The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina (CFWNC) approved scholarships totaling $516,250 to 90 WNC students in 57 schools in 21 counties. More than 60 volunteers from the community worked
Mick Moloney
BY MEMORY INSPIRED: MICK MOLONEY’S SONGBOOK CONCLUDES
By Marilyn Lester
(Top)Moloney, Castles (Bottom) Johnson, Doyle. . .
For fifteen weeks, the Irish Arts Center has presented segments of Mick Moloney’s Songbook, curated by Irish musician, musicologist and teacher Moloney, comprised of stories, songs and tunes from Ireland and Irish America. Moloney, who has a doctorate in Folklore and Folklife from the University of Pennsylvania, explored Irish history and culture through traditional music, thematically contextualizing the meaning of each.
Irish traditional music includes many kinds of songs: ballads, laments, drinking songs, political songs and more, mostly dating from the 18th century to modern times. Their purpose is narrative, with lyric having as much, if not more, weight as the melody. Singers of Irish folk tunes will often use a certain amount of melodic freedom and vocal embellishments to tell each musical story. Here are the last six of our installm