Irish Traditional Music CD Reviews - 2003
These first appeared in the Irish Herald newspaper. They appear here with the kind permission of the Irish Herald.
For Irish Herald CD reviews of 2002, click here.
For Irish Herald CD and book reviews of 2004, click here.
For CD and book reviews of 2005, click here.
For CD and book reviews of 2006, click here.
You can contact the author of these reviews
The Reviews
The Cobblestone Sessions: Compiled by Tom Mulligan of the Cobblestone Public House
Aidan McMahon and Anthony Quigney: A Clare Conscience - Traditional Music from County Clare
Song's Sweet Caress
Christy
O'Leary and Bert Deivert
www.deivert.com/oleary.html
Christy O'Leary is one those diversely talented Irish musicians that is largely unknown in the States. However, he performed with De Danann for a time, and was also a member of the Scottish/Irish band "Boys of the Lough", which has been on Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" many times.
Christy O'Leary is a fine singer, uilleann piper, whistle player, and fiddler, and this CD is a fine vehicle for his many talents. Bert Deivert plays guitar and bouzouki, and has been playing Irish traditional music for the past 25 years.
Any talk of this CD cannot leave out the jewel in the crown. "The Green Fields of Gaoth Dobhair" is a song rich beyond counting in the terrible beauty that is the landscape and history of Ireland. Christy's rich voice, the lyrics, and the haunting melody are absolutely, utterly captivating. For the history of this stunning emigration song, see the liner notes for Clannad's CD Fuaim.
Another unforgettable emigration song, this one involuntary, is "The Slave's Lament", by Scottish poet Robbie Burns. This 1792 poem takes the story of Irish slavery and turns it on its head by making it the story of an African slave. Like the Irish, Africans were sold into slavery and transported to places like Virginia. This slow, bluesy, almost jazzy song is not to be missed.
The CD also sports a number of other fine songs, as well as many vibrant tunes. Among the best is The Watchtower Set, a group of fast, brilliant tunes on the pipes. Ceol binn.
This
CD is available at Ossianusa.com
Time On Our Hands
Siobhán
Peoples agus Murty Ryan
www.redhatmusic.com
For those new to Irish traditional music, Siobhán Peoples is the daughter of the great Donegal fiddler Tommy Peoples, now living in Co. Clare. Murty Ryan is an accordion (box) player from Co. Tipperary who also now lives in Co. Clare.
Both of these young, talented musicians have been playing together in Ennis, Co. Clare, for several years. Their time spent together working out their own styles and learning to play together really lets them shine on this CD.
This CD is an exciting collection of tunes, including several compositions by Siobhán and her father Tommy, as well as some by Ed Reavy, Paddy O'Brien, and Vincent Broderick.
The accompaniment here is with guitar, bouzouki and bodhrán. For lovers of “pure drop” Irish traditional music, some might find this too much, as it sometimes overshadows the melody, which is the heart of Irish traditional music. For other lovers, the non-melody instruments will sound just fine next to the melody, as they are played with great talent.
For those who really want to hear fiddle and box, it’s on the set of jigs called Gan Ainm, Bernie Cunnion’s Favourite, and Tommy Tourish’s that you can really hear Siobhán and Murty shine. There you’ll find just a clean set of jigs with no guitars or bouzoukis. Lovely.
Siobhán Peoples here plays the fiddle with great facility, or at least she makes it sound that way, despite a left hand injury. This forces her to use only two fingers for most of her playing. It’s remarkable that she can play as beautifully as she does.
A different kind of loss was the inspiration for a fiddle air that Siobhán wrote after the suicide of her brother, go ndéana Dia grásta air. A magnificent tune. Galánta ar fad.
Despite these losses, or maybe because of them, musicians like Siobhán and Murty still play this darkly bright, shining music for us, down through the centuries in Ireland.
This CD is available at Celtic Grooves
The
Gypsy Princess
Amergin
www.amerginmusic.com
Amergin is the legendary Milesian prince, poet, and hero described in the ancient Irish manuscript, the Lebor Gabala Erenn. According to legend, Amergin arrived on the shore of Kenmare Bay.
Amergin is now also an Irish traditional music group based in Kenmare, County Kerry. None of the band members is a well-known musician, at least not in the U.S., but fame is no measure of talent, if American pop music is any guide.
And there is plenty of talent here. The band members wield whistle, fiddle, accordion, harmonica, viola, and banjo with style and grace on the melody side. On the rhythm side, bodhrán, bones, and guitar are some of the instruments adding flavor to the mix.
The usual suspects are all here, with lively dance music from polkas, slides, hornpipes and reels, with an emphasis on the rich tradition for which the southwest of Ireland is famous.
Not to be forgotten, voice is another instrument, courtesy here of the talented Anita Heffernan. She brings out the beauty in “Ho Ro my Johnny”, which many will know from the band Oisín, the dirge-like “Gray Funnel Line”, and the lovely “Fare thee well, my own true Love”.
