The Monsignor doesn't perform as much these days, however, although he does frequently get together privately with other players "just to swap a few tunes." With his dual careers with the cloth and the chord, one wonders if there are any commonalities between being a musician and being a priest. "Well, with both there's a desire to communicate truth and beauty," he says. "But of course with musicians there is also the desire to communicate the sense of self." Looking back at his nearly 70 years as a musician and a music teacher, what is it he's most proud of?
"I guess it's that I've been able to convey the beauty of Irish music, to bring life and peace to people in that way," says Coen. "I never did think too much about connecting to the past, or about how it's good to pass the music on to later generations, or anything like that, really. I just thought of the fun of playing it."
Monsignor "Father" Charlie Coen will perform with fiddler Dylan Foley, guitarist Ian Worpole, and singer Sarah Underhill at the Rosendale Cafe on March 4 at 4pm. Rosendalecafe.com.
