My daughter wants to sing at at upcoming feis. I really am out of my element there. What would be a good choice of song? The rules say English or Irish, but no further information is given. I am thinking maybe Siúil A Rún. My daughter is a good musical theater and opera singer, but knows no Irish. I do have people around me who do, although not native speakers.
Thanks for any input.
Donal og , great song for a feis … Come by the hills ……a stor mo chroi ..
Hi do you have a local branch of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann CCE? if so contact them they should help you or contact the headquarters in Ireland
This feis has a list of suggested (but not required) and not-recommended songs on their web site: http://www.clevelandfeis.com/music.htm
This other feis, just a few hours away in the same state, *requires* songs to come from a list that includes several songs the other feis recommends against: http://www.columbusfeis.com/formz/syllabus.pdf
Personally, I’d go with the first list.
Is this a singing competition grafted onto a much larger dancing competition? In my experience, the standards for these can be looser and vaguer (as you have seen), and the judging can range from knowledgable and encouraging to WTF.
My recommendation is for her to pick a song she’s comfortable with, and to learn it by ear. From a live person would be ideal, but there are many good recordings and videos out there too. Learning by ear will help with intonation, expression, memory and ornamentation. Pay attention to the lyrics, too, and let them influence expression and ornamentation. Perhaps English this year and Gaelic next. Siúil A Rún combines both, and is a lovely song that resonates in America. Don’t get too wrapped up in scores and comments, as this should just be for fun and experience. Though of course a medal would be nice. Best wishes.
Tony,
This competition has nothing to do with CCÉ. See http://www.northamericanfeiscommission.org.
Regardless of the song you pick (and I would suggest English language to someone not familiar with Gaelic), make sure your daughter seeks out lots of different versions of the song on youtube and does some listening. The ideal singing style at a feis is usually sean nos style, which is a whole different approach to singing than either musical theater or opera. For example, the approach to vibrato (if there is any at all) is quite different.
But nothing ventured, nothing gained. However it goes, it will be a good learning experience, and and an opportunity to hear a lot of good music and meet other music lovers.
Best wishes!
Usually the judging at a feis is not as strict as a fleadh and she should receive a lot of encouragement from the adjudicator (judge).
As AlBrown suggests, start with English. Get her feet wet, so to speak and then based on the results build from there.
Good luck.
Re Scutcher it was only a suggestion for resources whether or not CCE based.
Tracywag did you see the latest post re-inishowen songs there’s over 500 here should be an excellent source.
Tell your daughter to take it seriously (as in learning the song) but remember to have fun i’ve been in many competitions over the years and it’s always down to the judges decision i’ve often disagreed but every judge will have a different criteria that they personally are looking for so even if she doesn’t get anywhere at 1st keep trying,
Thank you all very much! Loads of great stuff here, I appreciate it and will pass it all on.