Main: From the Library: A Taste of Ireland with Elrik Merlin

This week on gullar sahir has very much a Celtic flavour, and today is no exception. Gabi will be presenting our St Patrick's Day celebrations – not to mention two fabulous Balls in Caledon Rothesay in Second Life – tomorrow, but in the meantime, today's programme features a selection of Irish music from several genres beyond the Celtic and traditional Irish music that you will no doubt be treated to tomorrow. Of course there'll be some of the latter too, but that's not the main focus of the day.

Instead, today's programme includes a wealth of Irish popular and easy listening music, of the sort that you might find in little record shops in small towns across Ireland, along with the more familiar traditional music you'll be more used to. So you'll hear beautiful, flowing pieces based around Irish themes – notably from songwriter, pianist, music producer, arranger and director Phil Coulter – and ballads, some of which have distinct country music influences (hardly surprising, perhaps that the traditional music that developed into American country music has come back home). There are some other American connections today too, such as a collection of vintage recordings by leading Irish American fiddler Michael Coleman (1889–1945), released by the Coleman Irish Music Centre in Gurteen, Co. Sligo. You'll also hear the work of Shaun Davey, noted for his large-scale orchestral works inspired by Irish history, and pianist Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, who is also Professor of Music at the Irish World Music Centre of the University of Limerick.

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig!

Today's programme is presented by Elrik Merlin and produced by gullar sahir in conjunction with our friends at the Alexandrian Free Library Consortium of Second Life. You can listen to the programme in-world now at http://main.radioriel.org, or simply click here to start your player, if your browser is configured to do so. Listeners in the United States are encouraged to tune in using this link: http://loudcity.com/stations/radio-riel/tune_in

For more information on the Alexandrian Free Library, current exhibits and the work of Consortium members in general, please visit the Alexandrian Free Library website, or one of their branches in-world.

Photo: "Live musicians in Oliver St. John Gogarty Pub", by Arizona Fox, courtesy of Travelpod.com.

From the Library: Celtic miscellany

Bagpipes, yes--but playing Brazilian dance music. Tin pipe, yes--but playing Queen. Celtic, yes--but French. Fiddle, yes--but playing rock. Tune in for some Celtic with a twist!

From the Library is produced by Radio Riel in conjunction with the Alexandrian Free Library Consortium of Second Life. You can listen to the program now in-world at http://music.radioriel.org, or click one of the buttons below. Today's program is presented by Otenth Paderborn.

Tune in:

For more information on the Alexandrian Free Library, current exhibits and the work of Consortium members in general, please visit the Alexandrian Free Library website, or one of their branches in-world.

From the Library: Music of Wales & the Celts

Today we are picking up from where Otenth Paderborn's Terpsichore Tuesday finished off last night, and belatedly recognising St David's Day with a full programme of Welsh music along with pieces from other Celtic Lands.

From Wales, we'll be hearing from a wealth of Welsh performers and music, from the heart-lifting sound of Welsh Male Voice Choirs to the Band of the Welsh Guards, traditional Welsh folk songs and Welsh composers including Karl Jenkins and others. We'll hear songs and choirs in Welsh and English (and a few other Celtic tongues while we're at it).

"Dydd Gŵyl Dewi" to you all!

Today's programme is presented by Elrik Merlin and produced by gullar sahir in conjunction with our friends at the Alexandrian Free Library Consortium of Second Life. You can listen to the programme in-world now at http://main.radioriel.org, or simply click here to start your player, if your browser is configured to do so. Listeners in the United States are encouraged to tune in using this link: http://loudcity.com/stations/radio-riel/tune_in

For more information on the Alexandrian Free Library, current exhibits and the work of Consortium members in general, please visit the Alexandrian Free Library website, or one of their branches in-world.

From The Library: A Celtic Selection

Most commonly associated with the people of the British Isles today, Celts once occupied most of Europe before being slowly pushed further and further west. With migration and international travel Celtic music once again covers a large portion of the world.

From the Library is produced by gullar sahir in conjunction with the Alexandrian Free Library Consortium of Second Life. You can listen to the programme now in-world at http://music.radioriel.org, or click one of the buttons below. Today's programme is presented by Edward Pearse.

Tune in:

For more information on the Alexandrian Free Library, current exhibits and the work of Consortium members in general, please visit the Alexandrian Free Library website, or one of their branches in-world

From the Library: Songs of the Gael

Today, we're playing a selection of Celtic pieces, with the focus on songs in Gaelic.

