Northern Nights: Tionól and Tallari
In November 2022 we presented our very first International Residency Programme Northern Nights. Especially convened Irish group Tionól (Derek Hickey, Lisa O'Sullivan, Leah Murphy and Eoin 'Stan' O'Sullivan) spent a very special few days collaborating with acclaimed Finnish folk ensemble Tallari in the idyllic setting of Rauland in the mountains of Norway.
Specialising in unique regional styles of music from their respective countries, Sliabh Luachra in Ireland and Kaustinen in Finland, they spent the residency sharing tunes, songs and stories and discovering the many similarities that exist in each other's music. The result of this collaboration is their performance here today and again at Kaustinen Folk Festival in Finland this July.
Northern Nights was supported by The Arts Council of Ireland
Tionól is a brand new Irish group featuring 4 master musicians steeped in the traditional music of Sliabh Luachra in the southwest of Ireland. They were especially convened for Baltimore Fiddle Fair’s first International Residency Programme that took place in Rauland, Norway in November 2022.
Derek Hickey from Adare in County Limerick is one of Ireland’s great accordion players As well as touring all over the world he also teaches accordion at the Irish World Academy in the University of Limerick. Lisa O'Sullivan hails from Freemount in North Cork and is a member of renowned traditional and folk band 'The Ceili Allstars'. She also teaches and gives regular workshops to both children and adult learners. Leah Murphy is a multi-instrumentalist, singer and composer from Rathcoole, Co. Cork. She began learning the fiddle at the age of 7, and a few years later took up instruments such as piano, guitar and viola. She is the current Secretary of University College Cork Traditional Music Society, and also teaches music to many young people in her home town. Eoin 'Stan' O'Sullivan has been immersed in the music and history of Sliabh Luachra since childhood and has worked as musician since the age of sixteen. In 2018 he had the honour of being appointed as Sliabh Luachra Musician in Residence and is the founder of Sliabh Luachra Records, a record label that releases music from the area.
Tallari is one of the most versatile and in-depth-diving professional groups in Finnish folk music! Tallari’s basic concert consists of traditional songs and tunes especially from the Ostrobothnian region, but the repertoire covers a vast array of Finnish folk music styles and traditions. Small stage, big stage, workshop - wherever you need this band, they deliver! The legendary band was established in 1986 and has made thousands of gigs, almost twenty records and dozens of projects, collaborating as well with front row folk music professionals as amateur folk music groups.
Tallari’s home base is Kaustinen, the tiny village famous for its festival and unique fiddling tradition. Three violinists of the band have grown up with Kaustinen tradition and know it by heart, and Kaustinen tunes are naturally a part of the group's expertise. With a combination of up-to-date artistic professionalism, profound archival study, vast repertoire and everyday feet-on-the-ground contact with socially meaningful living folk music tradition, Tallari offers heart-warming acoustic journeys into traditions of the Little Country in the North.
Katri Haukilahti – Violin, nyckelharpa, vocals
Arto Järvelä – Violin, mandolin, esseharpa, vocals
Esko Järvelä – Violin, tenor guitar, harmonium, vocals
Sampo Korva – Harmonium, melodeon, guitar.
