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Radio Show – Episode 39 – Stone Music – December 8 and 15, 2019

From the great henges to cairns, rocky mountain and cliffsides to cottages and hearths, stones in the Celtic landscape offer strength, materials, presence, healing properties, companionship, and blessing. They can be doorways to otherworlds or invite one more fully into our earthen one. In today’s episode of Forest Halls Celtic, Show 39, we explore tunes, folklore, song, and tale related to “Stone Music.” Discover Stones of Destiny, dance with trolls before sunrise, join in the race between the Tortoise and the Hare, and make a wish in the rock that saved the life of Sant Gofan – Saint Govan of 6th century Wales. Enjoy harp music from Anne Roos, Margot Krimmel, Mary MacMaster and Hazel Askew, and – in our encore airing of Show 18, “Snow and Flame,”– from harpers Aine Minogue, Knodel & Valencia (Spookytree), Sileas, Kim Robertson, and more!

On Sunday Dec 8 and 15, from 12 noon-2pm PST, join us on KVSH 101.9 fm on Vashon, or via streaming at Voice of Vashon. Or listen on demand for the next two weeks at Voice of Vashon.

12:00: Spookytree – Lochaber No More
12:00: Maurice Lennon – Stone of Destiny
12:05: Matt Molloy and Sean Keane – The Gooseberry Bush / The Limestone Rock
12:09: Zoe Conway and John Mc Intyre – Faoiseamh a Gheobhadsa
12:13: Flook – The Tortoise and The Hare
12:20: Anne Roos – Trollspolska
12:23: Margot Krimmel and Beth Leachman – Rocking the Cradle
12:30: Manran – Oran na Cloiche
12:33: Goitse – The Eagles Rock
12:37: Songs of Separation – Soil and Soul
12:42: Jane Valencia – Stone Music
12:52: Jane Valencia and Starr – Mist and Mountains
12:53: Barde – The Trowie Burn / the Dark Island

 

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Episode 38 – Radio Show – Salmon Return – November 24, 2019

In Celtic myth, Salmon are beings of shining wisdom, embodied generosity, resilience, vigorous will, and ocean-deep love. In today’s Forest Halls Celtic streaming radio episode – Show 38 – Salmon Return, we swim with the salmon, joining them on their journey to and from the sea by way of music, poetry, flights of fancy, and tale. With this episode I’m excited to begin sharing my stories (ones I tell, ones I write) with you, beginning with my retelling of a beloved traditional Irish myth: “Finn and the Salmon of Wisdom.”

The second hour is a re-airing of Show 17 – Treasures, which is a collection of musical gems, many of which happen to be Welsh.

Enjoy harp playing with Sue Richards and Kathleen Loughnane (in the group Dordan) in Show 38,  and  Janet Harbison, in Pigyn Clust, Cheryl Ann Fulton, and Robin Huw Bowen (in Crasdant) in Show 17.

Catch Forest Halls Celtic today at 12-2pm PST at Voice of Vashon, or on demand for the next weeks as well.  Click here to listen to all the current episodes of Forest Halls Celtic

Your host is bardic harper and storyteller Jane Valencia.

00:08 Spookytree / Lochaber No More
01:20 Sue Richards / Lament for Coire An Easa/Hazel Grove
05:26 Sharon Shannon / The Jewels of the Ocean
10:48 Seamus Byrne / Track 2 – Irish Nature Sounds
11:38  Lasairfhíona Ní Chonaola / Oilean Na Teiscinne
13:52 Kate in the Kettle / Salmon
22:00 Dordan / Three Reels: Weave The Bog Cotton / Barr Na Ceibhe/ The Leaping Salmon
25:51 Ensemble Galilei / The Salmon Tailing Up the River
29:28 Julie Fowlis / Tha Mo Ghaol Air Aird a’ Chuain
32:39 Tina Malia / Sound of the River
38:05 Jon Parmentier / Old Growth
41:05 Seamus Byrne / Track 1
43:05 Jane Valencia / Finn and the Salmon of Wisdom – tale
51:30 The Cast (Mairi Campbell & David Francis) / Eventide
55:52 Skyedance / Harris Dance

Photo art by Jane Valencia

 

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Book Reviews Coming Soon!

I just spent a fabulous couple of days at the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting, held this year in Seattle. I met editors, authors, book reviewers, bloggers, and publishing and distribution representatives. I review books from time to time, and that part of me has opened its dragon eyes and declared, Great books are still being published. We need to get them into the hands of families!

Some of the enticing books I brought home from ALA.

I came home with numerous books and graphic novels I’m eager to share with y’all. I specifically sought middle grade magical fiction and nature-connected fiction, however I found myself ranging into both picture books and young adult, and my dragon heart urged me to pick up titles related to diversity, social justice, and bettering our world.

Storytelling and losing oneself in story is integral to how we humans relate to one another and make sense of our lives and world. You can read more about my thoughts about books as magical doors and reading books to kids here. Books were my companions as a child. Children’s fantasy in particular fueled my imagination to live the kind of magical life I read about. Animal fiction (such as Bambi, A Life in the Woods by Felix Salten, and Jean Craighead George’s many animal novels) fed me — a suburban child — with experiences of forest life, of what it might be like to be the deer, or the fox, or the prairie dog.

I’m passionate about storytelling — hearing the story, experiencing the movement and expression of the teller — and I find reading a story to hold its own wonder. I find a book to indeed be a spell book of sorts, the markings on the pages lifting off to weave worlds in our hearts.

I look forward to sharing some exciting books with you in the coming weeks!

A stack of picture books and a poetry/recipe book from ALA.