The Arrows That Murder Sleep, by Lorcán Mac Mathúna

The Arrows That Murder Sleep

by Lorcán Mac Mathúna

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A beautifully designed sturdy digibook featuring specially commissioned images inspired by Celtic druidic traditions

Includes unlimited streaming of The Arrows That Murder Sleep via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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1.	The Arrows That Murder Sleep 05:09	info	buy track
2.	Brian's Grief 04:48	info	buy track
3.	An Cathach 04:26	info	buy track
4.	A Grey Eye 07:19	info	buy track
5.	Love and Passing 02:32	info	buy track
6.	Battle Lines 04:05	info	buy track
7.	Ordeal By Cohabitation 04:31	info	buy track
8.	Noli Polka 02:39	info	buy track
9.	The River Roe 06:02	info	buy track
10.	Contae Mhuigheo 03:57	info	buy track
11.	Paddy Lynch's Ship 05:05	info	buy track
12.	The Muster 04:27	info	buy track

about

Sensation music portraying dramatic human stories soars and tumbles through rich-toned musical soundscapes. From the quite frailty of Brian's Grief to massively broad soundscapes which, convey the potent connections between sorcery and wordcraft of the ancient tribal world of the Celt.

“The Arrows that Murder Sleep", - "It é Saigte Gona Suain"
at every hour of the cold night”

These were the words offered from the pit of Créd’s soul as she came across her lover, Dínertach, on the battle field in the year 649 AD. They are the opening line of the lament of Créd, an intense and visually told lament from Old-Irish literature. Her words have inspired both the music of the song “The Arrows that Murder Sleep” and the imagery of the album art (painted by Rónán Reilly)

This album is a collection of songs taken from Celtic literature and mythology, composed over the course of seven years. The music was composed in reaction to lyrics from ancient manuscrips that date back to as far as the 8th Century -and many existed in oral traditions prior to that.

Two great cycles, part mythological part historical, are delved in this album: the battle of clontarf and the life of Colmcille.

The din and fame of the Battle of Clontarf resounded throughout the courts and literature of Europe in the centuries after the first millennium. In Ireland, the great chronicler, Mac Liag, recounted the battle, and politics and personalities surrounding the battle.

As far away as Iceland a 13th Century manuscript gives a Norse account of the battle. Both these tomes are seamed in this album for lyrics and perspectives of this great historical event and its personalities

In 1532 Maghnus O Dhomhnaill, at Port na dTrí Namhad (the port of the three enemies), wrote the definitive biography of Colmcille; the famous 6th Century Irish missionary monk who went to war over a book.

It was the first time Colmcille’s life was collated in a recognisably biographical form. Earlier lives of Colmcille in Latin existed but, O’Domhnaill’s work was in the vernacular Gaelic in both style and language.

These two great legacies of our history are referenced in The Arrows that Murder Sleep. It includes a song about the first Copyright Decision in History, tales of the supernatural, and the sorrow of exile, that great topic of folk ballads throughout the ages.

credits

released December 9, 2021

Featuring: Martin Tourish, Seán MacErlaine Daire Bracken, Eoghan Neff

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about

Lorcan Mac Mathuna Dublin, Ireland

From the cradle Lorcán Mac Mathúna was surrounded by traditional irish music. Sean-Nós singing was the soundscape of his youth, the air he breathed.

Drawing on the deep roots of Sean-Nós he has brought the fundamentals of this ancient tradition into contemporary collaborations and compositions. He is truly a modern singer who sits comfortably with ancient tradition and the avant-garde. ... more

lorcanmacmathuna.com

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