Safe Harbour review: Vagabonds and friends provide a fitting end to a fine festival
Ye Vagabonds at Cork Opera House for the final concert of the Sounds From a Safe Harbour festival. Picture: Bríd O’Donovan
On Sunday evening a mighty gathering was held on the Island of this riverside city. Yes, in the great house of the song, close to forty musicians graced the stage for an unforgettable two hour performance. These musicians came from near and far led by the brothers Brian and Diarmuid Mac Gloinn of Ye Vagabonds; and were guided to the final night of the Sounds From A Safe Harbour festival.
This was a joyful night, a sublime finale to a special festival, and many attest a spiritual one. Sounds of calm and songs of love, loss and hope, were the prevailing tone and themes for an evening of long, slow, relaxed setlist of less than 20 tunes and songs.
Yet, there was not one slack moment for the adoring audience, the faithful, who breathed in deep, savouring every moment, the spoken words and the lyrics sung by solo voice or polyphonic harmonies by the full ensemble. ‘What is your lighthouse?’ was the simple question posed to each artist when they began this sonic voyage, and sublime concert was the culmination of their many responses and interactions over the festival.
On stage they shared a range instruments which included upright piano, double bass, cello, drum kit, guitar, mandolin, violin, concertina, traditional flute, uilleann pipes, banjo, keyboard, drones and even some electronica that summoned up some whale song from the depths of the sound.
The lighting and sound technicians won deserved praise as despite so many transitions from solo performers; small ensembles, vocalists and instruments, to the larger ‘Huddle’ and the full on ‘Category 4 Choir’ was seamless.
From the audience could be heard the sound of a baby in its parents arms. A charming cameo of improvised sound. Yes, it takes a village to raise a child and on this warm and memorable night we were all children in this community of music, gathered at this meitheal of music, this fleadh ceoil for avant-garde and ancient sounds.
The penultimate song 'We Didn’t Know We Were Ready’ was created in the festival’s collaborative sessions, and it was performed on the night by Olafur Arnalds on piano with an impressive choir that included several the festival’s visiting musicians. Many of us will be humming it for the next while. Two of the Staveley-Taylor sisters from The Staves provided another standout on a night of many highlights.
The evening began with beautiful slow airs on the traditional Irish flute and journeyed on through a wide and wondrous soundscape to a rousing closing set of traditional Irish jigs and reels. Behind the ensemble of musicians their friends formed a full length international céilí chorus line that included festival director Mary Hickson. To her and her comrades, we are eternally grateful for what they created in Cork over the weekend.
