Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
To delve into history is to reach into mystery. Music is a time-honored method for investigating both. The Chieftains' Paddy Moloney has been obsessed with the historical account of the San Patricios, a band of immigrant Irish soldiers who deserted the American Army during the Mexican-American War in 1846 to fight for the other side, against the Manifest Destiny ideology of James Polk's America. Moloney’s Chieftains and co-producer Ry Cooder decided to try to tell it musically. The result brings this fascinatingly complex tale to life in the modern world and examines issues of discrimination, conscience, and empire.
The knowledge of Argentinian radio programmer Guadalupe Jolicouer pointed Moloney to traditional Mexican sources -- canciones, sons, norteños, rancheras, boleros, and polkas from the period. Moloney sorted them. He then selected, arranged, and added music he knew from the period that echoed the Irish sources. He and Cooder rounded up the numerous players, instruments, and locales necessary. Mexican performers such as los Tigres del Norte, Lila Downs, Chavela Vargas, los Folkloristas, los Camperos de Valles, and many others are featured alongside the Chieftains, Cooder, Linda Ronstadt, Galician piper Carlos Nunez, Liam Neeson, and Van Dyke Parks. Sessions were taped in Mexico, Spain, Los Angeles, New York, and Dublin. Sung in Spanish and English, the collection illumines the San Patricios’ chapter in Irish history, which was considered shameful until recently -- though in Mexico they’ve always been regarded as heroes. Through utterly compelling and ingenious musical preservation and invention, the album asks questions about commonalities between cultures; it offers evidence that history, when told personally enough, reflects shared experiences across territorial and chronological lines, and stands outside any “official” narrative, mirroring back to listeners what they can feel empathy for and sympathize with.
While this album sounds like the Chieftains playing in fusion mode, it is so much more ambitious than anything they’ve attempted before. Some of the music here is contemporary, though much of it is over a century old; yet it reaches past its settings into the present day, telling of the indelibly rich meeting of two cultures oppressed by a third. It’s full of gorgeous songs of heroism, love, tragedy, and loss. San Patricio's songs are sung passionately, without artifice, they're played expertly. The album may jar some listeners initially, but spending a little time with it will remedy that. San Patricio, more than merely satisfying Moloney’s obsession, raises more questions about what stories lay hidden under the floorboards of history than it answers, thank goodness. Music this beautifully articulated allows cultures to talk to one another across time, space, language, and other divides.
© Thom Jurek /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From $17.49/month
Traditional, ComposerLyricist - Lila Downs, Arranger, Work Arranger, FeaturedArtist - The Chieftains, MainArtist - P. MOLONEY, Arranger, Work Arranger
℗ 2010 Blackrock Records LLC
Traditional, ComposerLyricist - The Chieftains, MainArtist - Los Folkloristas, Arranger, Work Arranger, FeaturedArtist - P. MOLONEY, Arranger, Work Arranger
℗ 2010 Blackrock Records LLC
Linda Ronstadt, Arranger, Work Arranger, FeaturedArtist - Traditional, ComposerLyricist - The Chieftains, MainArtist
℗ 2010 Blackrock Records LLC
Traditional, ComposerLyricist - The Chieftains, MainArtist - Los Folkloristas, Arranger, Work Arranger, FeaturedArtist - P. MOLONEY, Arranger, Work Arranger
℗ 2010 Blackrock Records LLC
Traditional, ComposerLyricist - Los Cenzontles, FeaturedArtist - The Chieftains, MainArtist - Julian Gonzalez, Arranger, Work Arranger
℗ 2010 Blackrock Records LLC
Carlos Núñez, FeaturedArtist - The Chieftains, MainArtist - P. MOLONEY, Arranger, Work Arranger, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2010 Blackrock Records LLC
Ry Cooder, FeaturedArtist, ComposerLyricist - The Chieftains, MainArtist
℗ 2010 Blackrock Records LLC
Carlos Núñez, FeaturedArtist - The Chieftains, MainArtist - P. MOLONEY, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2010 Blackrock Records LLC
Traditional, ComposerLyricist - The Chieftains, MainArtist - Los Camperos de Valles, Arranger, Work Arranger, FeaturedArtist - P. MOLONEY, Arranger, Work Arranger
℗ 2010 Blackrock Records LLC
Liam Neeson, FeaturedArtist - Los Cenzontles, FeaturedArtist - The Chieftains, MainArtist - P. MOLONEY, ComposerLyricist - Banda de Gaita de Batallón, FeaturedArtist - L.A. Juvenil, FeaturedArtist
℗ 2010 Blackrock Records LLC