The CD also has its share of airs. There is a lovely treatment of the classic “Amhrán na Leabhair”, an air later associated with a poem first written by Kerry poet and teacher Tomás Ruadh Ó Súilleabháin (1785-1848) after the loss of his books of poetry at sea. Here it’s called “The Valentia Lament”, and it’s beautifully arranged, with fiddle as the lead instrument.
Although the CD has melancholic airs and slow songs, the overall tone or “fonn” of the CD is sweet and bright. A delight.
Fonnmhar ar fad.
This CD is available at www.amerginmusic.com
A Stone's Throw
Michael
Cooney
www.michaelpipercooney.com
Michael Cooney is one of those amazing pipers that you seldom hear about on this side of the pond. Cooney and accordion master Joe Burke, along with singer/guitarist Terry Corcoran, did record a brilliant CD for Green Linnet in 1986 called “Happy to Meet”, and Cooney has appeared on a few other self-produced recordings since, but this is his first solo CD.
And what a CD. The piping is piping hot, with some tunes so vibrant they simply must be heard again and again. The best example of this is the tune set of the reels “Kiss the Maid behind the Barrel”, “The Gold Stud”, and “Joe Cooley’s Num. 2”. Like the stunning Kíla tune set called “Ríl a Dó”, this set seems to grow and gather power and draíocht as it flows forward from reel to reel. Unforgettable.
And the low whistle is lovely here, particularly so on “The Sally Gardens”, the melody borrowed by William Butler Yeats’ for his famous eponymous song.
While most of the tunes have accompaniment, it’s always done with a light, bright touch. Unlike many Irish CDs that style themselves as “traditional”, never is the melodic flow of Cooney’s pipes or whistle trashed by choppy, abrasive guitar chords so common to other Irish CDs. This, despite the fact that the other instruments include guitar, mandolin, banjo, slide guitar, keyboards, and even a harmonium.
Ged Foley of Patrick Street produced the CD, and it’s brilliant work he’s done here. The CD and its well-tempered accompaniment should not offend the purists - or those less than pure.
Galánta ar fad. Maith sibh féin.
This CD is available at Celtic
Grooves
The
Morning Mist
Joe Burke
New Century Music
www.joeburkemusic.com
Joe Burke, for those new to Irish traditional music, is one of the living legends of the music. He is also a living link to many older Irish musicians that have already left this world. Born in 1939, he grew up learning from people like the great accordion masters, Joe Cooley and Paddy O’Brien, nach maireann.
Joe Burke grew up in a time when the music was probably at its weakest in the last century, when many pubs prohibited the playing of what they called “diddley-dee” music. When Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann was founded in 1951, and the folk music revival started in earnest in the 1960s in Ireland, Joe Burke was there to play a pivotal part in the resurrection.
Over the years, he has released a number of brilliant recordings, playing the accordion, flute, uilleann pipes, or fiddle. On this new CD, he sticks with the instrument of which he is an undisputed master: the accordion.
This CD has a wonderful warmth to it. The sound of the accordion ranges from a bright yellow to a deep burgundy, always rich and vibrant at ever turn. Never was the accordion so sweet, and never was the accordion more melancholy.
As you would expect from the arch-druid of the accordion, the speed is measured, no rush here, even on the reels, which are sometimes played by some musicians as if competing to see who can finish first. Joe Burke is an old master with nothing to prove, just a few tunes to share.
Like the best Irish CDs, this one offers notes on each tune. Joe Burke gives fascinating details about the tunes, and the people that have kept them alive over the generations.
Also running through the notes is a theme that echoes the warmth of the tunes themselves, and that is the spirit of sharing and good nature that marks the Irish traditional music community.
This CD is available at Celtic Grooves
After
Albany
Acabella
www.acabella.com
This mesmerizing CD from five Irish women is a musical tour de force as it moves effortlessly from classic songs in Irish like Molly na gCuach and Siúl a Rún to songs in English like Cheryl Wheeler’s darkly uptempo Summerfly and Stephen Foster’s soulful Hard Times.
The CD moves into jazzy territory with songs like God Bless the Child, Fly Me to the Moon, and Moondance.
There is also a haunting version of Tiocfaidh an Samhradh followed by the unforgettable May Morning Dew.
As the songs move from Irish and American folk to jazz and back, the amazing voices of these gifted singers make it all seem seamless and effortless. Brilliant lead singing blended with flawless harmonies make this CD a treasure.
Despite the group’s name, not all of their songs are a cappella. One of the most fun songs with instrumental backing happens to be Molly na gCuach, a traditional Irish folk song. This song starts out innocently and a cappella with the supernal Bernardine nic Giolla Phádraig on lead vocals, but then it dives into an uptempo romp with rich harmonies, the jazzy fiddle of Máire Breathnach, a double bass, and a playful saxophone. A joy.
As if all this talent, variety, and draíocht were not enough, this CD includes a cover of the brilliant Tom Waits’ song The Briar and the Rose. One would have thought that Niamh Parsons’ stunning version of this song would have no equal, but the sirens of Acabella have done themselves proud on this one. Is mór an draíocht atá ann.
