The Priests – An Interview

by tarlia on August 20, 2009
in music

This is one of my favourite entertainment pieces. I remember how easily this one came because I feel so profoundly moved by their music and from speaking to Father Martin. This is also probably my last entertainment pieces before I went over to the news desk.

thepriests2t L-R: Father David Delargy, Father Eugene O’Hagan and Father Martin O’Hagan.

I’ve interviewed all manner of people working in the entertainment industry – actors, musicians, comedians and film makers. The thing that struck me is that a lot of them are quite down-to-earth. Some even mention this to you at some point of the interview.

But a phone interview with Father Martin O’Hagan of top-selling classical vocal trio The Priests reminded me of the true meaning of “down-to-earth”.

It was 10.50am in the United Kingdom and 6.50pm in Kuching. After our preliminary hellos, I did what comes naturally to most people when they get one-on-one time with a priest. I confessed.

I could almost see Father Martin nodding with empathy before telling me it was okay to be nervous. But as I slipped into my role as the interviewer, I forgot what I was so worried about. O’Hagan had a voice that immediately sets you at ease. I felt like I could tell him anything, or in my case, ask him anything.

So I asked if he was comfortable with Time magazine saying that The Priests sing like angels.

“We are very flattered. Time is very complimentary about us.” O’Hagan said. “We enjoy music. We are very conscious of its power and how it reaches people. Hopefully, our music will reach people’s hearts.”

Their 14-track album contain classics like Ave Maria, Pie Jesu, Irish Blessings and O Holy Night. Their execution is flawless – a harmony of technical precision and heartfelt expression.

Although they’ve been singing together for 30 years, the three Fathers never did see this coming.

“We never thought it would happen. We never dreamed of anything like this.” O’Hagan said. “When we were approached, we had to think very carefully. It’s a whole new horizon, but in the end, we went ahead with it. Music had always been an extension of our ministry. We are thrilled and thankful to God.”

He acknowledged that there is a public curiosity because they are and will remain in their vocation as full time priests, recording deal and concerts not withstanding.

The Priests – made up of O’Hagan, his brother Father Eugene O’Hagan and their childhood friend Father David Delargy – signed on to Sony BMG last year. Their contract specified that their parish duties remain uninterrupted by promotional or recording commitments.

“My congregation are thrilled and supportive. They’ve been part of the whole journey.” O’Hagan said.

It’s hard to miss the fact that the group is also made up of mature gentlemen rather than typical young starlets. This is not because they’ve just ventured into singing. The trio have been at it since they were in St. MacNissi’s College together.

After leaving college, they trained for priesthood at The Seminary in Belfast. They also trained under the Belfast-based singing teacher, Frank Capper MBE. Eugene O’Hagan took advantage of the fact that he was able to study under Sergio Ballini. The Priests were invited to sing for the Pope in the sacred liturgy.

It was only last year, after 30 years of singing together, that they were discovered by a talent scout. Father Martin said that the offer caught them by surprise, but the time was right.

“God stepped in.” he said. “The advantage of being discovered now is that we have more experience to bring in with us. Our stories are interwoven. The timing? It’s providential, a gift. In the time of economic uncertainty, I hope this music came at the appropriate time.”

Coping with the additional responsibility is sometimes not easy.

“It gets very busy. There are many things to do. We just have to learn to find a balance.” he said. “What little free time we have, we have to use creatively to keep in touch with family and friends. We always have to juggle.”

Everyone juggles and they are no different, he added. “You just have to keep the right aspects in place.”

Being a priest in a parish enables him to maintain a certain rhythm and stay grounded.

“My parishioners keep me grounded.” he said. “They remind me that life continues – baptisms, weddings, confirmations. To journey through it with them is a wonderful experience.”

I asked him what an average week is like for him and he rattled off a list of things. I scribbled until I ran out of space and he kept going.

“Everyday is different. There’s mass everyday. There’s administration work to do because I don’t have anyone to do that for me. I’m also restoring a 200-year old church.” he said, continuing with what must be the items you expect to find listed in a priest’s calendar.

“And I go to see my 93-year old father. There’s time set aside for God. There’s hardly any time for myself.” he finished.

