Santiago


Label: RCA Victor/BMG, 1996 | 09026-68602-2


The Chieftains
  • Paddy Moloney: uilleann pipes, tin whistle & hand clapping
  • Martin Fay: fiddle
  • Derek Bell: harp, tiompán and harpsichord
  • Seán Keane: fiddle
  • Kevin Conneff: bodhran and vocals
  • Matt Molloy: flute

    • Guest Artists
  • Carlos Núñez: gaita, recorder, whistle & bombard
  • Kepa Junkera: txalaparta, accordion & tambourine
  • Julio Pereria: txalaparta, percussion, & cavaquinho
  • Xuacu Amieva: rabel and voice
  • Lance Doss: bass
  • Ultreia Choir; Conducted by Fernando Olbes: voices
  • Xoven Orquestra de Galicia; Conducted by Joam Trillo Diego Bouzón
  • Joam Trillo Diego Bouzón: spanish guitar
  • Pancho Alvarez: mandolin
  • Antón Requeixo: drum
  • Hipólito Cabezas: tambourine
  • Steve Cooney: guitar
  • Linda Ronstadt: vocals
  • Los Lobos: vocals, Mexican string instruments and percussion
  • Eliot Fisk: classical guitar
  • Ciro Baptista: hand clapping
  • Jeffery Lesser: hand clapping
  • Ry Cooder: mandola
  • Pancho Amat: tres
  • Cachaìto: double bass
  • Richard Eg&uouml;es: flute
  • Roberto Garcia: percussion
  • Coro Folklorico: vocals
  • Raquel Zozaya and Pio Leiva: vocal soloists
  • Matto Congrio: vocals and dance
  • Wenceslao Cabezas: solo vocals and tambourine


    • The Tracks:
    1. Txalaparta 1:16
    2. Arku - Dantza / Arin - Arin 4:21
    3. El Besu The Kiss2:19
    4. Nao vas ao mar, Toino Don't go to the sea, Toino2:02
    5. Dum Paterfamilias / Ad Honorem3:13
    6. Deuling Chanters2:55
    7. Galician Overture11:01
    8. Guadalupe2:50
    9. Minho Waltz3:21
    10. Setting Sail / Muineira de frexido3:26
    11. Maneo3:28
    12. Santiago de Cuba3:37
    13. Galleguita / Tutankhamen4:07
    14. Tears of Stone2:40
    15. Dublin in Vigo7:07

    The Chieftains' conquest of new frontiers in world music continues with their latest RCA Victor release, "Santiago." Joining the four time Grammy Award-winning superstars on a musical pilgrimage to Galicia are Linda Ronstadt, Los Lobos, Carlos Nunez, previous Chieftains collaborator Ry Cooder and renowned Galician artists from around the world as listed above. "Santiago," was produced by the Chief of The Chieftains, Paddy Moloney.

    "It was more than 20 years ago that a dear friend first introduced me to the wonderful music of Galicia," writes Paddy Moloney in the liner notes for "Santiago." Moloney describes it as a green and hilly region in the northwest comer of Spain whose culture bears a strong resemblance to Brittany, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. It was once described as "the world's undiscovered Celtic country," writes Moloney.

    The origin of "Santiago" dates back to 1984 after a Chieftains performance in the seaport of Vigo. It was there that they first heard Carlos Núñez, who, says Moloney, "literally became the seventh member of The Chieftains" on their world tours. As they traveled, they drew inspiration for the music included on "Santiago," but left room to include the first song they ever played together, "Setting Sail/Muineira de Frexido."

    Among the highlights of "Santiago" are the ancient instruments played. The Basque country of Northeastem Spain provided them with the sounds of the Txalaparta on the opening track, "Pilgrimage to Santiago." "These large wooden planks would have been laid out on baskets and maize leaves and played with sticks," according to Moloney. "The rhythm was originally intended to recreate the sound of horses on the move." The suite also features the rebel, a three stringed ancestor of the violin. On "Dueling Chanters," The Chieftains' uilleann pipes played by Moloney meet the gaita, Galician bagpipes, in a unique interplay. Linda Ronstadt and Los Lobos are featured on "Guadalupe," while Ry Cooder's mandola graces "Santiago de Cuba" and "Galleguita/Tutankhamen." The album closes with a live track, "Dublin in Vigo," recorded appropriately enough, at a pub called The Dublin in Vigo.

    And of course the Santiago saga continues with it winning a Grammy Award in 1997 in the World Music category for best album!

    Please see these great reviews for Santiago:

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