Frankie Kennedy
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Frankie Kennedy (30 September 1955 – 19 September 1994) was an Irish flute and tin whistle player and a cofounder of the band Altan, with Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, his wife. The popular Frankie Kennedy Winter Music School was founded in 1994 in his honour.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Frankie Kennedy was born in Belfast in 1955.[1] He had three sisters and one brother.[citation needed]
Kennedy's uncle was married to the daughter of Robert Cinnamond, a singer from Glenavy, County Antrim, who was a frequent visitor in his family home.
His memory of [Cinnamond] was as a gentle soul singing "Dobbin's Flowery Vale," a version that Frankie plays. And he had all those Northern versions of songs. Frankie used to say, "really I have no tradition," but he had a connection with the tradition which he didn't know himself.
– Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh[2]
Kennedy become interested in Irish traditional music when he was 18 years old, through the music of Horslips, Planxty, The Chieftains, and The Boys of the Lough.[3]
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[edit] Marriage
When Kennedy was eighteen he took a sixth form summer trip to the Donegal Gaeltacht of Gaoth Dobhair (Gweedore). He went to a session one evening and there met a fifteen year old fiddle player named Mairéad, daughter of the session's leader Proinsias Ó Maonaigh. They were attracted to each other, and he wrote to her regularly after leaving Donegal.
He was advised by a friend that he should learn an instrument if he intended to court Mairéad, and so he got a whistle and taught himself to play.[2] Later he learned the flute, a somewhat louder instrument, so that he could hear himself in sessions. His love for Mairéad coupled with perfectionist tendencies turned him into a well-respected flute player.
Frankie Kennedy and Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh married in 1981.[4]
[edit] Forming Altan
The new couple continued to play at sessions in Donegal, and this formed the basis for their musical partnership.[5] They made their recording debut on Albert Fry's eponymous record in 1979 and later formed a short-lived group called "Ragairne" which included Gearoid Ó Maoinaigh, Mairéad's brother, on guitar.[6] Joined by bouzouki player Ciarán Curran and Eithne Ní Bhraonáin, now known to the world as Enya, on synthesizer, Frankie Kennedy and Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh released a recording entitled Ceol Aduaigh on Gael-Linn records in 1983.
At the time, Kennedy and Ní Mhaonaigh were earning their living by teaching at National Schools in north County Dublin.[7]. But live performances in 1984 and 1985, particularly in the United States, convinced them that there was an audience for "no-compromise traditional music played with heart and drive,"[5] and they were persuaded to give up teaching.
During this time the group added guitarist Mark Kelly and in 1987 released a record called Altan, named after a lake in Donegal, although the name Altan wasn't used for the band on that release. But the band's musical momentum was building rapidly, and they released three records in three years as Altan between 1989 and 1991. Altan was produced by Dónal Lunny, who subsequently appeared as either a producer or guest musician on every Altan album which followed.
[edit] Last years
Kennedy was diagnosed with cancer in 1992. Despite his illness Kennedy continued to tour and record with Altan. The band released Island Angel in 1993, and continued to tour through 1994, the year of his death. He died on 19 September at the age of 38.
Kennedy is buried in Gaoth Dobhair.
The flute-player Frankie Kennedy, of the traditional group Altan, was buried yesterday after a concelebrated Mass in Derrybeg Church, Gaoth Dobhair, Co. Donegal, attended by hundreds of musicians from Ireland, Britain, the Continent and North America. The prayers were led by Father Gary Hastings in a Mass sung by members of Cor Chuil Aodha, led by Peadar Ó Riada. Raidió na Gaeltachta broadcast the Mass live, with overlays of the flute-player's music. Matt Molloy of The Chieftains led the communion with a slow air; Altan members Daithi Sproule, Paul Kelly, Dermot Byrne, Ciaran Curran and Ciaran Tourish blended with mazurkas from fiddler John Doherty, and Paddy Glackin and Dónal Lunny concluded on fiddle and synthesizer playing "Paddy's Rambles in the Park". With his flute on the coffin, Frankie Kennedy was saluted by Altan's playing of his own reel, "Harvest Storm".
Altan, in accordance with Kennedy's wishes,[9] continued to record and perform after his death.
[edit] Work and legacy
[edit] Flute style
Kennedy was widely considered to be a master of the simple system flute.[10] "Simple system" flutes are so named because they do not use a metal key system as complex as the Boehm system found on the Western concert flute; for the majority of notes played on the instrument the player covers the tone holes directly with his or her fingers rather than using a metal key. Simple system flutes are predominant in Irish traditional music.
