North Road, The Item Info

Title:
North Road, The
Sound Cloud:
Description:
My young friend Meghan Mette composed this reel. I was delighted that she asked me to play it with her, along with Nicole Rabata on flute and Kevin McElroy on mandolin. She tells us how the tune came about:

'I wrote this tune for Séamus first and foremost as a "thank you" for all of the musical wisdom he has imparted to me. However, it is also a tale of the many afternoons spent in Séamus' music room, learning, listening, playing... Some days we just sat and listened to old albums on the wonderful sound system, the notes vibrating through the varnished floorboards and bouncing off the walls...

My favourite afternoons, however, were when it was just the two of us, sitting side by side, playing tunes for the fun of it; maybe Séamus would think of a special ornament he wanted to show me or a specific tune that was fun to play in a different key. I often enjoyed just sitting back and observing Séamus when he went on a rant of tunes. I was, and still am, mesmerised by the fluidity and grace of his fingers as they tickle the fingerboard, his bow flying over the strings, his mind at obvious peace. These are my favourite images, frozen in time, Séamus in another world entirely, just playing because he loves it so. When I play "The North Road", it reminds me of these moments...'


Publisher:
Séamus Connolly, Boston College Libraries
Creator:
Mette, Meghan Connolly, Séamus Rabata, Nicole McElroy, Kevin
Type:
Some transcriptions are based on historical source recordings. More info.
Subjects:
Folk dance music Reels Fiddle tunes Flute music Connolly, Séamus Mette, Meghan
Playlist:
Playlist 09
Collection:
Reels
Source
Preferred Citation:
Mette, Meghan ;Connolly, Séamus ;Rabata, Nicole ;McElroy, Kevin, "North Road, The", The Séamus Connolly Collection of Irish Music, accessed July 10, 2025, https://library.bc.edu/ds/connolly/document/669.html.
Reference Link:
https://library.bc.edu/ds/connolly/document/669.html
Rights
Rights:
This website was created through a partnership with Séamus Connolly and the Boston College Libraries (2016). All materials on this site may be freely shared and adapted according to the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.