Any Story Behind RiverDance?
Joey Gibson
Is there any story behind the songs/dances/tunes in Riverdance? For
instance, track three is called "The Countess Cathleen/Women of the
Sidhe", who is the Countess, and who are the Women of the Sidhe. What IS
the Sidhe? Are there stories, or did Bill Whelan just write some really
nice music and set traditional dance to it?
Thanks,
Joey
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Dean Eric Hoffman
Joey Gibson wrote:
>
> Is there any story behind the songs/dances/tunes in Riverdance? For
> instance, track three is called "The Countess Cathleen/Women of the
> Sidhe", who is the Countess, and who are the Women of the Sidhe. What IS
> the Sidhe? Are there stories, or did Bill Whelan just write some really
> nice music and set traditional dance to it?
>
> Thanks,
> Joey
The Countess was (is?) a legendary figure celebrated in Yeats play
called, oddly enough, 'The Countess Cathleen' (1892). In the play
sinister soul merchants are purchasing the souls of the famine afflicted
in exchange for food. The Countess offers her own noble soul in
exchange for those of the local peasantry. After he death, an angel
announces to all that she has been assumed in to heaven anyway, God
being the insightful sort that he is.
I think the Sidhe are the people who live in the hills, a now spectral
bunch who once inhabited the land but were driven off. The woman of the
Sidhe or Bean Sidhe would be the origin of the legend of the Banshee,
that herald of death that Disney made famous, planting her into the
nightmares of millions of children, myself included.
Dean
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Dean Eric Hoffman
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Craig Cockburn
Ann an sgriobhainn <3315bf7a....@news.mindspring.com>, sgriobh
Joey Gibson <joeyG...@mindspring.com>
>Is there any story behind the songs/dances/tunes in Riverdance? For
>instance, track three is called "The Countess Cathleen/Women of the
>Sidhe", who is the Countess, and who are the Women of the Sidhe. What IS
>the Sidhe? Are there stories, or did Bill Whelan just write some really
>nice music and set traditional dance to it?
>
times to the present day, both in Ireland and overseas.
--
Craig Cockburn ("coburn"), Du\n E/ideann, Alba. (Edinburgh, Scotland)
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/
E-mail: cr...@scot.demon.co.uk (preferred) or cr...@acm.org
Sgri\obh thugam 'sa Gha\idhlig ma 'se do thoil e.
Joseph Mulvanerty
Joey Gibson wrote:
> Is there any story behind the songs/dances/tunes in Riverdance? =
There is a synopsis of the Riverdance story at this address:
http://faraday.ucd.ie/~joseph/riverdance/riverdance_show.html
-- =
Joseph Mulvanerty
Seosaimh =D3 Maolbheannachta=ED =