Stock: 
Format: 
Number of CDs: 2
Release Date: 25-05-1997
Label: Celestial Harmonies
Catalog Number: 14113-2
Barcode: 13711411324
Musical Style: Spoken Word
Track Listing:
| Disc 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverrun [23:36] | 3 | Shem [16:08] |
| 2 | Good Mr Finnimore [16:11] | 4 | O tell me all [15:12] |
| Disc 2 | |||
| 1 | Well You know [10:43] | 3 | Jaunty Jaun [27:25] |
| 2 | Three quarks [09:37] | 4 | Anna Livia Plurabelle [31:46] |
Description:
Following Ball's award winning spoken word debut Storyteller , comes a rare reading of the great manuscript Finnegans Wake by James Joyce. Published in 1939, Joyce received grave criticism for the Wake which he labored one–third of his life on, largely because the work was before its time, impenetrable by most, if not all readers. With Joyce's sudden death six months later, it has become a masterpiece of sorts for the world to decipher. Penetrable or not, Finnegans Wake clearly speaks to the very heart of the Irish and perhaps to the very soul of man. Riddled in the Irish folkloric tradition of wordplay, Finnegans Wake reflects Joyce's Irish love of words and tremendously keen ear for the power and music they acquire when spoken. Says Ball, I found that when the Wake is read aloud, various layers of meaning emerge from the sound of the words: indeed, some startling revelations emerge when the rhythms, the puns and the dialects are spoken.' The first section, riverrun, is indispensible: the first notes of the great allegorical symphony that is to follow. The following tracks introduce the characters who represent the various aspects of the family of man. Anna Livia Plurabelle completes this great cycle and happens to be one of the most sublimely beautiful passages in modern literature. As Ball eloquently summarizes, 'Hard to understand and still mostly obscure to me, but the sound of the words and the phrasings are lovely. And the theme is timeless: the river flowing back to the sea, where it will eventually rise into the sky and fall again as rain on the Wicklow Hills where the river has its source. That image is Joyce's basic theme, I suppose. As Jospeh Campbell put it, 'James Joyce presents, envelops, amplifies and recondenses nothing more nor less than the eternal dynamic implicit in birth, conflict, death and resurrection. '' With Ball's understanding and love for the Irish wordplay combined with his expertise in traditional Irish music he seamlessly blends the Celtic harp with each piece emphasizing the music of the words.'
Biography:
Patrick Ball is one of the premier celtic harp players in the world and a captivating storyteller in the Celtic tradition. He has recorded nine instrumental and three spoken word albums which have sold well over one–half million copies internationally and won national awards in both the music and spoken word categories. His critically acclaimed solo musical theater piece, O’Carolan’s Farewell to Music, brings to the stage the legendary life, the turbulent times and the glorious music of Ireland’s most celebrated and beloved musician, Turlough O’Carolan. Patrick Ball is “a rare artist,” for in playing the ancient, legendary brass–strung harp of Ireland with its crystalline, bell–like voice and in telling the marvelous old tales of wit and enchantment, he not only carries on two of the richest traditions of Celtic culture, but blends them in concert to create “a richly theatrical and hauntingly beautiful” performance.
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