Amy Interviews Mael Brigde: Brigit Music, Daughters of the Flame, & More!

Well, that was lovely.

I just had a long conversation with Amy Panetta, who found me through this blog a few years ago (although I wasn't really aware of it until she approached me recently on Facebook). Amy is an energetic and very curious young woman—curious about things, that is, not curious in herself—and has combined her musical skills and love of Brigit in a number of projects.

Her main focus is Brigidine music, especially that composed in the last decades, and we got together today to talk about it, and about my love of writing songs to and about Brigit. Somewhere between the time we made the plan to talk and the talk itself, Amy asked me if we could do it as an interview, thinking she might use it in her podcast-to-be. I agreed and off we went.

I have been interviewed on paper, or asked to write some reflections on my connection to Brigit, but I have never been interviewed aloud on these matters and some of things she asked about I had never spoken discussed with another. So it was an interesting and fun experience for me, where I got to let my thoughts stretch and my chin wag. (I'm usually more the listener—believe it or not, those who know me.)

Amy is an excellent interviewer, with clear questions, a relaxed style, and adding enough of her own thoughts to make it a conversation instead of a monologue. I didn't feel like I was alone and honking, but at ease and chatting with a friend.

Who knows if this will ever be used as a podcast, but it was a good experience, helping me to think in new ways about a subject that is dear to my heart.

I look forward to meeting Amy in the flesh when she comes to Vancouver in a couple of weeks for the CSANA 2017 Conference, (27–30 April 2017, the Celtic Studies Association of North America), where she will be presenting her topic "The Feminine Face of God: Vocal Music Dedicated to Bridget, the Pre-Christian Celtic Goddess and Saint".

This is not an expensive conference, and it runs for several days, so there will be much to bend your minds with if you are able to get to Vancouver, Canada for it.




Image: Croghan Hill (Bog of Allen County Offaly Ireland) by Sarah777. This is the image I looked at throughout our conversation, since we were talking on the computer without video, and it was weird staring at my desktop and all those annoying reminders of things to do.