Cynthia Bennett got her first taste of traditional irish music in her grandmother Malone's "ceili kitchen". "When I'd be caught up and sent to bed, I'd go to sleep listening to the voices, fiddles, and dancing feet. I thought music was something everyone did, rather like breathing", she comments. Often asked if her mother sang Irish lullabies to her, she responds, "There was no Toora-loora-loora in her at all. Her idea of a lullaby was The Rising of the Moon or Our Timmy's at the Fighting".
Although she grew up singing, Cynthia didn't perform professionally until she was well into two careers, as a mother and a nurse. Having been educated and rearing her family in the United States, she began singing professionally after returning to Ireland. Word of her pure voice traveled among friends and relatives until she was "dragged blinking onto a stage". Since that time she has delighted audiences in Ireland,Canada, and the United States with her rich alto voice, whimsical humor, and spirit of fun. Along the way Cynthia discovered she could write songs from her own life or from stories she'd heard in Ireland. In her music, Cynthia relates Irish mythology, history, and tales of everyday life, often with a humorous twist.
Cauldron of Life takes its name from the Celtic belief that life begins and ends in a bottomless cauldron. In the title song, a woman looks back at her changing role as keeper of this cauldron. The album continues through ballads about Irish women, both traditional and contemporary.Here you will meet Kate, fending off a mercenary suitor; Nancy,who's battling cancer; Nell, who curses foreign invaders in code; Biddy, selling fish and vegetables in 19th century Dublin; Annie, who finds romance in a strange way;Mother Ireland, lamenting her fallen heroes; and a woman who rids her home of an unsightly husband. The CD ends with the haunting "I Am Still With You", written in memory of Cynthia's mother, which reminds us that those we have loved are never really gone. Cynthia's warm vocals, combined with Steve Browne's brilliant acoustic guitar, create a fitting tribute to strong Irish women. This album will make you proud to be, or know, an Irish woman--and to get to know one if you don't.
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