The Chieftains, MainArtist - Moya Brennan, FeaturedArtist - P. MOLONEY, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2010 Blackrock Records LLC
ALVARO CARRILLO, ComposerLyricist - Chavela Vargas, FeaturedArtist - The Chieftains, MainArtist
℗ 2010 Blackrock Records LLC
Samuel Margarito Lozano, ComposerLyricist - The Chieftains, MainArtist - Mariachi Santa Fe de Jesus (Chuy) Guzman, FeaturedArtist
℗ 2010 Blackrock Records LLC
Ry Cooder, FeaturedArtist, ComposerLyricist - The Chieftains, MainArtist
℗ 2010 Blackrock Records LLC
Jose Lopez Alavez, ComposerLyricist - The Chieftains, MainArtist - Los Tigres Del Norte, FeaturedArtist
℗ 2010 Blackrock Records LLC
Traditional, ComposerLyricist - Los Cenzontles, FeaturedArtist - The Chieftains, MainArtist - Eugene Rodriguez, Arranger, Work Arranger
℗ 2010 Blackrock Records LLC
Traditional, ComposerLyricist - Lila Downs, Arranger, Work Arranger, FeaturedArtist - The Chieftains, MainArtist - P. MOLONEY, Arranger, Work Arranger
℗ 2010 Blackrock Records LLC
Traditional, ComposerLyricist - The Chieftains, MainArtist - P. MOLONEY, Arranger, Work Arranger - La Negra Graciana, Arranger, Work Arranger, FeaturedArtist
℗ 2010 Blackrock Records LLC
Carlos Núñez, FeaturedArtist - Traditional, ComposerLyricist - Los Cenzontles, FeaturedArtist - The Chieftains, MainArtist - Los Folkloristas, FeaturedArtist - P. MOLONEY, Arranger, Work Arranger - Banda de Gaita de Batallón, FeaturedArtist - L.A. Juvenil, FeaturedArtist
℗ 2010 Blackrock Records LLC
Album review
To delve into history is to reach into mystery. Music is a time-honored method for investigating both. The Chieftains' Paddy Moloney has been obsessed with the historical account of the San Patricios, a band of immigrant Irish soldiers who deserted the American Army during the Mexican-American War in 1846 to fight for the other side, against the Manifest Destiny ideology of James Polk's America. Moloney’s Chieftains and co-producer Ry Cooder decided to try to tell it musically. The result brings this fascinatingly complex tale to life in the modern world and examines issues of discrimination, conscience, and empire.
The knowledge of Argentinian radio programmer Guadalupe Jolicouer pointed Moloney to traditional Mexican sources -- canciones, sons, norteños, rancheras, boleros, and polkas from the period. Moloney sorted them. He then selected, arranged, and added music he knew from the period that echoed the Irish sources. He and Cooder rounded up the numerous players, instruments, and locales necessary. Mexican performers such as los Tigres del Norte, Lila Downs, Chavela Vargas, los Folkloristas, los Camperos de Valles, and many others are featured alongside the Chieftains, Cooder, Linda Ronstadt, Galician piper Carlos Nunez, Liam Neeson, and Van Dyke Parks. Sessions were taped in Mexico, Spain, Los Angeles, New York, and Dublin. Sung in Spanish and English, the collection illumines the San Patricios’ chapter in Irish history, which was considered shameful until recently -- though in Mexico they’ve always been regarded as heroes. Through utterly compelling and ingenious musical preservation and invention, the album asks questions about commonalities between cultures; it offers evidence that history, when told personally enough, reflects shared experiences across territorial and chronological lines, and stands outside any “official” narrative, mirroring back to listeners what they can feel empathy for and sympathize with.
While this album sounds like the Chieftains playing in fusion mode, it is so much more ambitious than anything they’ve attempted before. Some of the music here is contemporary, though much of it is over a century old; yet it reaches past its settings into the present day, telling of the indelibly rich meeting of two cultures oppressed by a third. It’s full of gorgeous songs of heroism, love, tragedy, and loss. San Patricio's songs are sung passionately, without artifice, they're played expertly. The album may jar some listeners initially, but spending a little time with it will remedy that. San Patricio, more than merely satisfying Moloney’s obsession, raises more questions about what stories lay hidden under the floorboards of history than it answers, thank goodness. Music this beautifully articulated allows cultures to talk to one another across time, space, language, and other divides.
© Thom Jurek /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 19 track(s)
- Total length: 01:01:19
- Main artists: The Chieftains
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Universal Music Group International
- Genre: World
© 2010 Concord Music Group Inc. ℗ 2010 Blackrock Records LLC
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.