When I first joined Pandora Celtica I decided to take on an alias.
This was 2 parts ego, 1 part precaution and 3 parts conformity.
When you are hanging out on stage with Traveler, ShadowCat and Discordia…
maybe you should add some flash. Don't get me wrong, I love my birth name,
but I also liked having the anonymity to shield me from unwanted attention.
Anyway, to mesh with our theme of being a group of scallywag vocalists I
took on the moniker Requiem. For that first summer at the Colorado Renn Faire
I played the part of a dashing Assassin bard. It was fun.
A couple years later, concerned that we did not have the needed hook to move beyond local gigs, the band looked into building a unique persona, and we decided to "reveal" that we were actually entities sent by the kings and queen of the fey to share music and joy with mortal man, thus our niche became Faerie Acapella. By the end of our run we were Celtic-steam-punked-piratical-fey-singers. It was, predictably, fun. Over the years we each built on to our mythos. Below is everything you ever wanted to know about Finn MacShee, aka Requiem.
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Finn MacShee is a man of many realms. In his veins flows the blood of Sidhe royals, warrior lords, druids, and gods.
He was the second born son of Oscar, a warrior hero of the Fianna, though raised in Tír na nÓg; Finn, like his brother Oisín received rigorous training from their father in all of the arts and ways of the Fianna.
When Niamh , Finn’s mother, lost her husband Oisín to the rigors of time, and then her eldest son to battle during the last stand of the Fianna, she barred Finn from leaving Tír na nÓg. When he rebelled, she had him imprisoned to ensure she did not lose him to some misguided effort of vengeance. Once sufficient time had passed he was released and allowed to wander Tír na nÓg.
Being both of royal blood and honorable line, he was accepted into the Slooa-Shee, The Fairy Army, where he soon rose to a position of authority, and eventually granted charter to create and lead his own group of cavalry, the Féinnid Shee, who Finn modeled and trained in the image of the Fianna of old. The Knights of the Féinnid Shee are thriving still beyond the veil. Their gallant exploits and those of their captain are legend among a legendary people.
Finn’s demeanor and prowess on the battle field have earned him the nickname Requiem among his men. A “Requiem” is a song for the dead and Finn is certainly that; his training and natural ability allow him to dance through a combat, wielding death and mayhem, and yet do so with an almost artistic beauty. He is always armed and ever ready to take up the cause of right and defend the downtrodden. His unwavering sense of honor and virtue led The Queen to name him as one of the court judges, and his talent as a bard led, eventually, to his assignment with Pandora Celtica.
He travelled with Pandora Celtica for almost 10 human years. He served as their Captain (manager in mortal parlance) for the balance of that time. Under his leadership the band's horizons expanded greatly and their music spread from coast to coast. He found so much joy in the music that he joined with Kyra Connelley and Amity Rose to create a second group, Glass Roots. While Pandora Celtica was primarily a traditional acapella group, Glass Roots featured instruments and tackled music from several genres.
Eventually though, Finn found himself distracted from the bands by his other responsibilities, and finally in 2014 withdrew from mortal realms altogether. Both groups have since taken a hiatus as well, but the music remains. Within this website Requiem has found a home for the music he performed with both groups, including several otherwise unreleased pieces as well as live recordings. This site further serves, not just as a vault of the music from those days past, but also allows him a place to share his current music and musings.