Gaelic is a name for the Goidelic languages - Irish, Scottish and Manx - that make up one of the two distinct groups of Celtic languages, the other being Brythonic. In Ireland and the Isle of Man, the term is pronounced"gay-lik", while in Scotland, it's "gallik".

In addition, we'll hear some instrumental Celtic pieces from Scotland and Ireland - and occasionally beyond. Some of the artists we have lined up for you today include Julie Fowlis (with some of her latest recordings), Altan, Noirin Ni Riain, Mouth Music, Mary Jane Lamond and Karen Matheson.

There's also a magnificent collection of songs from the Great Book of Gaelic, An Leabhar Mòr, an anthology of poetry in Irish and Scottish Gaelic - many of the poems being in the form of songs - from the 17th to the 20th century, combined with artwork and calligraphy by dozens of modern artists. It's a kind of contemporary Book of Kells.

You'll also hear the likes of Phil Coulter, Dougie MacLean and the music of Gordon Duncan - and many more.

Today's programme is presented by Elrik Merlin and produced by gullar sahir in conjunction with our friends at the Alexandrian Free Library Consortium of Second Life. You can listen to the programme in-world now at http://main.radioriel.org, or simply click here to start your player, if your browser is configured to do so. Listeners in the United States are encouraged to tune in using this link: http://loudcity.com/stations/radio-riel/tune_in

For more information on the Alexandrian Free Library, current exhibits and the work of Consortium members in general, please visit the Alexandrian Free Library website, or one of their branches in-world.

Spirit of the Celts

From the shores of Ireland through the Isles and to the coast of Brittany, Celtic music survives in many forms and nuances. Harps, bagpipes, violins and fiddles, whistles and drums are all part of today's music. Sometimes the music is traditional in its feel, sometimes it uses traditional instruments to bring out a more modern sound. Samba is not something normally associated with Celtic music, but you'll hear it in amongst the tunes today.

From the Library is produced by gullar sahir in conjunction with the Alexandrian Free Library Consortium of Second Life. You can listen to the programme now in-world at http://music.radioriel.org, or click one of the buttons below. Today's programme is presented by Edward Pearse.

Tune in:

For more information on the Alexandrian Free Library, current exhibits and the work of Consortium members in general, please visit the Alexandrian Free Library website, or one of their branches in-world

From the Library: Celtic Journeys

Today's programme features an extensive collection of largely traditional Celtic music, but we also explore some of the descendants of the tradition, including some contemporary Irish and North American artists.

This programme is part of our ongoing series, From the Library. Today's programme is presented by Elrik Merlin and produced by gullar sahir in association with the Alexandrian Free Library Consortium of Second Life. You can listen now at http://loudcity.com/stations/radio-riel/tune_in. For more information on the Alexandrian Free Library, current exhibits and the work of Consortium members in general, please visit the Alexandrian Free Library website, or one of their branches in-world.

From the Library: Celtic

Today's program casts a wide net across Celtic music: Pipes and drums, Irish harp, and fiddlers from the Isles, yes, but also music from Brittany and Cape Breton as well as modern New Age interpreters.

From the Library is produced by gullar sahir in conjunction with the Alexandrian Free Library Consortium of Second Life. You can listen to the program now in-world at http://music.radioriel.org, or click one of the buttons below. Today's program is presented by Otenth Paderborn.

Tune in:

For more information on the Alexandrian Free Library, current exhibits and the work of Consortium members in general, please visit the Alexandrian Free Library website, or one of their branches in-world.

Knotwork by Leo Reynolds.

From the Libray - Random Riel

With Main covering the opening of the Seraph Club on Friday night, I've decided to put today's broadcast on random. A selection of some 80+ hours of music means you shouldn't hear the same track twice but who knows! Until this evening I hope you enjoy a random selection of tunes from my library.

From the Library is produced by gullar sahir in conjunction with the Alexandrian Free Library Consortium of Second Life. You can listen to the programme now in-world at http://music.radioriel.org, or click one of the buttons below. Today's programme is presented by Edward Pearse.

Tune in:

For more information on the Alexandrian Free Library, current exhibits and the work of Consortium members in general, please visit the Alexandrian Free Library website, or one of their branches in-world