In their 37 years as a band, the Chieftains have come to epitomize traditional Irish music to mainstream audiences. Although they originally came to prominence as an all-instrumental ensemble, the addition of percussionist Kevin Conneff in 1976 brought vocals to the group.
In 1988, the group’s joint recording with Van Morrison, “Irish Heartbeat” widened their commercial appeal and made them more visible to the pop music mainstream. In the ensuing decade, the group worked with rock and pop vocalists such as Sting, Roger Daltrey, Mick Jagger and Nanci Griffith, with their own musical identities becoming submerged at the same time their popularity was soaring.
On their latest disc, “Water from the Well,” the Chieftains have reclaimed their identity as a traditional Irish band, and their Monday night show at the Auditorium similarly celebrated the musical heritage.
Although all six Chieftains are virtuoso players, what distinguishes the band from the pack musically is their adventurous arrangements.
In Monday’s opening set, Paddy Moloney’s uilleann pipes, Derek Bell’s harp, Matt Molloy’s flute, and the twin fiddles of Martin Fay and Sean Keane each played separate melody lines that wove in and around one another, creating a complex whole that sounded deceptively facile.
Through years of touring, the Chieftains have also become consummate entertainers, with front man Moloney’s wit particularly sharp.
They also turned their show into somewhat of a floating circus, bringing on a series of guests including the spectacular step-dance duo Donny Golden and Deidre Goulding, and three additional players, guitarist Gabriel Donohue, fiery fiddler Mairin Fahy, and vocalist Yvonne McMahon, who added depth (and additional singing voices) to the group’s sound.
Although Kevin Conneff spent most of the night keeping expert time on his bodhran (a Celtic hand drum played with a small mallet), he did turn in one of the most moving moments, taking an unaccompanied vocal turn on “May Morning Dew.”
The band took a brief, wry look at the roots of traditional American music, creating a Celtic hoedown on their own version of “Cotton-Eyed Joe,” which clearly demonstrated the genetic links between Irish music and bluegrass.
To end the first half, the group did a set of tunes that have become familiar through the band’s prolific film score work, notably a lilting rendition of “Mna na Heireann,” which is better known as the love theme from “Barry Lyndon.”
During the second half, the band brought on Chicago accordion virtuoso John Williams to play on a set of tunes including “Lots of Drops of Brandy,” the group’s clever set of variations on yet another traditional Irish tune.
The evening’s one rather bizarre collaboration occurred when Tuvan trio Yat-Kha came on playing their blend of traditional throat singing and rock music. When the Chieftains joined them by melding the Irish “Leg of the Duck” onto a Tuvan melody, the sextet again demonstrated their knack for finding common ground with just about any musicians.
