A lifetime making music, that is. For 50 years, the family that is Clannad has recorded and performed its music, a melding of traditional Irish and Celtic music with modern rock, pop and new age instruments and sounds.
The band was formed in 1970 by twin brothers Noel and Pádraig Duggan with their niece Moya (neé Maire) Brennan and her brothers Ciarán and Pól Brennan. For a short time, Clannad later became a six-piece with the addition of their sister Eithne, who went on to solo fame as Enya.
Along the way, the group became the torchbearers for Celtic music. The compilation In a Lifetime showcases their development as a band, from traditional music sung in Gaelic to dreamy tunes with multi-tracked voices in English, and everywhere in between.
So how do you define a career, an era and for all intents and purposes the genesis of a new genre, in just a couple of compact discs? You don’t, really, but In a Lifetime gives an overview of the songs and musical progression of Clannad from its beginnings to finis. It opens with “Thios Cois Na Trá Domh,” a straightforward, mostly acoustic traditional Celtic song sung in Gaelic.
That’s the case for much of the first part of the disc, and for the early part of the band’s career. Moya Brennan’s lead vocals, complemented by the backing voices of her family, were often the focus.
When Clannad started writing original songs that integrated modern instrumentation and sounds alongside their voices and acoustic instruments, their popularity began to spread worldwide. “Theme From Harry’s Game” was commissioned as the theme for the Yorkshire Television miniseries of the same name, adapted from a 1975 novel about the Troubles in Northern Ireland. It was released as a single in October 1982 and became a surprise hit, reaching No. 5 in the U.K. singles chart the following month and No. 2 in the Irish chart.
Of course, there’s “In a Lifetime,” with special guest Bono. The high-profile collaboration, written (like “Theme From Harry’s Game”) by brothers Pol and Ciarán Brennan, was completed in two nights with Bono improvising vocals on the spot. It remains one of Clannad’s best-loved tunes.
Disc two starts off with a pair of tracks whose titles suggest the group’s musical travels, “Atlantic Realm” and “Voyage.” Both, along with the following “A Dream In the Night,” eschew lyrics altogether in favor of atmosphere. While Moya’s voice is the central instrument, it’s often wrapped with synthetic shadings, so even when vocals reappear, they are gauzy elements of the entire song.
“A Bridge (That Carries Us Over)” adds soprano sax and electric guitar to great effect. The vocals are front and center. “The Bridge of Tears” is, as one might expect, a melancholy song about “the last embrace, the final touch, with nothing more to say.” Acoustic guitars and mournful Uilleann pipes help set the mood, with delicate synths and vocals.
The penultimate song is “A Celtic Dream.” That’s what the 50-year ride has been for Clannad, and for its fans. Again, the pipes set the mood, along with Moya’s wistful voice. One of two new tracks on the collection, the lyrics refer to the myths and legends of living 10,000 years ago, with a chorus recalling the band’s early days in Donegal.
In a Lifetime concludes with “Who Knows (Where the Time Goes),” the other new tune. The title refers to the passage of time, similar to the different song by the same name by English folksinger Sandy Denny. It’s an appropriate way to close both the collection and Clannad’s tenure.
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