Irish Traditional Music CD and Book Reviews - 2004
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 2003, 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
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December: Live Recordings from the William Kennedy Piping Festival
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October - Michael Hynes and Denis Liddy: Waifs and Strays - Traditional Music from County Clare
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September - Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh agus Mick O’Brien: Kitty Lie Over
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April - Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin: An Dealg Óir - The Golden Thorn
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April - Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin: A Hidden Ulster: People, Songs, and Traditions of Oriel
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March - Grey Larsen: The Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle
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February - Harry Bradley, Jesse Smith, John Blake: The Tap Room Trio
Live Recordings from the William Kennedy Piping Festival
http://www.wkpf.org/
This is a wonderful potpourri of piping recordings made between 1997 and 2001 at the William Kennedy Piping Festival in County Armagh. But it’s not just brilliant Irish uilleann pipers like Robbie Hannon, Cillian Vallely, Mick O'Brien, Tiarnán Ó Duinnchinn, Michael McGoldrick, and Tommy Keane here, but also pipers from Wales, Scotland, Asturia, Galicia, and Italy. As such, the CD is a fine introduction to European piping. The CD even features a Scottish “mini” pipe band.
The instruments here, aside from the Irish uilleann pipes, include the Welsh Pipe Cwd, the Highland Pipes, the Border Pipes, the Northumbrian Pipes, the Scottish Small Pipes, the Gaita Asturiana from Asturias on the northern coast of Spain, the Gaita Gallega from Galicia above Portugal, the Sicilian Launneddas, the Italian Zampogna pipes, and their companion the Ciaramella, an instrument that resembles an oboe.
The tone of the recordings covers the full range of what pipes can do, from the crisp, warm sound of the Northumbrian pipes, to the bright, sweet sound of the Irish uilleann pipes, to the unmistakable sound and fury of the Scottish Highland pipes. The high, sharp sound of the Gaita Asturiana and the Gaita Gallega produces some lovely tunes with a mesmerizing feel.
One of the most beautiful and unusual tunes is “The Singing Stream I”, a piece for four uilleann pipes played by one piper. Each piping track was played by Cillian Vallely separately, and mixed together in the studio.
Along with the sampling of other European traditions, the Irish piping is outstanding. For example, the brilliant Robbie Hannon plays a lovely, rolling set of reels starting with “Speed the Plough”, Cillian Vallely and Tiarnán Ó Duinnchinn play an absolutely sparkling duet of reels, and Mick O’Brien plays the beautiful slow air “The Green Fields of America”.
Available at http://celticgrooves.homestead.com/CG_Various_Kennedy_Piping.html.
The Fabulous Kilfenora Céilí Band
http://www.dublinrecords.com/
In 1959, when recordings of Irish traditional music were as rare as an Irishman returning home to Ireland, Dublin Records released a series of landmark albums. One was from the famed Kilfenora Céilí Band, which had set a record by winning All-Ireland titles three years in a row starting in 1954.
Leading up to the original release of this recording in 1959, the Kilfenora Céilí Band had had an illustrious career, from its start in 1909 to its first live broadcast over Irish radio in 1932. It was one of the premiere Irish traditional music dance bands in the 1950s.
For 45 years now, the original LP has been almost impossible to find and twice as treasured. With this CD re-issue, this beloved recording of Irish dance music is once again available to listeners and dancers alike.
From reels to jigs to polkas, the pulse of this vibrant Irish dance music shines as brightly as the day it was recorded almost half a century ago, when John F. Kennedy was running for president.
Among the reels, you have the lovely and lively “Lucy Campbell” tune set. There is a fast polka set starting off with “The Lisdoonvarna Polka”. Along with the jigs and all the other tunes, there is no shortage of great dance tunes here.
Sometimes overlooked in the hustle and bustle of these recordings of Irish dance music is the incredible musicianship that it takes to turn out these dance tunes well, especially when one considers that nine musicians are all playing at the same time.