This CD is available at Acabella.com
Harmonic Motion
Slide
Slide
Records
www.slide.ie
This CD is an interesting example of what can happen when talented traditional musicians “add” a wee something to some traditional tunes that never needed anything extra, at the same time that they craft absolutely brilliant original tunes and songs.
On the dark side, there’s Gleanntán Frolics #1, which starts out with a charming piano and concertina duet at a modest pace. As the tuneset progresses through Gleanntán Frolics #2 and Quarry Cross Slide #2, the sound loses its melodic character and quality, and slides into a sound dominated by faster and faster rapid-fire chords on the bouzouki. In the quest for “drive”, the tuneset seems to lose its soul, the melodic flow that is at the heart of Irish traditional music. The same thing happens in Cronin’s, the next tuneset. What begins as a frisky little jewel of a tune gradually descends as it speeds up into a hyper-fast tune driven by monotonous bouzouki chords.
On the brilliant side, there is more than enough really wonderful original material here, as well lovely traditional material that really is played in a traditional manner.
For original music, the magic of fiddler Daire Bracken’s waltz Uaine Bheag is one of several stunning highlights of the CD. The macaronic song ‘Sé Dúirt Sé, written by Daire, is a shining gem of a song about love and the beloved. Iontach. Then there’s Brian Kenny, a fine song written by Slide member Mick Broderick about a figure from Irish history who displayed nobility in his actions.
And of course there are traditional tunes and songs that are played and sung with the kind of simplicity and poetry that their composers must have had in mind. Carraig Aonair, played by Aogán Lynch on concertina, is a slow air brought out to perfection. An Bhuatais, sung by Éamonn de Barra, is done beautifully.
This CD is available at www.openear.ie
John Daly
John Daly
www.johndalymusic.com
Each year sees the release of dozens of fine Irish traditional music CDs. What makes this CD special is the quality of the music, and the quality of the man behind the music.
And adding to the audible beauty here of these lovely fiddle tunes is the history of the people behind the music, since of course John Daly is just the face of all the fine musicians, living and lost, who stand behind him.
Born in County Cork in 1963, John Daly was heavily influenced by the traveling fiddle player Seán Ó Cearbhúill. He later moved to County Cavan and then on to Chicago in 1997, where he became a key figure in the Irish traditional music scene.
The focus here is on the fiddle, although several tunes feature piano accompaniment. Overall, it’s beautiful music, beautifully played. There is also a lovely slow air on piano, as well as two slow airs on piano and fiddle, both from the Shetland Islands.
Adding to the quality of this offering are the extensive liner notes. Along with the fascinating introduction to John Daly’s own musical background, the liner notes are unusual in that they feature a few words from Irish musicians praising John to the sky. Irish musicians are typically careful to avoid self-promotion of any kind, but we are lucky here to have colorful words of praise from the likes of Joe Burke, Séamus Tansey, and Christy Barry, to name a few colorful characters.
At his CD release party this summer in Ireland, the Céilí House radio show and luminaries like Galway accordion and flute player Joe Burke were present. The support of people so identified with the best of Irish music says a lot about the standing of John Daly in the Irish music world – and of course about his talent and character.
This CD is available at Celtic Grooves
and
Listen to My Song
Frank Harte agus Dónal Lunny
Hummingbird Records
www.hummingbirdrecords.com
Like the Johnny Doran recording reviewed this month, this is a first-time release on CD of a classic recording from decades past. “and Listen to my Song” was recorded in 1975 by Franke Harte, a key figure in the Irish folk music scene, and Dónal Lunny, who has a long history in Irish music as a producer, musician, and founder of groups like Planxty and the Bothy Band.
Some may first have heard Frank Harte during Garrison Keillor’s trip to Ireland for the Prairie Home Companion radio show. His personality and clear, strong voice made a great show even more remarkable.
This CD is made up entirely of Irish songs in English, something a bit unusual in a world where most Irish folk music CD have a mixture of songs in Irish and English. Yet these songs are undeniably Irish in their tone and content.
The songs include many rarely heard ones. In particular, there is Harte’s beautiful a cappella rendering of the rare “The Forger’s Farewell Sweet Erin the Green”. There’s also the dark, pointed “Women are worse than Men”, which nobly carries on the great tradition of songs like the classic “I was a young Man”, in which the wife is a plague on the hapless husband’s life.
Of course there are more familiar songs, like the unforgettable, partly historical “Morrissey and Russain Sailor”.
The CD also includes two spirited songs about lively Dublin street characters of times past. “Biddy Mulligan” and “Dicey Reilly” capture in their lyrics a loving look at the lives of two women, one of them a fine, buxom widow selling her wares every day in her market stall, one of them a cheerful, harmless character whose journeys to and fro in search of a wee drop paint the city with a bit of needed color.
This
CD is available at Celtic
Grooves
The
Master Pipers - Volume 1
Johnny Doran
Na Píobairí Uilleann
www.Pipers.ie
Wild, sensual, brilliant, almost free – all these words describe the music of the great uilleann piper Johnny Doran, nach maireann. Whether his playing is a blazing reel like The Fermoy Lasses, or a set dance like The Blackbird, his creative brilliance sets him apart from all other pipers.