Kennedy learned to play the flute in his birth city of Belfast, as part of a musical community which produced a number of well-known flute players, including Hammy Hamilton, Gary Hastings, Gerry O'Donnell, Desi Wilkinson,[11] and Sam Murray.
It was a good time to be learning the flute there, because everybody had their own style. There wasn't anyone copying the next person — they ware all seeking music from the likes of Roger Sherlock, Cathal McConnell and Conall Ó Gráda, or going down the country. He just threw himself into the music. Frankie was also a huge rock and roll fan — Rory Gallagher, Van Morrison. He never played any of it. — he just loved going to hear different types of music.
– Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh[2]
Kennedy's style was characterized first and foremost by the music he played; most of the tunes originated from County Donegal, and his flute style corresponded well with the characteristic Donegal fiddle tradition. His recorded legacy is almost exclusively with his wife and Altan, although he did perform on Clannad's album Banba.
His playing was smooth and somewhat less heavily ornamented than that of other popular Irish flute players like Matt Molloy. But like Molloy, the use of flattened "blue notes" for expressive purposes "was a strong feature of Frankie Kennedy's playing with Altan."[12]
Kennedy played flutes made by Chris Wilkes and Patrick Olwell.
[edit] Frankie Kennedy Winter School
Established in remembrance of Frankie Kennedy and with the intention of keeping both his memory and the music of County Donegal alive, the Frankie Kennedy Winter School is an annual series of classes held in County Donegal. In 2004 the school released a CD compilation of solo Irish flute played by a "who's who" of contemporary masters of the instrument called "An Ghaoth Aduaidh/The North Wind," in honor of Kennedy.
[edit] Discography
| Year | Artist | Title | Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Albert Fry | Albert Fry | Gael-Linn | |
| 1983 | Frankie Kennedy and Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh | Ceol Aduaigh | Gael-Linn | Re-released by Green Linnet in 1993 |
| 1987 | Frankie Kennedy and Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh | Altan | Green Linnet | |
| 1989 | Altan | Horse With a Heart | Green Linnet | |
| 1990 | Altan | The Red Crow | Green Linnet | |
| 1991 | Altan | Harvest Storm | Green Linnet | |
| 1993 | Altan | Island Angel | Green Linnet | |
| 1993 | Clannad | Banba | BMG | |
| 1995 | Altan | The First Ten Years: 1986-1995 | Green Linnet | "Best of" CD compiled by Dónal Lunny |
| 1997 | Altan | The Best of Altan | Green Linnet | "Best of" CD with no new studio tracks, but includes a bonus CD with a live recording from 1989 |
[edit] References
- ^ Frankie Kennedy history. Frankie Kennedy Winter School. Retrieved on 10 January 2006.
- ^ a b c Vallely, Fintan; Piggott, Charlie (1998). Blooming Meadows: The World of Irish Traditional Musicians, Nutan, Roberts Rinehart Publishers. ISBN 1-86059-067-5.
- ^ (1999) in Vallely, Fintan (ed.): The Companion to Irish Traditional Music. New York, NY: New York University Press, 207. ISBN 0-8147-8802-5.
- ^ Altan: The Inspiration. Altan band web site. Retrieved on 10 January 2006.
- ^ a b Altan: The History. Altan band web site. Retrieved on 10 January 2006.
- ^ John O'Regan. Angels of the Island. The Living Tradition. Retrieved on 11 January 2006.
- ^ Vallely, Fintan. Altan's Frankie Kennedy dies. Retrieved on 10 January 2006.
- ^ "Frankie Kennedy", The Irish Times, 22 September 1994.
- ^ "Interview with Ciaran Curren", Irish Music, August 1995. Retrieved on 2006-01-17. "It was always Frankie's wish that we should continue on; in fact, I could nearly say he left orders for the band to do so."
- ^ See, for example, the liner notes to An Gaoth Aduaidh. "Frankie Kennedy was an exceptional flute player, one of the masters of the instrument…" (Harry Bradley) "…an excellent flute player with his own unique style. His treatment of slow airs and difficult Donegal fiddle tunes was highly impressive." (Paul McGrattan)
- ^ Hurley, Brad. Interview with Hammy Hamilton. A Guide to the Irish Flute. Retrieved on 11 January 2006.
- ^ Turnbull, Gordon. Piping Style. The Flow: Traditional Irish Flute Playing. Retrieved on 13 January 2006.
[edit] External links
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Kennedy, Frankie |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Irish traditional musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1955-09-30 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Belfast |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1994-09-19 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Belfast |