This fine CD in particular reflects the great County Clare “lift” of the music and the talent of the musicians and their love for this eternal music.
Available at http://celticgrooves.homestead.com/CG_Kilfenora_CB.html.
Comhra na dTonn
http://www.comhranadtonn.com/
In the last few years there have been three wonderful releases of CDs with accompanying books full of tunes, lyrics, and lore. These releases mainly described tunes and songs from the northern Irish province of Ulster. With “Cómhrá na dTonn”, we now have an exciting book and CD that focus on the music and song tradition of the province of Connacht, in the West of Ireland.
Like those earlier releases, “Cómhrá na dTonn” is the result of years of playing - and of dedicated research. So this release is a “record” not just of tunes still being played today, but also some tunes brought back to life from the pages of tune collections.
The force behind this great work is the esteemed Máire Nic Dómhnaill Gairbhí, a musician, lecturer, and author. She is the author of the accompanying book “Cómhrá na dTonn”, as well as two other books on traditional music and lore.
At 128 pages, this is a serious work brimming with fascinating details about the history of the songs and tunes, and the people behind them. The book includes footnotes, as well as transcriptions of the tunes on the CD. The song lyrics and tunes are also in the book, with the exception of the words to “My Lagan Love”, which are available on the web. The lyrics in Irish do have English translations.
The name Cómhrá na dTonn comes from Aughris, a deserted village on the north Atlantic coast between Sligo and Enniscrone. Because there is a long opening under the cliffs there, when the waves roll towards the cliffs the roar can be heard over 30 miles away. Hence the name, Cómhrá na dTonn, Conversation of the Waves.
The CD features, among others, Dan Healy on flute, Ciarán O’Raghallaigh on fiddle and viola, Máire Nic Dómhnaill Gairbhí on fiddle, and Niall Ó Callanáin on bouzouki accompaniment. These musicians have a long history of playing together, and have released two other fine CDs before.
A short review like this cannot possibly do justice to all the wonderful content in the book and on the CD. This is a fine introduction to Irish traditional music and song, and should become a classic for devotees of the music.
Available at http://www.celticgrooves.com/. Email the web site owner at philvar@EROLS.COM to request this CD.
Comhra na dTonn
http://www.comhranadtonn.com/
In the last few years there have been three wonderful releases of CDs with accompanying books full of tunes, lyrics, and lore. These releases mainly described tunes and songs from the northern Irish province of Ulster. With “Cómhrá na dTonn”, we now have an exciting book and CD that focus on the music and song tradition of the province of Connacht, in the West of Ireland.
Like those earlier releases, “Cómhrá na dTonn” is the result of years of playing - and of dedicated research. So this release is a “record” not just of tunes still being played today, but also some tunes brought back to life from the pages of tune collections.
The force behind this great work is the esteemed Máire Nic Dómhnaill Gairbhí, a musician, lecturer, and author. She is the author of the accompanying book “Cómhrá na dTonn”, as well as two other books on traditional music and lore.
At 128 pages, this is a serious work brimming with fascinating details about the history of the songs and tunes, and the people behind them. The book includes footnotes, as well as transcriptions of the tunes on the CD. The song lyrics and tunes are also in the book, with the exception of the words to “My Lagan Love”, which are available on the web. The lyrics in Irish do have English translations.
The name Cómhrá na dTonn comes from Aughris, a deserted village on the north Atlantic coast between Sligo and Enniscrone. Because there is a long opening under the cliffs there, when the waves roll towards the cliffs the roar can be heard over 30 miles away. Hence the name, Cómhrá na dTonn, Conversation of the Waves.
The CD features, among others, Dan Healy on flute, Ciarán O’Raghallaigh on fiddle and viola, Máire Nic Dómhnaill Gairbhí on fiddle, and Niall Ó Callanáin on bouzouki accompaniment. These musicians have a long history of playing together, and have released two other fine CDs before.
A short review like this cannot possibly do justice to all the wonderful content in the book and on the CD. This is a fine introduction to Irish traditional music and song, and should become a classic for devotees of the music.
