Altan 904507 216371926 2008-06-01T10:00:48Z Geher 3020940 +de {{Infobox musical artist |Name = Altan |Img = altanlivegweedore.jpg | Img_capt = |Background = group_or_band |Years_active = 1981&ndash;present |URL = [http://www.altan.ie/ www.altan.ie] |Origin = [[Gaoth Dobhair]], [[County Donegal]], [[Ireland]] |Genre = [[Traditional]], [[Folk music|Folk]] |Label = [[Virgin Records|Virgin]] |Current_members= [[Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh]]<br />Ciarán Curran<br />Ciarán Tourish<br />Dermot Byrne<br />Mark Kelly<br />Dáithí Sproule |Past_members = [[Frankie Kennedy]]<br />Paul O'Shaughnessy<br />Gearóid Ó Maonaigh }} '''Altan''' are an [[Ireland|Irish]] [[folk]] and traditional music group, who originated in [[Gweedore]], [[County Donegal]]. ==History== [[Frankie Kennedy]] used to travel from [[Belfast]] to Donegal in his summer holidays, learning [[Irish language|Irish]] and playing music. There he met [[Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh]]. They married in [[1981]]. They featured on the first of well known Belfast singer and Irish language enthusiast Albert Fry's three albums. Two years later they made their first album together, ''Ceol Aduaidh'' (Music of the North). Ní Mhaonaigh grew up in Irish-speaking [[Gweedore]] (Gaoth Dobhair), learning to play [[Irish fiddling|fiddle]] from her father [[Francie Mooney]], himself a noted [[fiddle]] player. At this time Donegal music was little known outside of the [[Counties of Ireland|county]]. Kennedy's repertoire included a number of obscure northern flute tunes drawn from his travels in Tyrone and Fermanagh. [[Donegal fiddle tradition|Donegal fiddle music]] has a drive in it, somewhat like [[Cape Breton Island|Cape Breton]] music, due to the push given on both the upstroke and the downstoke. Playing late-night sessions and festivals, they gradually gathered around themselves talents that complemented their own skills. The first to join them was [[Ciarán Curran]] from [[Fermanagh]], playing [[bouzouki]]. A novelty in [[1969]], by [[1987]] it was an accepted instrument for [[Music of Ireland|Irish music]]. [[Mark Kelly (Irish guitarist)|Mark Kelly]] on [[guitar]], was experienced in [[rock and roll|rock]], [[blues]], [[jazz]], [[Country music|country]] and [[European classical music|classical music]]. The four of them appeared on the first album, ''Altan'', although Altan was not used as the name of the band until the follow-up, ''Horse With A Heart''. The name comes from [[Lough Altan]] in north-western Donegal. There then followed four albums recorded for [[Green Linnet Records]], all of them selling well in the US [[Billboard magazine|Billboard]] charts as well as in [[Ireland]]. Another fiddler, [[Paul O'Shaughnessy]], Dublin-born but steeped in the Donegal tradition from an early age as a result of schoolboy excursions to the Donegal [[Gaeltacht]], was a member for several years. The sound of two fiddles in driving unison had become so essential to the band's idiom by this stage that when O'Shaughnessy departed, he was replaced by young Donegal fiddler [[Ciarán Tourish]]. Guitarist [[Dáithí Sproule]] also joined in 1992. There was a secret tragedy behind this wave of acclaim. Frankie Kennedy, who had been the band leader and manager, was diagnosed with cancer in 1992. At his insistence the band continued, with Kennedy taking part whenever possible. He died in 1994 in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. In [[1996]] they signed to a major label, [[Virgin Records|Virgin]], and added an accordion-player to the sound, Dermot Byrne, also from Donegal. Guests on Altan albums have included song-writer and guitarist Steve Cooney, [[Dónal Lunny]] from [[Planxty]], blues guitarist [[Bonnie Raitt]], and country singer [[Dolly Parton]]. In [[2001]] Tourish and Ní Mhaonaigh contributed to the [[Afro Celt Sound System]] album ''[[Volume 3: Further in Time]]''. A [[Frankie Kennedy Winter School|winter school of music]] is now held in Donegal each year in honour of Frankie Kennedy. Altan remain the most successful proponents of traditional [[Irish language|Gaelic]] song and Donegal fiddle-playing. <!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Altanstamp.jpg|230px|thumb|Altan featured on a special [[Éire]] stamp from [[2006]].]] --> In [[2003]] they won the award for ''[[BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards#2003|Best Group]]'' at the [[BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards]]. ==Discography== <!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:altanfirst.jpg|thumb|[[Frankie Kennedy|Kennedy]] and [[Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh|Ní Mhaonaigh]] on the cover of their second album, ''Altan''.]] --> ;Frankie Kennedy and Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh * ''[[Ceol Aduaidh]]'' (Music of the North) (1983) * ''[[Altan (album)|Altan]]'' (1987) ;Altan * ''[[Horse with a Heart]]'' (1989) * ''[[The Red Crow]]'' (1990) * ''[[Harvest Storm]]'' (1991) * ''[[Island Angel]]'' (1993) * ''[[Once Again 1987- 93]]'' (1993) * ''[[The First Ten Years (1986-1995)]]'' (1995) * ''[[Blackwater (Altan album)|Blackwater]]'' (1996) * ''[[Best Of Altan]]'' (1997) * ''[[Runaway Sunday]]'' (1997) * ''[[Altan's Finest]]'' (1999) * ''[[Another Sky]]'' (2000) * ''[[The Blue Idol]]'' (2002) * ''[[Local Ground]]'' (2005) ==External links== *[http://www.altan.ie/ Official website] [[Category:Celtic music groups]] [[Category:Irish folk musical groups]] [[Category:Gweedore]] [[Category:Narada artists]] [[da:Altan]] [[de:Altan (Band)]] [[ga:Altan]] [[it:Altan]] [[nl:Altan]] [[ja:アルタン]] [[pt:Altan]] [[sv:Altan (musikgrupp)]] [[tr:Altan]]