Shenandoah - Rowan Carolan
Rowan Carolan resided in the past few years in Nigüelas, the beautiful village where we have our workshop. We became good friends and he frequently visited the workshop. A little while back I had the pleasure to present him the guitar I made for him which he commissioned after which we recorded this video in the workshop, right where the guitar was made. He masterfully interprets an arrangement by Gary Ryan of the North-American folksong "Shanondoah"
The song "Shenandoah" appears to have originated with American and Canadian voyageurs or fur traders traveling down the Missouri River in canoes and has developed several different sets of lyrics. Some lyrics refer to the Oneida chief Shenandoah and a canoe-going trader who wants to marry his daughter. By the mid 1800s versions of the song had become a sea shanty heard or sung by sailors in various parts of the world.
In recent times the song was recorded by a long list of musicians, such as Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Waits with Keith Richards.
Gary Ryan made very beautiful arrangements of quite a few American folk song. You can get a copy on his website: https://garyryan.co.uk/compositions/