大象传媒

Marty Cullen continues his song-filled odyssey around Ulster to the land that caused dogs to leap and immortals roam . When there are waters soaring to home and afar, and people going with them, you can be sure that familiar tones will bless the air and these folk will chant them. No matter where the people of the Oak Groves pitch their tent, it's the county that host the Sperrins, Foyle and Bann that they call their home. Their pride is everlasting and so seemingly are their ballads.

Traditional songs breathe life in the physical world. Songs were written for walking to work. Songs were written to plough the fields, milk the cows or to weave at the loom. Songs were written to mourn the losses of a community and to help struggle against life's foul misfortunes. Although they were written to be sung unaccompanied, they were never written to be alone. Be it the birds in the bushes. Be it the factory's bell. Be it the rain bashing off a winter's window, the songs were not accompanied by strings, but by life.

From Lough Foyles shore to the heather clad Sperrins, the singers in this series step outside the studio and sing to their hearts' content in a spot that bellows fire to their song. Let's hear music naturally in the world, instead of mixed in a vacuum.