For example, on the classic The Fermoy Lasses, the “tune” itself is repeated several times, but there is nothing repetitive at all about the exhilarating experience of listening to how Doran brings the tune to life. That’s because this tune is probably the best-recorded example of Doran’s absolutely astonishing ability to play variations on the basic tune itself, called the urlár in Irish. The music positively pours out of Doran’s pipes in an ever-blooming kaleidoscope of vibrant reds and deep blues and every hue your mind can hear.
Johnny Doran’s life as a traveling piper in the 1930s and 1940s brought him in contact with people all over rural Ireland - including great numbers of musicians. His music inspired the great Willie Clancy, nach maireann, as well as living pipers like Paddy Keenan, Finbar Furey, and Davy Spillane, to name just a few.
While Johnny Doran’s musical legacy lives on today in the playing of scores of pipers, his only recorded legacy is nine acetate discs made by Comhairle Bhéaloideas Éireann in 1947. These rare and stunning recordings are now available on CD for the first time ever, thanks to Na Píobairí Uilleann.
As befits a recording of this importance, extensive and well-researched liner notes about Johnny and his life accompany the CD.
Iontach.
This CD is available at Celtic Grooves
Searc
Mo Chléibh – Love of my Heart
Finola Ó Siochrú
Self-Produced
For those that don’t know her, Finola O Siochrú is a marvelous singer of songs in Irish. Born in Dublin, but with music from both sides of her family, Finola spent many summers as a child in Ceann Trá in County Kerry, far out on the Irish-speaking Dingle peninsula.
Searc Mo Chléibh (shark muh hlay-v) is a collection of mostly unaccompanied songs in Irish. Finola’s voice is so expressive and clear that she easily carries the a cappella songs. The songs that do have instruments with them shine as well, as the instruments – and the occasional backing vocal - are always subdued and appropriate. A good example is “Nach Cloite an Galar an Grá”. A lovely, wistful song, it tells of a man who asks the faeries if they know of a cure for love.
All the songs are in Irish, but you need only have an open heart to hear the passion, the sorrow, and the love just behind the thin veil of the Irish words. All the Irish lyrics are in the CD jacket, but each song carries text in English the describes the general events in the song.
One of the more touching songs is “Tá smúit ar mo chroí”. The song tells the story of a father who has lost his beloved daughter to emigration. He sings his fears of what will happen to him in his old age now that his darling Cáit is gone. Finola truly shines here, as her voice brings out the father’s loss and loneliness to sad perfection.
This
CD is available at Celtic
Grooves
Round
the Bend
Glen Road
Glen Road Music
From the opening notes of the first jig, this softly dazzling CD takes you in its embrace, and never lets you down. It’s the best example I have ever seen of how to mix lovely tunes rooted in the Irish world with brilliantly written and arranged songs about people and their quietly remarkable lives.
Of course there is a reason why this CD is so brilliant and well-balanced in its tunes, its singing, and its song-writing. Flute, whistle, and banjo player Turlach Boylan is from Derry, Ireland, and began learning the flute at a young age. He later made several fine solo CDs, including the wonderful “The Tidy Cottage”. Talented singer, song-writer, and guitarist Mike Dugger was a founding member of Scartaglen, a great band which later included Connie Dover. Multi-instrumentalist Greg Brown, born near St John’s, Newfoundland, began learning Irish-infuenced fiddle music at an early age.
Proof
here is in every tune and song. Turlach’s flute and Greg’s fiddle on
tunes like Sweeney’s Buttermilk and Jean Denney’s, to name just a couple,
really shine. Mike’s song-writing and singing skills are never better than
on “Slipping into God’s Embrace”. Mike wrote the song about the
resilience of people in the American Midwest, but the song is universal in the
way it touches on virtues, sorrows, and dreams found in people all over the world.
For example:
On the prairie, none despair,
know that God is everywhere,
God
is in your child’s face,
slipping into God’s embrace…
This
song is backed by a bright French-Canadian reel, and the overall effect of the
tune with the words is magical.
And the arrangements of the tunes are always just right. No one seems to have forgotten that fancy fingerwork in the production studio only takes away from what was already perfect. By example, the CD ends with Winter White, a tune on mandola as simple as it is beautiful, with clear, clean backing on concertina. Beautifully done, like the whole CD.
This CD is available at glenroadmusic.com
The Piper's Rest
Jimmy
Morrison
Red Hat Music
From the wild, opening notes of “Pay the Girl her Fourpence”, you know that this CD has got that magical blend of tight control and wild abandon that characterizes both great playing and great players.
Jimmy Morrison is a relatively young musician with a clear mastery of the uilleann pipes. This CD really brings out his talent on the pipes, but also features accompaniment on fiddle, low whistle, accordion, guitar, and bodhrán.
And the accompaniment here is just right. Except for maybe a couple tunes that could do without guitar chords in the background, everything is tasteful, focusing on the melody and the fine playing of Jimmy Morrison.
