DESCRIPTION:
Presentation on the Sligo fiddle player James Morrison's life and musical career in America / Daithí Gormley, speech in English . ITMA field recordings of Fleadh Ceoil na hÉireann 2015, Sligo. CID: 219928
Table of Contents:
00:00 Sample track 'The Irish Girl; The Musical Priest'; opening remarks on Morrison's early life in Ireland, his work as a teacher with the Gaelic League, his musical and social activities.
08:02 Emigration to the USA; settling into Irish-American life in New York City; the beginning of commercial recording of Irish music in New York; sample track 'The Provincial Hornpipe'
12:25 Morrison's recording career in New York; sample track 'The Humours of Bandon'; the influence of Johnny Gorman on Morrison's music; duet recordings with Galway melodeon player PJ Conlon; sample track 'The Tap Room; The Moving Bogs'
20:03 Morrison's duet recordings with Leitrim flute player John McKenna; sample track 'The Tailor's Thimble'; working as a music teacher and performing with Sligo fiddle player Paddy Killoran; playing for dances in New York
27:35 Transitioning from music rooted in the Sligo tradition to more commercially-orientated dance band work; the impact of the Wall Street crash and Great Depression; sourcing tunes from printed collections
32:47 Running the 'Celtic Hall' dance hall in the 1930s; issues in Morrison's personal life; teaching career in the late 1930s & early 1940s
37:57 Teaching with Co. Kerry dance master James McKenna; comments on Morrison's famous sharp intellect; concluding remarks; sample recording 'The Fisherman's Lilt'















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