Available at http://www.celticgrooves.com/. Email the web site owner at philvar@EROLS.COM to request this CD.
Legacy
The Dunne Family
Because this CD is a family affair, not a major release from a record company, it’s an interesting look into what in some ways is an average Irish family that also happens to be devoted to playing the music of its own native land.
As is the case with so many other musical Irish families, the family repertoire of skills covers a lot of territory. With music handed down to him from his father and his uncles, the man of the family, Limerick man Mickey Dunne, plays pipes, flute, fiddle, and whistle. His daughters, Bríd and Niamh, both play fiddle, while Niamh also plays viola and sings.
The repertoire on this CD is fairly traditional, but does leave the traditional track to include the lovely Handel piece “March from Scipio”. Michelle Mulcahy on harp accompanies Niamh on fiddle here. Like Niamh, Michelle Mulcahy is one of two talented daughters of a Limerick man, Mick Mulcahy. This somber march segues beautifully into a couple lively reels played to perfection. The fiddle and harp make for a brilliant duet here.
On the purely traditional side, one of the most striking group of tunes is the jig set starting with “Strike the Gay Harp”, with father and both daughters playing together. Beautiful and vibrant.
Even more “pure” is a lovely piping solo from Mickey. He also plays with Niamh on a tune set which includes the classic reels Colonel Frazer and the Bucks of Oranmore. Mickey’s extraordinary piping does not leave the listener wanting for anything, except perhaps more of the same.
The only bump in the road here could be the occasional chords from a Spanish guitar, the rhythmic strumming of which, on some tunes, does not enhance in any way the natural flow of the Irish melody.
Niamh has strong, clear voice, giving it room to roam on three songs here. These include the lovely “The County Down”, from Tommy Sands.
A wonderful CD, showing as it does a modern, talented Irish family preserving and enjoying the ancient music of their own native land.
Available at http://www.celticgrooves.com/. Email the web site owner at philvar@EROLS.COM to request this CD.
An Tobar Glé
Neil Mulligan
http://www.neilmulligan.com/
Many years ago, An Tobar Glé was the name on a club owned by the great musician, storyteller, singer, and collector Séamus Ennis, nach maireann. Séamus Ennis was also teacher, mentor, and friend to a young piper named Neil Mulligan. It was Séamus Ennis who put the nickname Néillidh on him, for Donegal fiddler Néillidh Boyle.
Now, An Tobar Glé (The Bright Well) is also the name on the third brilliant solo CD from Néillidh Mulligan, who has since become one of the greatest uilleann pipers of our time.
To say that Néillidh’s use of ornamentation or the drones or his phrasing is a marvel of invention and a testament to teaching only begins to express the true beauty and quality of his playing.
For example, if the faster jigs and reels are your favorite, his playing will enchant. The best example of this might be “The Morning Thrush” and “Colonel Frazer”, two reels that show off the crispness and clarity of his faster playing, not to mention the bright, innocent playfulness that runs through so many Irish tunes.
If it’s slow airs that you are wanting, you have in Néillidh a master of the slow air. A particularly lovely one is “Caitríona Rua”, an air that he made himself as a tribute to his late mother from Co. Kerry.
The CD ends with two sets of utterly thrilling tunes recorded from Néillidh’s late father’s playing in 1982. Starting off with the unforgettable “Fermoy Lasses”, these roughly-recorded tunes escape out the pipes with the kind of wild, wide-eyed sound that only the best pipers can create. It puts one in mind of the old recordings of Johnny Doran, who played a wild “Fermoy Lasses” himself.
Galánta ar fad.
Available at http://celticgrooves.homestead.com/CG_Mulligan_Neil_Tobar.html.
Waifs and Strays - Traditional Music from County Clare
Michael Hynes and Denis Liddy
http://www.liddy-hynes.com/home.html
“Waifs and Strays” is a fond tip of the hat to the famous 1922 O'Neill collection called “Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody”, which is the source of many of the tunes on the CD. At the same time, it’s an exciting new CD that captures the enduring magic of Irish traditional music.