Most of the CD is tunes, but “The Boys from County Mayo” is a song seldom heard, sung beautifully here by Daragh O’Reilly. With quiet backing from guitar, pipes, and whistle, it tells the story of epic battles fought by gallant men from County Mayo. The theme of bravery in defense of Eirinn is no surprise, but the singing and arrangement are outstanding.
“The Boys from County Mayo” is followed by “The Trip to Sligo” a jig so smooth, silky, and serpentine that you can almost see it weaving itself into Celtic knotwork.
Aside from Jimmy’s playing, there are tunes here that Jimmy composed. He plays the Coolroe Air, as fine an air as you’re likely to find anywhere. There’s also “The Piper’s Rest”, a stately march, and the snappy jig called “Rakes of Kirby”.
Unlike
a lot of other traditional music CDs, this one is not heavy with reels. Among
the relatively few reels, one of the most fun is “The Humours of Ballyconnell”,
which was an Orange march from east Ulster before it became popular all over the
island.
This CD is available at Celtic
Grooves
An
Raicín Álainn
Lasairfhíona Ní Chonaola
Self-Produced
“An Raicín Álainn” (Un Rah-ceen Awling), or The Beautiful Comb, is the first solo CD from the gifted singer Lasairfhíona Ní Chonaola (Lassar-eena Nee Huneeluh).
Lasairfhíona grew up in an Irish-speaking home in the Aran islands, just off the wild, western coast of Ireland. Although her musical roots are in the softly powerful tradition called “sean-nós” (shan-no-s) (“old style”), on this CD she applies her own style to everything, including two sean-nós songs.
In addition to her own beautiful treatment of a couple sean-nós songs, she sings several folk songs in Irish that show her own approach to the songs. Her style is understated, like sean-nós, but she does bring out more emotion and color than the sean-nós tradition allows. Also unlike sean-nós, she adds instruments to the songs to bring out the melody.
Before this CD, Lasairfhíona had already distinguished herself by singing a lead part in Hector Zazou’s haunting CD of Irish sacred songs, “Lights in the Dark”. She has also sung at the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.
True love and respect for her native language shine through in many ways on this gorgeous CD. First, each song is in Irish, a beautiful language in its own right, but even more so when it’s sung by a native speaker - and gifted singer. Second, all of the lyrics are printed in Irish and English. Third, unlike many CDs that just tip their hat to Irish by translating part of the English notes, here all the notes are translated from Irish into English.
But all this praise misses the obvious: Her voice is a beautiful instrument. At times playful, at times as soft as the breeze over four green fields, it’s always pure draíocht. Maith thú féin, a Lasairfhíona.
Her official website can be found at: www.aransinger.com
This
CD is available at Celtic
Grooves
Cois
Tine
Various Artists
Self-Produced
Cois Tine means By the Fire in the Irish, and that suits this easy-going double CD nicely. It’s an easy-to-listen-to CD of songs about family, places, and music. The closest label you could put on it is country music, mostly because the songs are personal, unpretentious stories sung or spoken, and where the melody isn’t the thing.
The songs are all written by people that you probably haven’t heard of, except for perhaps Mick O’Connor. At a young age, he learned to play the melodeon and then the tin whistle. Later he added accordion to the mix. Over the years, Mick played in many traditional music groups, including Shebeen.
A traditional background, or at least a family background, is common to the other singers and musicians on this CD of songs. But don’t expect to hear any tunes or even any traditional instruments here. The songs here are built with backing from the piano and other non-traditional instruments.
Along with the more reflective songs, there are several really fun, uptempo songs here. Paddy In London is one of those, written and sung nicely by Mick with a horn section punctuating the background at just the right moment.
Mixed in with all the English songs are two songs in Irish. Tar ar ais a Pheigín (Come back, Pegeen) is a fun, untempo song written by Mick O’Connor, one of my favorites on these CDs. One of the nice “features” of this song is that it is clearly spoken, so you can understand the Irish. The same is true for Loch a Rossa, an Irish version of Ross Lake Shore.
This CD is available at cdbaby.com
The Keegan Tunes
Josephine
Keegan
Ceol Camloch
A musical feast for the ears - and the eyes – is what’s before us now with the release of this historic CD and book. Josephine Keegan, fiddler, pianist, and composer, has here released an amazing double CD along with a book of transcribed tunes.
The two CDs feature Josephine Keegan and 38 musicians from around her home near the beautiful Ring of Gullion and Sliabh Gullion area in South Armagh.
Most of the tunes here are composed by Josephine Keegan. Her compositions reflect a love of the structure and flow of the traditional Irish tunes that she grew up with. But they are not another attempt to “build on” the tradition. They are the tradition. Other traditional tunes are unique local versions from her native South Armagh.
By including of a book of transcriptions of the tunes on the CDs, Josephine has made this release of even greater interest to musicians and collectors. But the book doesn’t stop with transcriptions of all the tunes. It also brims with pictures of the places and people of her beloved South Armagh. This makes the book a treasure trove of South Armagh music history.
