Celtic pride
The Celtic Tenors, three classically trained singers from Ireland, will help the Spokane Symphony celebrate St. Patrick’s Day-plus-one on Saturday. Don’t get the idea they’ll be singing “When Irish Eyes are Smiling.” They’ve been adamant on that point since they started recording in 2000.
“We put our foot down and said, ‘Please don’t make us sing the obvious ones, like “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling,” ” said tenor James Nelson, by phone from a tour stop in Pennsylvania. “They weren’t even written by Irish people.”
What they will do is a selection of genuine Irish songs, such as their signature a cappella version of “Danny Boy,” which they have performed every single time they have taken the stage.
“Even in Ireland, we do ‘Danny Boy,’ although a cut version,” said Nelson.
The only other song they do in every single concert is “Remember Me,” written by Phil Coulter, about three Irish soldiers fighting in the Spanish Civil War.
“We always sing it with a prayer that (service men and women) will come back safely,” said Nelson.
You might even hear a few tunes with titles in Gaelic. After all, the trio just came off a Boston performance in which they sang with the patriarchs of traditional Celtic music, the Chieftains.
They will also perform a few pop songs (they collaborate with Air Supply on one song on their new CD, “Remember Me”). And they will also do their classical-crossover repertoire, in which they show off their operatic roots.
The Celtic Tenors consist of Nelson, Matthew Gilsenan and Niall Morris. All have classical backgrounds. Nelson, in fact, was a church organist and choirmaster in Dublin before moving to London and starting an international operatic career.
Then, when the Three Tenors – the big Three Tenors, as in Pavarotti, etc. – arrived on the scene in the 1990s, Nelson had an idea: Why not get an Irish version together?
He contacted his old friend Morris and another singer, soon replaced by Gilsenan, and they began a residency show in Dublin in 1999. By 2000, they had a recording contract. Their debut album went to No. 2 on the UK classical charts.
They’ve been touring the world ever since: Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, the U.S. and, naturally, Ireland.
After their Spokane visit, they’re headed for few places that might surprise you.
“We’re going to the Gulf States – Dubai, Bahrain and Oman,” said Nelson. “There are a lot of expats there.”
On many numbers Saturday night, they’ll be backed by the symphony, conducted by associate conductor Morihiko Nakahara.
The Celtic Tenors don’t do many orchestral concerts, but the ones they have done are impressive.
“We have sung in (London’s) Royal Albert Hall with the BBC Concert Orchestra, if I may name-drop,” said Nelson.
Some songs in Saturday’s concert will be performed more simply, accompanied only by the tenors’ music director, David Munro, on piano.
“It’s a bit more of a pubby feel,” said Nelson.
The concert will also include two local Celtic institutions: The Celtic Nots, an acoustic band consisting of Carlos Alden, Nigel Elliott and James Hunter; and the Haran Irish Dancers, a nationally recognized troupe from Kettle Falls, Wash.