Flute player Michael Hynes grew up surrounded by traditional music and dance. After spending almost a decade in London, he was able to return home to County Clare, where he eventually met fiddler Denis Liddy. Denis Liddy hails from a family heavily involved in traditional music, singing, and dance. He and his family have been key members of several famous ceili bands of the area, including the Barefield Ceili Band.
Together, they have finally recorded a CD of tunes, some old and some new, but all with that sweet, old sound that sings to the heart. The flute and the fiddle are a fantastic combination, and here they are woven together lovingly in a rich musical tapestry of reels, jigs, polkas, waltzes, and airs. Michael Hynes even plays whistle on a few tunes.
The penultimate tune set is a lively version of the classic reel called Lucy Campbell, followed the Miss McDonald Reels. On the last track, the musicians are joined by dancers for the third figure of the Caledonian set. Michael Hynes and Denis Liddy often perform for dancers around County Clare.
Available at http://celticgrooves.homestead.com/CG_Hynes_Liddy.html.
Ireland’s Harvest –
A Tribute to the Golden Years of Music in Irish America
Joe Derrane, Frankie Gavin, Brian McGrath
http://www.mapleshaderecords.com
This vivid, vibrant CD is a showcase for Joe Derrane, whose own history with Irish music mirrors what happened to Irish music in Ireland and Irish America in the 1900s.
Born in Boston in the 1930s to Irish immigrant parents, he grew up learning from Irish immigrant musicians. At the same time, back home in Ireland, the music itself was fading due to emigration and other pressures.
In the 1950s, when the music in old Ireland was nearly “in the raven’s book”, Joe himself in Boston had to leave off playing Irish music for economic reasons. He sold his beloved button accordion and entered the pop field with a piano accordion. He retired from music in the 1980s.
In 1993, just one year before Riverdance, and in the middle of the Irish traditional music revival, Rego Records reissued Joe’s 78 rpm recordings from almost 50 years before. The “re-birth” of the music to a wider world audience, dovetailed with Joe’s musical re-birth. He began playing Irish traditional music again, for the first time in almost 50 years.
All that said, the music is the thing here, and this CD truly captures the magic of the music from 50 and more years ago. De Dannan members Frankie Gavin on the fiddle and Brian McGrath on the piano play alongside Joe Derrane here. Together, they give a sense of the lift and life that filled the old dance tunes played in countless dance halls in Irish America.
This incredible CD was recorded in about a day at a Maryland all-analog studio that uses no filtering, compression, or overdubbing. It’s no wonder that the CD gives up such a fresh and exciting sound. You can almost hear the dancers…
Available at http://celticgrooves.homestead.com/CG_Derrane_Gavin.html
Kitty Lie Over
Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh agus Mick O’Brien
http://www.kittylieover.com/
In a time when musicians of all stripes and talents apply the word “traditional” to their music at will, it’s a joy to find a CD that really is traditional Irish music. And not just traditional, but exceptional, ethereal, and elemental.
Exceptional because these gentleman are absolute masters of their music. Mick O'Brien has been playing uilleann pipes and tin whistle for many years, and his skill is legendary. His 1996 “The May Morning Dew” is considered a classic among piping CDs. Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh, younger and less “legendary”, plays fiddle and tin whistle with a flair and maturity that belie his relative youth.
Ethereal because together the pipes and the fiddle are played so seamlessly together that it’s sometimes difficult to tell which is which. Especially “well-knitted” are the pipes and fiddle on wild, wonderful tunes like the Copper Plate, Paddy Gone to France, and the Wind that Shakes the Barley. The notes of the pipes and fiddle wind around each other like Celtic knotwork in the mind’s eye.
Elemental because it’s just the pipes, fiddle, and whistles. Melody instruments all, these instruments allow these brilliant musicians to focus on the thing itself, the melody, which is at the heart of the Irish tradition. The flow of the melody here, in reels like the Silver Spear and Mullin’s Fancy, is fluid, fresh, and lively.