O’Hagan said that his parents have been tremendous musical influences. His vocal teacher Frank Capper introduced them to the classics. He loves the Baroque era, drawing his influences from Verdi, and works of opera like Puccini. He is also fond of jazz and contemporary singers, adding that he also enjoys Enrique Iglesias.

The Priests were spotted not 12 months ago and their debut album is already a record breaker, officially the fastest selling debut by a classical act. It sold over a million copies worldwide in just seven weeks, achieving platinum status in the UK, Norway, Sweden, and New Zealand. It is five times platinum in their native Ireland.

The album was produced by music legend Mike Hedges, the man responsible for hit albums by U2 and Manic Street Preachers.

O’Hagan revealed that they’ve been asked questions about the dark side of the music industry, but their experience have been largely positive.

“Sony is respectful of our lives and contract. We are aware that Sony is a business and there is work to do. The album has a commercial aspect. But we are treated very well.”

There is no denying that there is a darker side, but O’Hagan said it’s not happened to them.

“I think it’s because we are a learning curve for them. They’ve never dealt with members of the clergy before. Maybe age is a factor. We have to be ourselves. We bring all that into the music. It’s important for us. Music is for all.”

He is impressed with the people they met since embarking on this journey.

“We’ve met a lot of hardworking people. I’m enthralled by the process of making the album – the technology, expertise and so on. The sheer teamwork involved is fantastic. ” he gushed. “Going to Rome to record is fantastic. Seeing the interaction of people made it very real.”

The opportunity to travel is also a perk.

“We have been able to go to various countries. It allowed us get an insight, a glimpse on the culture and people. That’s been lovely.”

The Priests have been nicknamed “Holy Holy Holy” in college due to their shared determination to enter the priesthood. So it came as little surprise that O’Hagan is not prepared to embrace a new label.

“Well, we won’t call ourselves ‘stars’. We’re just straightforward priests.”

As we were saying goodbye, O’Hagan commented, “I have no idea what time it is there.”

I told him it was about seven in the evening and that I will be heading off to dinner after our conversation. He seemed a little startled.

“Oh my.” he said. “How wonderful and strange it is that we are so far away from each other, yet we are the same. We’re still people trying to get through life.”

The Priests in Concert at Armagh Cathedral is available on DVD from 30 March 2009.

But a phone interview with Father Martin O’Hagan of top-selling classical vocal trio The Priests reminded me of the true meaning of “down-to-earth”.

It was 10.50am in the United Kingdom and 6.50pm in Kuching. After our preliminary hellos, I did what comes naturally to most people when they get one-on-one time with a priest. I confessed.

The State of November

by tarlia on November 25, 2007
in books, decluttering diary, life, music

1 Comment

Ducky is on Facebook. You should be his fan. Because you are.

Another month is almost gone and perhaps it’s a bit too early for a”state of the month” post, but given the number of times I posted this month, maybe not.

My current problem is an attack of the blahs – that state where you get overwhelmed by everything and don’t want to do anything, short of surviving the day. My life this month had been a series of these, strung together by distractions like a good friend’s wedding, a work trip to KL and a couple of other personal distractions that I won’t discuss here.

Nanowrimo is at a halt at some 7000+ words, and given the amount of work I need to clear this week, I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere with it. At least I got a backburner story started?

As for the personal clutter? The wardrobe clutter is under control. I’ve been good about hanging stuff up and making sure I have enough hangers so there’s no excuse not to hang things up. I haven’t gotten around getting rid of the knick-knacks that I don’t want anymore; they’re lying around in a box in my room. Meanwhile, another box is getting piled higher and higher with stuff. I don’t know where it’s all coming from, but it’s gotta go as soon as I get my shit together.

I started and finished rereading Mark Haddon’s “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” today because I needed a pick-me-up and this book is both genius and hilarious. Which means I’m back to the book that I originally started – “Warlock” by Wilbur Smith. It’s the third in Smith’s series on Egypt. The first book is “River God” which I own and periodically reread. One more book (“The Quest”) and my collection will be complete.

On that note, I spent more money than I should… but Desiderius Erasmus (whoever that is) once said:

“When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left, I buy food and clothes.”

