The band has recorded many albums of instrumental Irish folk music, as well as multiple collaborations with popular musicians of many genres, including Country music, Galician traditional music, Cape Breton and Newfoundland music, and rock and roll. They have performed with Van Morrison, The Rolling Stones, Sting, Roger Daltrey, Elvis Costello, Tom Jones, Sinéad O'Connor, James Galway, Jackson Browne, Nancy Griffith and numerous Country-western artists. In 1975, the group won praise for their playing of "Women of Ireland" for Stanley Kubrick's movie Barry Lyndon.
They have won six Grammy Awards and have been nominated eighteen times. In 2002 they were given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the UK's BBC Radio 2. The front covers of the first four albums were designed by Edward Delaney.
Paddy Moloney is the band's leader, and composes or arranges most of the band's music. While the band's members changed numerous times in the band's early history, the membership solidified in 1979 when Matt Molloy replaced Michael Tubridy.
From then until 2002, members included:
Paddy Moloney (uilleann pipes, tin whistle, button accordion, bodhrán)
Matt Molloy (flute, tin whistle)
Kevin Conneff (bodhrán, vocals)
Seán Keane (fiddle, tin whistle)
Martin Fay (fiddle, bones) (born 1938; died 14 November 2012)
Derek Bell (Irish harp, keyboard instruments, oboe) (born 21 October 1935; died 17 October 2002)
In 2002, Fay retired from active membership. In the same year, Bell died due to complications following a minor operation. Fay died on 14 November 2012.
A Breton Carol
The Chieftains Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Péh kan a gleúan me
Na kaeret er boehieú e za lein eun né
Eled, lavaret d’emb eit petra e kannet?
Peneú éted ar zé e zou arriú er bed?
Arnet eúe genemb kannet pobl ag en doar?
Ewan de laret d’ho eun né úèted hemb par
E zo gannet eit-ho ér gér a vethléem
translation:
What noise on earth?
who is singing for me and who I am hearing
how much I like these voices who sing in the skies
and what do they say in their song?
what is new that happened on earth?
we hear the people sing on earth
I come to tell you that in the sky there is something beyond compare
a small child blessed, king of Jerusalem
and who was born for them (the people) in the town of Bethlehem
Translated by Nolwenn Monjarret
The Chieftains' "A Breton Carol" is a song that tells the story of an evocative encounter between a person on Earth and the music being played by the heavenly choir up in the skies. The singer hears music coming from the sky and wonders what is happening, who is singing and what new event has occurred on Earth. The singer also expresses appreciation for the beautiful melody coming from above.
As the lyrics unfold, the singer begins to make sense of the heavenly music being played. They hear the people singing on Earth while the small, blessed child who is the king of Jerusalem is born in the town of Bethlehem. The arrival of this child is cause for great celebration, and the heavenly choir is singing praise to him. The singer is overwhelmed with emotion at this realization and is reminded of the importance of keeping faith and celebrating moments of great significance.
Overall, "A Breton Carol" encourages listeners to find joy and wonder in significant events and to appreciate the beauty of music as a means of uniting people and expressing wonder and awe.
Line by Line Meaning
Péh trouz zou ar en doar
What noise on earth?
Péh kan a gleúan me
who is singing for me and who I am hearing
Na kaeret er boehieú e za lein eun né
how much I like these voices who sing in the skies
Eled, lavaret d’emb eit petra e kannet?
and what do they say in their song?
Peneú éted ar zé e zou arriú er bed?
what is new that happened on earth?
Arnet eúe genemb kannet pobl ag en doar?
we hear the people sing on earth
Ewan de laret d’ho eun né úèted hemb par
I come to tell you that in the sky there is something beyond compare
Eur mabig beniget roué a Jerusalem
a small child blessed, king of Jerusalem
E zo gannet eit-ho ér gér a vethléem
and who was born for them (the people) in the town of Bethlehem
Contributed by Joshua H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
tom canterbury
on North Amerikay
the great accapella version by kevin on tribute to their harpist