酋长乐队（The Chieftains），1962年成立于爱尔兰都柏林，由风笛大师派迪马隆尼（Paddy Moloney）领军，成员还包括擅长竖琴与钢琴的德瑞克贝尔（Derek Bell）、负责手鼓与主唱的凯文康耐夫（Kevin Conneff）、小提琴好手史恩纪安（Sean Keane）、以及长笛好手麦特莫洛伊（Matt Molloy）。说起该团的成立，要回溯到1962年。当时有一家爱尔兰的唱片公司，邀请当年才二十三岁、已经活跃于都柏林传统音乐界的马隆尼，集合几个乐手，来为公司录制一些传统乐曲。对于发扬传统音乐非常有心的马隆尼立刻把握机会，结合了其他几个志同道合的朋友，组成了这支乐队，亲自担任编曲，并且开始练习。1963年，公司正式公开了这支团体，立即获得热烈的回响，在爱尔兰几乎跟披头士、滚石等当红的热门合唱团一样的受欢迎。不过，当时他们的阵容还没有固定，从1968年起，现在的其于团员才陆续加入，之后的40年的时间里始终都维持着相同的阵容，将共同的音乐使命嵌入各自的生命，为世界乐坛奉献了一张又一张的令人动容的爱尔兰音乐唱片，时至今日几乎成了爱尔兰音乐的象征，在国际乐坛成为倍受尊敬的大师级乐团。他们享誉世界的着名专辑有《长长的黑面纱》(The Long Black Veil)、《漫长的回家旅程》(The Journey Home)、《都柏林的钟声》(The Bells of Dublin)、《漫漫乡间路》(Down The Old Plant Road)、《石之泪》(Tears of Stone)等。我国着名的世界音乐歌手朱哲琴于1996年访问爱尔兰都柏林时，曾与The Chieftains乐团合作，参与了他们的着名专辑《石之泪》的录制，演唱了歌曲《泪之湖》。 by Bruce EderThe original traditional Irish folk band, as far as anyone who came of age in the 1970s or 1980s is concerned, is the Chieftains. Their sound, built largely on Paddy Moloneys pipes, is otherworldly, almost entirely instrumental, and seems as though it comes out of another age of mans history. That they became an international phenomenon in the 70s and 80s is testament to their virtuoso musicianship.The Chieftains were first formed in Dublin during 1963, as a semi-professional outfit, from the ranks of the top folk musicians in Ireland. Until that time, and for some years after, the worlds (and even Irelands) perception of Irish folk songs was rooted in either the good-natured boisterousness and topicality of acts such as the Irish Rovers or Tommy Makem and the Clancy Brothers, or the sentimentality of Mary OHara. That began to change in Ireland with the advent of Ceoltoiri Cualann, a group formed from the ranks of the best traditional Irish musicians by a composer named Sean Ó Riada, who hailed from County Cork. Ceoltoiri Cualann, which specialized in instrumental music, stripped away the pop music inflections from Irish music — the dances were played with a natural lilt and abandon that came from deep within the musics origins, and the airs, stripped of their worst modern inflections, came across with even greater poignancy than anyone had recognized them for in decades, and perhaps centuries. Tempos were changed in midsong, from reel to polka to jig to slow air and back again.Paddy Moloney came out of Ceoltoiri Cualann to found the Chieftains in 1963, seeking to carry this work several steps further. The earliest recorded incarnation of the group consisted of Moloney (pipes), Sean Potts (tin whistle), Martin Fay (fiddle), David Fallon (bodhran), Mick Tubridy (flute, concertina), and Ó Riada. They were a success virtually from the beginning, their music weaving a spell around audiences in Ireland and later in England, where they quickly became popular as both a performing and recording act — the only thing holding them back was the decision by the members to remain a semi-professional, part-time ensemble until the early 70s. Their first four albums, spread over a period from 1965 through 1973, were originally available only from the Claddagh label in Ireland, but were later picked up by Island Records for release in England and America in 1976, after the group had achieved international renown.The 1970s saw the group break big in America. A new, younger generation of Irish-American listeners, who enjoyed folk music and whose cultural and musical tastes werent limited to songs about the troubles (i.e., England), had already begun discovering the Chieftains music in the early to mid-70s. By that time, the group had elected to go professional, and to expand its lineup. Ó Riada and Fallon left after the first album, and Peadar Mercier (bodhran) and Sean Keane (fiddle) joined with the second. Following the recording of Chieftains 4, theyd added Ronnie McShane (percussion) and Derek Bell (harp, oboe, timpan), a classically trained musician. Bells harp lent the groups sound a final degree of elegance and piquancy.The groups big breakthrough in America, however, occurred when they provided the music for Stanley Kubricks 1975 movie, Barry Lyndon. The film itself wasnt a hit, but the Chieftains were, especially one track called Women of Ireland, which began getting played heavily on FM progressive rock stations, and even managed to get onto the play lists of some Top 40 stations. Suddenly, the Chieftains were hot in America, and a U.S. tour and a series of performances on television — especially the network morning news/feature shows — brought them into demand.By that time, Island Records had contracted to release both the groups latest album, Chieftains 5, and their four previous records in England and America. With their newfound audience, Chieftains records started coming out every year instead of every two or three years — Bonapartes Retreat in 1976, Chieftains Live in 1977, and Chieftains 7, 8, and 9 in 1978, 1979, and 1980, respectively, although for their U.S. releases, from 1977 through 1980, they abandoned Island Records in favor of Columbia Records. Ever since the dawn of the CD era, their music has been available on compact disc from Shanachie Records, while their more recent work has shown up on the BMG label, on both compact disc and home video. The latter have included a Christmas concert and a mixed-ensemble performance interweaving the group with orchestras, American folk and country musicians, and rock musicians, and an album (Irish Heartbeat, 1988) recorded with Irish-born R&B shouter Van Morrison. Additionally, the group has been engaged steadily for film work.Since the late 70s, the groups recordings have settled into an effective but not fully inspired level of creativity. The band has kept its sound fresh with the periodic addition of new members and a search for sounds beyond the boundaries of Ireland — as distant as Spain — as sources for its music. In 2003, long time harp player Derek Bell passed away while on tour in Phoenix, AZ. The group, who continue to play and record, released a tribute in 2005 called Live in Dublin.