Among the dozens of wonderful tunes is the remarkable Dúiche mo chroí. As majestic as it is personal, Dúiche mo chroí is a slow air on piano that Josephine wrote about her native home of South Armagh. This is one of those rare tunes that captures without defect the deepest, most private feelings of the composer, and then reveals them to the listener through the universal language of music. Tá draíocht ann.
If you can’t make the trip to the Ring of Gullion in South Armagh anytime soon, this CD and book may be your ticket. If you can make the trip, get the CD and book to get a sense of the music, beauty, and history that await you.
This CD is available at Celtic Grooves
Barr na Cúille
Neil
Mulligan
This classic CD ranks among the finest examples of pure piping that you are likely to find among the ranks of piping CDs in the last few years. And it’s no wonder, as Neil Mulligan comes from a Dublin family with musical roots in Co. Leitrim and four generations of musicians behind him.
Mulligan’s piping is a very melodic piping, with minimal use of the drones as a backdrop or as an accent. While he often has a weeping note behind the melody, it never gets in the way of the tune.
The CD features a number of less well-known tunes, along with the crowd pleasers, like the beautiful and intricate The Salamanca, Bonny Kate, and The Copperplate. There is also the famous reel called Lucy Campbell, on loan from Scotland indefinitely, as well as the Miss Monaghan’s. Both these pieces give a talented piper a chance to shine, and shine Mulligan does.
One of the more unusual tunes is a slow air called Dark is the Color of my true Love’s Hair, normally presented as a song. Here Mulligan The air of the song had been lost in Ireland, but was brought back in the 1950’s by Willie Clancy after hearing it from an American folk singer.
One of the brightest, somewhat bouncy jigs is The Leitrim Slashers, also known as The Kinnegad Slashers. Mulligan gives it that modest, relaxed tempo that a jig deserves, and the tune comes out as a beautiful little gem under the fingers of the craftsman.
This CD is available at Celtic Grooves
The
Cobblestone Sessions
Self-produced
If you couldn’t make it to Dublin last summer, Dublin comes to you in this wonderful CD of live recordings from the venerable Cobblestone public house on the banks of the river Liffey. It’s like being there, only without the second-hand smoke (soon to be a thing of the past anyway, if new regulations are enacted).
Owner Tom Mulligan has put together a brilliant “cnuasach ceoil”, or collection of music harvested from many nights of traditional music at the Cobblestone. And the music is as good as any you are likely to find on the island of Ireland. From complete unknowns on this side of the pond to the somewhat-knowns, the talent spans tunes and songs equally well.
Although most of the musicians would not be familiar to an American audience, the depth of the talent here reminds one that talent is not always proportional to fame. Among one of the better-known is piper Kevin Rowsome. Along with his wife, fiddler Lorraine Hickey, they play a set of reels so fantastically that it can only elevate the listener.
Also among the better-known musicians on this CD is piper Neillidh Mulligan, who plays a couple jigs with the kind of simple flair that makes you forget how difficult is the act of playing, so you can enjoy the sweet and easy listening.
Among the many brilliant musicians who would be a complete secret to American audiences are fiddler Finbarr Naughton and piper Cormac Cannon, who turn out a set of reels with a vibrant, expressive touch.
This CD is available at Celtic Grooves
A
Clare Conscience: Traditional Irish Music from County Clare
Aidan
McMahon and Anthony Quigney
Red Hat Music
Flute and fiddle together make a fine combination, especially when it's from two seasoned musicians with the common heritage of a rich County Clare childhood. Aidan McMahon is from the famous north Clare village of Kilfenora, while Anthony Quigney is from Clooney, further south.
Both men grew up with a shared love of Irish music. Eventually they both played together in the esteemed Kilfenora Céilí Band. Aidan McMahon has since moved on to other musical responsibilities, but Anthony Quigney still plays with the band, and appeared on the band's latest CD. This wonderful CD was reviewed in a recent issue of the Irish Herald.
While this music is mostly "traditional", it is not "pure drop", as there is some guitar accompaniment. In some tunes, the guitar strumming distracts from the natural flow of the tune. In others, the guitar is more subtle or carefully placed. For example, "Garrett Barry's" jig set has a catchy, bouncy feel to it that the guitar works well with.
The "Bellharbour Reel" set is a lovely rollicking tune set, clear and clean. The flute with piano accompaniment is a great combination. "Glory Glory Corkscrew", a slow air written and played by fiddler Aidan McMahon, somehow captures the slow twists and turns of the road down Corkscrew hill, near his home town of Kilfenora. The guitar comes into the tune about halfway through, adding beautifully with individual notes, much like Dennis Cahill, the musical partner of another Clare man, Martin Hayes.
"My Fair Tara", written and played by flute player Anthony Quigney, starts with spare, haunting help from Donncha Moynihan on guitar. The flute then comes in and the tune begins to unfold further. Aidan McMahon's fiddle comes in later, further rounding out the sound. Lovely.
