SONG OF GRANITE

                 Song of Granite: what a wonderful title!  What strength it evokes.  What magic, what mystery it unfolds.  Let’s have a look, both at the film, and the principal subject, Joe Heaney, a revered sean nós singer born and raised in the Gaeltacht of Ireland, a sadly-diminishing region where Irish was, and remains, the beleaguered spoken tongue of the people.

                The synopsis of the film reads thus: “Enigmatic and complex, Joe Heaney was one of the greats of traditional Irish singing (sean nós).  Shaped by the myths, fables, and songs of his upbringing in the west of Ireland, his emergence as a gifted artist came at a personal cost.  Featuring performances from Colm Seoighe, Macdara Ó Fátharta, Jaren Cerf, Lisa O'Neill, Damien Dempsey, and sean nós singers Mícheál Ó Chonfhaola and Pól Ó Ceannabháin, and beautiful black and white cinematography, SONG OF GRANITE is a distinct portrait of Heaney’s life and a marvelous exploration of music and song.”

                A few years back, I picked up an excellent two-CD set of traditional Irish music that Bill Ochs, a teacher and mentor, suggested at one of his many excellent musical workshops at the Irish Arts Center on West 51^st Street in Manhattan (www.irishartscenter.org).  Bill was a master of the tin whistle and the uilleann pipes, with an encyclopedic knowledge of Irish traditional music.  Sadly, he is no longer with us, but his legacy lives on.  The set, entitled Seoltaí Séidte, translated into English as Setting Sail, is a compilation of some forty-three historic recordings of Irish traditional music, published by Gael Linn, a reliable trove of all things Irish.  These are songs from the Gaeltacht, and tunes on fiddle, flute, accordion and uilleann pipes.  You can get it, I am sure, on Amazon.com.  Or jump on the publisher’s website (www.gaellin.com).  Heaney’s strong voice is featured on seven tracks: The Lament of the Three Mary’s, Fair-Haired Nancy, Woman of the Alehouse, The Song of the White Strand, The Song of Christ’s Passion, Sadhbh ní Bhruinneallaigh and Is Measa Liom Bródach.

                Heaney, whose name in Irish was Seosamh Ó hÉanai, was born in 1919 in Carna, Connemara, County Galway, the heart of the Gaeltacht.  An Irish speaker from birth, and a singer from the age of five, he learned the old songs and airs from his father, and others, and had a repertoire of over 500 songs, all learned in his youth in Carna.  Extremely shy, he did not sing in public until he was 20 years old.  Attending school in Dublin on a scholarship at the age of 16, he won the first of many accolades, including a gold medal at the 1942 Oireachtas.  He moved to England in 1949, as did so many of his fellow Irish, and worked in construction, and became involved in the folk music movement.  After six years of marriage, his wife sadly died of tuberculosis.  Joe’s reputation as a singer preceded him to America, and in 1965 he was invited to perform at the Newport Folk Festival.  America suited him, and he immigrated to the United States in 1966, and settled in New York City.  Initially working as a doorman, Joe ultimately became a respected teacher at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, and was artist-in-residence at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA, where he died on May 1, 1984, aged 64.

Song of Granite is the story of Heaney’s life.  A fabulous cast has been assembled to carry us through Joe’s triumphs and travails, as the bios below attest, pulled from the official site for the film (http://songofgranite.oscilloscope.net/).

Colm Seoighe plays the young Joe Heaney.  Colm became an internet sensation in Ireland at just age four, performing traditional Irish songs.  He has since had numerous appearances on national television competing in various traditional Irish singing and dancing events.  SONG OF GRANITE is Colm’s acting debut, since completing production Colm’s acting career has taken off and he has just wrapped on Lance Daly’s much anticipated film BLACK 47.

Mícheál Ó Chonfhaola portrays Joe in his 40s.  Considered a local hero in his home place of Connemara, Mícheál has become one of Ireland’s highly regarded traditional sean nós Singers.  In 2013 Mícheál won the Corn Uí Riada, Ireland’s biggest sean nós singing competition.  SONG OF GRANITE is Micheál’s acting debut.

Macdara Ó Fátharta, who plays Joe in his 60s, has been a regular member of the cast of popular Irish Drama Ros na Run since its first season in 1996.  Prior to that he had spent two years with an acting school with the Abbey Theatre and subsequently twenty years with the Abbey from 1972-1996, while there he acted in plays by John B. Keane, Brian Friel, Tom Murphy, Shakespeare, and Chekov.  He has over ten television productions to his credit, and parts in films such as FAR AND AWAY, THE BLACKWATER LIGHTSHIP, and the first ever Irish language feature film POITÍN.

Jaren Cerf, who plays Rosie, is a recording artist and songwriter most recognized for her work in the trance music with artists like Armin van Buuren, Dash Berlin, and Cerf, Mitiska & Jaren.  SONG OF GRANITE was not Jaren’s first screen appearance, having starred in Shaun Ryan Savard’s MUSTANG SALLY: THE FIRE MENACE (2014) and in 2015 Jaren portrayed Joni Mitchell and Celine Dion in Annerin's production of OH CANADA, WHAT A FEELING. As well as music and acting, Jaren also writes books and screenplays.

The film is the work of director Pat Collins, with over 30 films to his credit, including documentaries on writers Michael Hartnett, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, and John McGahern, and he co-directed a documentary on Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami.  In 2012, he completed the feature film SILENCE, which had its international premiere at the London Film Festival and was distributed by Element Films in Ireland and New Wave Films.  SONG OF GRANITE is his second drama feature film.  Joining Collins on this project are co-writers Sharon Whooley and Eoghan Mac Giolla Bhríde, and cinematographer Richard Kendrick.

You can go there directly (http://songofgranite.oscilloscope.net/).

Or visit the Pelham Picture House (www.thepicturehouse.org) where it is being screened on March 16, 2018, the day before Saint Patrick’s Day.  I’ll be there, sure!  And we’ll give it a review sometime next week.

And a Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all.  Be sure to honor the Saint, and not dishonor the race.  Enough said on that.