The above photo is of Rambo Chai of Slap!, a band that I’ve heard of but never actually heard till last night’s event – Kuching Entertainers’ Night – at Happy Valley Cafe. A lot of good stuff. I particularly enjoy the variety; we had rock bands, hip hop, breakdancing, bellydancing and classical music. Most of them are from the more Chinese-influenced set, which means those of us from the English paper are seeing a lot of stuff for the first time.

What I didn’t enjoy were the various show of egos and the typical “I play awesome rock music, you provide token singing” syndrome. I really don’t see the point in getting your voice teacher to sing if you’re only going to bury her in fancy drumming and guitar riffs. One of the bands in the earliest set did right by being purely instrumental, but they overstayed their welcome by far and ignored all of the organiser’s subtle and obvious hints to wrap up. I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions.

Our entertainment for the coming Saturday is the Unplugged Showcase @ MOJO, organised by Sidewalk Syndicate. See you there.

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Malaysian Indie Music 101

by tarlia on August 26, 2007
in malaysia, music

1 Comment

I’m away on a work trip from 25 Aug – 1 Sept. This is a scheduled post.

When hanging out with the 5 bloggers during the DiGi Fu-yoh event and reading their posts after, I realised one thing: a lot of locals are still going “Who’s this? Who’s that? Never heard of them.”

Alamak.

Without further ado, here’s a list of local musicians that you really should check out. This is strictly a personal take. There are a lot of of other bands and singers out there but I’m limiting my list to groups that I like and listen to.

Jason Lo
Lo is likely the most recognisable of Malaysian musicians because more people listen to the radio and watch TV than pay any attention to the scene itself. His songs include “Evening News”, “So Julie” and the more recent “Operator, the line is dead”. He recently played in Kuching for the DiGi Fu-yoh Street Blast. Lo is from Kuching. Listen to more of his music here.

OAG
I love these guys. They are the pioneer alternative rock band in Malaysia, with 15 years of experience in the industry. Lead singer Radhi was, in his own words, “born in Sibu, raised in Kuching and spoilt in KL”. The energy and ease in which Radhi engages the audience, coupled with the polished deliver from the band makes watching them live a great experience. Hear them out here.

Tempered Mental
Tempered Mental is another one of my favourite local alternative rock group. I blogged a little about them here, and I still remember how pleasantly surprised I was to find that they are actually very, very good. The song arrangements are impeccable and vocalist/bassist Melina has a strong, smooth voice. She’s from Kuching. Her band members are from other parts of Sarawak but they’re all based in KL. Samples here!

SingleTrackMind
STM is Alex Wong, who is also the founder of Music Canteen and is the Malaysian band who opened for the new INXS’s concert last year. He launched his new album [hey.] earlier this year and I like it a lot. Another thing I like about STM is that he uses his resources to help the local talent along (i.e. Music Canteen). Hear him out.

Evenstarr
Funny story. Some years ago, some friends and I were walking past The Joint (now gone) in town when we were accosted by Evenstarr’s then-manager Bryan Nicholas. He lured us in for a show and that was my introduction to local bands. I didn’t really like their music at the time, but when I heard them again a few years later, they have gotten much better. Now I’m a big fan. Still waiting for that new album! Listen to them here.

Owen Nicholas
I was introduced to Owen’s music during one of our local gigs and fell in love with the whole singer-songwriter deal from then on. His music is the kind that makes you ache for someone you lost or will never have. I do like torturing myself. Hear his stuff!

Other Malaysian (although non-Kuching) musicians you should check out include Juwita Suwito, Reza Salleh, Rhapsody (what d’ya mean, you broke up!) and Mei Chern. I’m sure that there are some I missed but if I were to try getting them all, this post will be sitting in my drafts for a few more months!

How can you find out more about local bands?

Bookmark Kaki Kuching. That’s where I post news about music events, including Songwriters’ Round.
Attend music events. DiGi and Hotlink organise concerts for their subscribers. Senso and MOJO also host music events and album launches. Tru Events organises things like BandKuest. Keep an eye on the news. Or see 1.

GeorgetteTan.com

I am not my hair. I am not this skin. I am not your expectations.

The Priests – An Interview

The State of November

Malaysian Indie Music 101

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