The Silkroad Ensemble, led by Rhiannon Giddens, has released “Far Down Far,” the second single from their forthcoming album, American Railroad, set for release on November 15, 2024. Composed by Silkroad artist and Celtic harp player Maeve Gilchrist, the piece is an adaptation of the traditional jig “The Far Down Farmer,” reimagined to reflect the experiences of Irish laborers who worked on the American railroads.
American Railroad represents four years of dedicated research and collaboration. This ambitious album brings together Silkroad artists who traveled across the United States, exploring the history and music of the communities involved in building the transcontinental railroad and connecting railways across North America.
Maeve Gilchrist shared: “I was drawn towards a jig called ‘The Far Down Farmer,’ pulled from Francis O’Neill’s Music of Ireland, a collection of over 1,850 pieces of Irish folk tunes and songs. During my research into the Irish involvement in the building of the American Transcontinental Railroad, I read about the tension that existed on occasion between Catholic and Protestant workers. The Catholic workers – often from a more economically depressed background – were sometimes referred to as ‘Far Downers.’
“I took this simple, two-part jig, and deconstructed the vocabulary, using the motifs and intervals as if I were building a train, laying the tracks and allowing the melody to build up momentum and speed as it gets slung between our respective instruments. I hope that this composition pays tribute to the roots of the tune and the back-breaking work of the workers on both sides of the religious and cultural divide while allowing the melody to fly in the hands of women who would likely never have been given a fiddle or a flute – let alone a hammer to build with!”
Author: World Music Central News Room
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