This past weekend, Irvington hosted its tenth Annual Merchants’ Christmas Celebration. Included in the weekend festivities there was caroling, horse-carriage rides, special sales and local, independent music shows sprinkled at every coffee shop, restaruant and fire pit. Dufour’s, a breakfast and lunch restaruant, stayed open for dinner and offered special musical guests, Alair.
Alair, is a music trio that specializes in Irish Celtic music but Friday night they gave their audience a Christmas treat with a set list of Christmas songs like, “Away in a Manger,” “O’ Holy Night,” and “Jingle Bells.” They also included a couple of their specialty songs, “Leitrim/Gallegher’s/Banshee,” “Brig O’ Perth,” and “I wonder as I Wonder.”
Alair consists of three conservative women, who play the harp, cello and flute. Yoonhae Kim Swanson plays the cello, Vicki Waterman plays the flute and Jennifer MidKiff plays the harp. The women were of different nationalities which added to the unique sound that they produced, however their look was that almost of triplets. They were color coordinated with black and red and the light off their sheet-music stands illuminated their faces the same way.
Their equipment consisted of two small Roland speakers that they place on the ground, desk lamps and their lighting from their music stands were all the light they had to work with. Dufour’s offered candelight in their industrial like establishments. The tall ceilings opened up to expose bare pipes, that only grabbed the music that Alair played and threw it back to the patrons that were eating dinner, drinking coffee or just listening to the relaxing sound that protruded from Alair’s instruments. Their little rounded table that held their two CD’s was strategically placed in front of the harp and was also home to their tip jar.
They used the small, almost invisible microphones attached to their clothing. Alair worked with the minimum but their sound was relaxing and extraordinary. The music was so smooth that it almost seemed unreal, like a recording. They hit note for note, not bothered by passerby’s or the fact that it was so cold outside that the windows were frosting and fogged, so much in fact that you could not see outside.
Alair worked with their surroundings too. Their backdrop was home to more than 20 pictures of Halloween themed, vintage pictures. Big black cats, skeletons, and the words Halloween were off to the background and the side of the trio and their instruments. Off to the other side of the harp, the dessert case provided a fantastic view of cakes, cookies and other dessert items that were basking in the music and candelight.
Local art was posted around the establishment giving Alair another view. One that would share the secret of Historical Irvington. Newspaper clippings told a story of past success and were framed for preservation. Food was delivered from a small open kitchen behind the dessert case and at every corner and angle, Alair’s music wondered the open air.The vintage photos that were placed all around the restaraunt seemed to share a secret with their age and between sets the women would smile amongst themselves with the feeling that they had accomplised what they were meant to do, play beautiful music.
As they continued their extensive set list, more than 20 songs, they gave their listeners a chance to unwind to a different genre of music. They opened doors to those who normally might not listen to Irish musicals. They offered no lyrics because that would taint the sound that was exposed from their souls. They became one with their instruments as they played and when finished were fulfilled with a sense of pride and accomplishment, as were the audience who came and went from their dinners back to the festivities that awaited them in the frosty night. For a brief moment they were transformed to a different place, a different state of mind that Alair seemingly wanted to take them to. Alair was a Christmas treat for all who took a chance and went to Dufour’s for dinner.