Detailed liner notes accompany the carefully crafted tunes on "A Clare Conscience". "A Clare Conscience" was partly accomplished thanks to the work and talent of people like flute player, lilter, and fellow Clare man Garry Shannon, also of the Kilfenora Céilí Band.
This CD is available at Celtic
Grooves
Tráthnóna
Eile: Music and Song from Northwestern Donegal
Ceol agus
Amhránaíocht ó Ghaoth Dobhair, Na Rossan, agus Chloich Cheann
Fhaola
Music and Song from Northwestern Donegal
Tionscamh Lugh
Since getting this CD a couple weeks ago, I must have listened to it at least 100 times. This CD is an addictive blend of slow, ethereal singing in Irish, and the odd tune set. But it's the songs here that really capture the true blue range of the emotional rainbow.
That's not to say that every song here brings out "Yer Blues", as John Lennon called them on the "White Album". The first song, "Cad é sin don té sin?", is a slow, slinky song about an unapologetic rake who says he enjoys "spórt", or merry-making of every sort, and what's that to anyone? This song appears with minimal accompaniment on Skara Brae, but here, along with the stunning singing of Aoife Ní Fhearraigh, it's produced with a smooth, seductive sound that's somewhere between Clannad and Daniel Lanois. Ceol galánta atá ann.
There's also an uptempo a cappella duet from the Breathnach sisters, who sing together so perfectly you're hard-pressed to find any space between their voices. Their duet is as lively as it is silky smooth. There is also a lovely duet from Anna Ní Mhaonaigh and Altan's Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh.
Still pure a cappella, but this time pure sorrow and dark longing, is "Loch Aoidh" from Nóra Ní Dhuibhir. It's a song you can listen to 100 times, and then just begin to really hear and feel. Like the soaring "Coinnleach Ghlas an Fhómhair" from Manús Lunny, it brings out a sense of sorrow as powerful as it is personal.
There are several other unforgettable songs here that I don't have space to praise.
A follow-up to the popular "Trad Tráthnóna", this CD features studio recordings and live performances from Ionad Cois Locha, a wonderful visitors' center and concert venue at the foot of a lake, as the name implies. The lake here is near Dún Lúiche, at the foot of Mount Errigal in northwestern Donegal. By sheer coincidence, my wife and I visited this beautiful place last year. See http://www.iol.ie/~tlugh/ceol1.html
Ar fheabhas ar fad. Utterly magnificent.
This CD is available at Celtic
Grooves
Máirtín Pheaits: Traditional Songs from Conamara
Fifty-seven years is a long time to wait, but that's how long Conamara sean-nós singer Máirtín Pheaits waited between entering - and winning - the annual Oireachtas competition in Ireland. He first entered and won in 1944, and did not re-appear at the prestigious competition until 2001, when he won again.
Known also as Máirtín Ó Cualáin, he was born in Teach Mór, Indreabhán, Co. Galway, in 1922. He has lived his life in the Galway Gaeltacht, and his songs reflect this. They include well-known Conamara songs like "Bádóirín Thír an Fhia", "Ceaití an Chúil Chraobhaigh", and "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen".
Ceaití an Chúil Chraobhaigh, or Kitty of the Flowing Hair, is a beautiful song of loss, and Máirtín's voice really captures the sorrow and the pity that must have been in the song writer's heart.
Except for "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen", all the songs on this CD are in Irish. The songs in Irish are in the sean-nós ("old style") tradition. Sean-nós songs are sung in a warm, intimate, and deeply personal manner, and are not accompanied by any instrument. These songs can contain little or much ornamentation from the singer, and usually little or no vibrato. Great skill is involved in this vibrant, living tradition.
The songs on this CD will touch you, even if you have not a word of Irish beyond the venerable "Fáilte". All the lyrics are printed in Irish and English, except for "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen", of course.
This CD is yet another treasure from Cló Iar-Chonnachta, the great Irish publishing house at www.cic.ie.
This CD is available at Celtic Grooves
Setanta: Early Rising
Aniar
Early Rising is the latest CD from Setanta, a Seattle band that has developed a reputation for playing music rooted in Ireland. This CD carries the torch of the Irish tradition nicely, as it features a beautiful blend of traditional tunes and songs from the Irish folk tradition.
The CD also has two versions of a couple classic tunes which flow beautifully when played with just a melody instrument such as a flute or fiddle. Setanta adds rhythmic guitar accompaniment to these, but this unfortunately subtracts from the natural flow and feel of the tunes.
The guitar, used as a rhythm instrument, does creep into most of the tunes here. So, if you are looking for a CD that really captures the pure, melodic flow of Irish traditional music, this CD may not suit. But, its style being different, it is still a beautiful CD showing a real love - and talent - for Irish tunes and songs.
And the songs here do capture the ear. "The Banks of Bann" is sung with the kind of rich understatement that you expect in an Irish song. This song, from the Irish province of Ulster, here really shines in this loving rendition.
There is also a fine rendition of the beautiful "The Mountain Streams Where the Moorcocks Crow", a County Fermanagh song sung notably by the great Paddy Tunney, nach maireann, and Donegal singer Packie Byrne.
