John Rea (musician)

John Rea (musician)

John Rea was a hammered dulcimer player from Glenarm in County Antrim, Ireland.

Born in 1915 (some sources say 1922), John was the youngest of ten children. His six older brothers were all taught to play the fiddle by his father. However, as he was too small, his father had a dulcimer made by John's brother Alexander (a carpenter), using a borrowed dulcimer as a pattern, and that became John's instrument. This instrument was in turn used as the pattern for many other instruments made for other local people. In contrast to the wooden hammers generally employed by today's players, John used hammers made of thick steel wire, wound with wool; he made these himself from old bicycle spokes. His repertoire consisted mostly of traditional Irish tunes, though with a significant Scottish influence (he also played a number of strathspeys, which he referred to as "highlands"). His father taught him a number of jigs by the 18th century composer Walker "Piper" Jackson (from the townland of Lisdaun, parish of Ballingarry, Aughrim, County Limerick). John appeared on stage with the well-known group, The Chieftains. John died on November 15, 1983.

Discography

* John Rea & Sean McAloon, "Drops Of Brandy", Topic 12TS287, 1976
* John Rea, "Traditional Music On The Hammer Dulcimer", Topic 12TS373, 1979
* John Rea, "The Irish Hammered Dulcimer", Ossian OSS83, 1993 (cassette reissue of Topic 12TS373)
* Various artists, "Irish Traditional Music", Temple COMD2079, 2000 (compilation culled from three Topic releases, including 12TS287 and 12TS373)

References

*Liner notes for "Drops of Brandy" and "Traditional Music On The Hammer Dulcimer"
*Gifford, Paul M. (2001), "The Hammered Dulcimer: A History", The Scarecrow Press, Inc. ISBN 0-8108-3943-1.
*Vallely, Fintan (1999), "The Companion to Irish Traditional Music", New York University Press. ISBN 0-8147-8802-5.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • John Rea — may refer to:* John Rea (horticulturist), 17th century English horticulturist * John Rea (politician), a 19th century United States politician * John Rea (snooker player), a snooker player * John Rea (musician), an Irish hammered dulcimer player… …   Wikipedia

  • Rea — or Rea may refer to:Places* Rea, Italy *Rea, Missouri, United States * River Rea, a river in Birmingham, England * River Rea, Shropshire, a river in Shropshire, EnglandPeople*Baron Rea **Walter Russell Rea, 1st Baron Rea (1873 1948) **Philip… …   Wikipedia

  • John Mayall — Infobox musical artist Name = John Mayall Img capt = Img size = Background = solo singer Alias = Born = birth date and age|1933|11|29|df=y Macclesfield, England Died = Instrument = Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica, Piano/Keyboards, Hammond organ Genre …   Wikipedia

  • John Carney (director) — Infobox actor imagesize = 150px name = John Carney birthname = birthdate = 1972 birthplace = Dublin, Ireland deathdate = deathplace = othername = occupation = writer, director yearsactive = spouse = partner = children = parents = influences =… …   Wikipedia

  • Dennis Rea — (photo: Anne Joiner) Background information Born July 7, 1957 (1957 07 07) (age 54) Origin …   Wikipedia

  • Chris Rea — For the rugby union footballer, see Chris Rea (rugby player). Chris Rea Background information Birth name Christopher Anton Rea …   Wikipedia

  • Elton John — Sir Elton John CBE, Hon DMus Elton John attending the premiere of The Union at the 2011 Tri …   Wikipedia

  • Chris Leslie (folk musician) — Chris Leslie Chris Leslie 2010 Background information Born 15 December 1956 (1956 12 15) (age 54) Banbury …   Wikipedia

  • Nick Graham (musician) — Nick Graham is a British vocalist, songwriter, flautist and bassist. He was one of the original members of the British progressive rock band Atomic Rooster from 1969 1970.[1] Bands 1969 1970 Atomic Rooster Founder member with Carl Palmer recorded …   Wikipedia

  • List of people from New York City — This is a list of famous people from New York City. Native New Yorkers The following were born in New York City. Some became famous after they moved away.A*Aaliyah (1979 2001), R B singer, Dancer, Fashion Model and Actress *Kareem Abdul Jabbar… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”