1977 – Barde (Porte Parole/Direction/Polydor) 10006
Friend of THE HOBBLEDEHOY Chris Crilly (aka Fiddler72 ) led this 70s-era Montreal-based Celtic group BARDE. The band released two LP’s at the time and, according to Chris “had considerable critical, if not overwhelmingly commercial, success in North America and elsewhere. ” We can understand why after listening to this lovely treatment of O’Carolan’s Fanny Power.
Turlough O’Carolan, (1670 – 25 March 1738) was a blind Celtic harper, composer and singer in Ireland whose great fame is due to his gift for melodic composition. Although not a composer in the classical sense, Carolan is considered by many to be Ireland’s national composer. Some of Carolan’s own compositions show influences of the style of continental classical music, whereas others such as Carolan’s Farewell to Music reflect a much older style of “Gaelic Harping”.
Wikipedia
Truth be told, Barde did not actually have a leader (à la Benny and the Jets etc). We were spawned by a timely Celtic Zeitgeist, hatched in the vibrant Montreal folk scene of the 70’s and fledged in bars, colleges, concert halls and festivals across N. America. A subsequent incarnation of the group released a third album: “Voyages” in 1980, the master tapes of which are hiding somewhere.