “always” in our lives, those observances that would become our rituals providing a foundation to help us navigate this seasonal transformation. Brian’s passing this year has ended an “always” for many of us. For his family, for the legions of listeners that tuned into his weekly radio program, for the many fans of Celtic music that attended the myriad festivals and concerts he produced. For me, my “always” for the past 15 years, was being a part of Brian’s Christmas Celtic Sojourn family. Journeying to Boston every December and getting to rehearse and perform with incredible musicians, singers, and dancers that Brian had gathered together. It signaled the end of another year and what a joyful ending it was.
Over the years, Brian established many “always’ within the show. One in particular, a favorite of mine, was his childhood recollections of growing up in Ireland around the holidays. It was made up family stories, of stories about the characters that populated the town of Clonakilty in West Cork where he grew up. Stories of gatherings where music and song established the traditions, the “always’, that Brian would eventually carry with him to his new home in America. He would write a new story for each year of the show but it always began with an excerpt from Dylan Thomas’ A Child’s Christmas in Wales in which Thomas questions his memory of a particular snow storm. He can no longer remember clearly whether it snowed for twelve days and twelve nights when he was six or whether it snowed for six days and six nights when he was twelve. I’ve always loved this. The particulars of a memory can fade as the years go by but the feelings created by those memories can remain with us forever. My memory of Brian reciting these words as he began yet another of his own childhood Christmas stories may well grow dim as the years go by but the way it made me feel will not. This is the inspiration behind my new tune, When I was Twelve. It’s for Brian and for all the “always” he inspired.
credits
released November 23, 2023
Written by Seamus Egan
Published by Seamus Egan Music, BMI
all instruments played by Seamus Egan
Recorded by Seamus Egan
Mixed and Mastered by John Anthony
Cover Art by Fiona Small
supported by 4 fans who also own “When I was Twelve”
So pleased to see your second album on its way. I’ve just about worn a hole in your first CD because I love it so much. Cannae wait due the whole thing to appear on 4th May. The taster track is AWESOME!! 🙏 floradouglas
The Australian pianist offers a meditative collective of gentle instrumental compositions meant to soothe a fraying world. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 13, 2020