The CD ends nicely with two tunes, one Irish, one Japanese. The second was learned from Junji Shirota, the excellent and energetic guitarist from the great San Francisco band, Jody's Heaven, of which Setanta member Dale Russ is also a part.
This CD is available at www.aniar.com
Click
here for the Hanz Araki web page with MP3 music samples.
Packie Byrne: Donegal
& Back
Veteran
After you hear this CD, you may wonder how it is that Packie Byrne escaped your attention until now. Packie is a fine singer and whistle player, with an amazing repertoire. His tunes and songs come from a mixture of Irish, Scottish, and even English sources.
These tunes and songs were recorded from 1964 to 1974, when Packie was at his peak. His voice is warm and rich, and carries the lovely Ulster lilt. His whistle-playing is clean and clear.
With his characteristic dry wit, Packie has been known to call himself a "professional liar", something Garrison Keillor has said of himself as well. When he is not lying, he is turning out tunes, and this CD contains several jigs, reels, and airs on whistle. The tunes are all unaccompanied, so it's a good chance to really hear the tunes. Among them is the lovely air "Sliabh na mBan" (The Women's Mountain). "An Cualain Coo" is bright, bouncy reel, as is "Blow the Bellows".
The songs are a cornucopia of traditional songs and modern songs, including even one that grew out of an 1880s advertising campaign for cod liver oil. The song's writer took the sales pitch to its logical conclusion, and now you can hear the plaintive story of the man whose sickly wife turned all-too-strong after consuming endless quantities of cod liver oil.
There's also the classic "The Old Leather Britches", which can be dated to 1854 Dublin. You can hear this song under many different names. You can even hear the same distinctive melody behind "Bad Luck To This Marching", a song from Seán Tyrrell's "The Orchard".
The extensive liner notes were contributed in part by Ulster song specialist John Moulden of www.ulstersongs.com.
Packie is alive and well, living in Ardara, Co. Donegal.
This CD is available at http://www.oldhatmusic.freeserve.co.uk/Welcomex.html
Maeve Donnelly: Maeve
Donnelly
Independent Release
Maeve Donnelly is highly intoxicating on this CD, living up to her ancient Celtic name of Maeve (Meadhbh), meaning "she who intoxicates". It's hard to come away from this beautiful CD feeling anything other than a wee bit "lifted up", as it were. The fiddling from Maeve is so fine and so smooth that you wonder if she got her talents from the faerie folk.
Everything is perfect here, from tone and pacing to ornamentation. Even her choice of tunes is beyond what might be hoped for a traditional CD. Aside from some of the more commonly heard tunes, she has some less common tunes, such as the lovely "Nóra Críona", a descriptive piece based on a version from Co. Clare piper Willie Clancy. There is also "The Few Bob", a lovely, almost wistful, hornpipe from West Clare fiddler Joe Ryan. You also have "Shrip's Clog", a bright piece from Nova Scotia.
Among those less common tunes, one stands out. It's a Munster piping tune, first put on paper around the mid-1800s. "Peggy's Dream", played by Maeve on viola and fiddle, is a slow air that is some five minutes long. But those five minutes seem gone in a moment, as the tune blooms so beautifully and so slowly that it never loses your attention. It's so sadly majestic that you don't think of time passing, you just think of times past.
Maeve also has some of the favorites, such as "The Flax in Bloom", but played here in an unusual tuning known as Scordatura. And there's the driving "Hughie's Cap", from Co. Cavan native Ed Reavy. A version of "Miss Crawford" is also rendered here to perfection by Maeve.
Co. Clare piano player Geraldine Cotter accompanies Maeve on several tracks. She even has help on flute on one tune from another famous Co. Clare neighbor, Peadar O'Loughlin.
This CD is available from http://www.maevedonnelly.com
Useful Links
| The Irish Herald | ||
| Raidio Uladh / Radio Ulster | ||
| Raidio na Gaeltachta | ||
| RTE Radio | ||
| Radio1 Evening | ||
| Radio 1 Weekend | ||
| Irish Music Magazine | ||
| Shamrock Club of Clarksburg, CA |
Click on CD images for a larger version.
Click on titles/names for the reviews.
Christy O'Leary and Bert Deivert
Song's Sweet Caress
Time On Our Hands
Siobhán Peoples
agus Murty Ryan
A Stone's Throw
Michael Cooney
and Listen To My Song
Frank Harte and Dónal Lunny
Johnny Doran: The Master Pipers
Johnny Doran
Searc
Mo Chléibh
Love of My Heart
Finola
Ó Siochrú
The Piper's Rest
Jimmy Morrison
An
Raicín Álainn
Lasairfhíona
Ní
Chonaola
The Keegan Tunes
Josephine Keegan
The Cobblestone Sessions
Compiled by Tom
Mulligan at the Cobbletone Public House
A Clare Conscience
Traditional Music from
County Clare
Tráthnóna
Eile
Music and Song from Northwestern Donegal
Máirtín Pheaits:
Traditional Songs from Conamara