Taken as a whole, this CD is another is a string of recent releases that reminds us that Irish musicians don’t need to add guitars and bouzoukis to their traditional music to “punch it up”. The music is perfect the way it is, when it’s played the “old” way, from the heart and for the heart.
This CD is sure to become one of the touchstones of the tradition. Its feet are planted firmly in the “old” melodic tradition, but its sound and feel are as fresh as May morning dew.
Available at http://celticgrooves.homestead.com/CG_OBrien_ORaghallaigh.html
At It Again
John Carty
“At It Again” is the third CD in a series of outstanding traditional Irish music CDs from John Carty, each as good as the last, if not better.
This third traditional CD from Shanachie also features John’s brother James, a wonderful flute player well-known in the London trad music scene. John and James Carty were born in London of Irish parents, and grew up immersed in the London trad music scene, in which their musician father played a prominent part. John moved home to the family farm in Ballinameen, near Boyle, Co Roscommon, in 1991.
John Carty plays in the Sligo style, a driving style with a “lift” that is the same style that his Roscommon-born father picked up when he was in his youth. John Carty is now considered one of the leading musicians in the Sligo style, in a country where once-distinct regional styles have been diluted to some extent.
John Carty’s other main gig is as a member of At the Racket, in which he plays banjo, fiddle, and flute. That band features a happy combination of traditional instruments with “nouveau” instruments like the saxophone.
The CD’s liner notes feature fascinating comments on the history behind these tunes, many of which are from Carty’s native North Connaught.
The recordings here all shine with the light, sweet touch of the fiddle, and the stringed accompaniment from the bouzouki/guitar is not overpowering. This works, since the melody and the melody instrument are the thing in Irish music, not the stringed accompaniment, which has been added to some traditional recordings in the last few years.
The tunes include the “The Sligo Maid”, a rolling, bouncy tune that seems effortless in its jaunty enthusiasm. You can’t but help feel elevated in spirit when you hear this tune played this way.
The “Copperplate” and the magical “Connemara Stockings” are just a couple of the other wonderful tunes to be heard on this CD. It’s all lovely music, easy to love and appreciate, whether you’re a musician or a punter.
This CD is available at http://www.shanachie.com/
Under “Search by Category”, select “Irish/Celtic”.
Bavan
Méabh O’Hare & Conor Byrne
http://www.ceolbavan.com/
Bavan, the first CD from Méabh O’Hare and Conor Byrne, is a mix of traditional tunes, tunes of their own making, and compositions from others. This CD is the fruit of five years of playing and composing music together.
Méabh began playing fiddle in a Gaelic school in Belfast at age nine, and was later under the tutelage of the famed MacPeake family of Belfast. Her later style developed under a Donegal moon, as she spent much time at Donegal fiddle festivals and sessions. She was also a member of Providence, and has many other credits to her name.
Like Méabh, Conor began playing an instrument, the whistle, while attending a Gaelic school. He later moved on to the flute, with lessons from Paul McGrattan of Beginish, among others. He has played on many recordings.
Together, their experience playing tunes with others – and with each other – makes for a wonderful CD of tight, lively playing.
The flute and the fiddle make for a wonderful combination here, two melody instruments weaving a single tune between them.
The title of this CD refers to the charming area where it was recorded, Glenn Bavan, near Omeath, County Louth. Bavan is from the Irish “bádhún”, (fortified) “cow-enclosure”.
The liner notes are in Irish and English, with plenty of information on sources of traditional tunes, and where other tunes were written.
Among the lovely new tunes is “Union Quay Commotions”, written by Méabh herself, as well as “Farewell to Drogheda”, a bright, shining jig written by Conor.
This CD is available at http://celticgrooves.homestead.com/CG_OHare_Byrne.html.
The Pipes are Calling
Peter and Noel Carberry
The Irish proverb “An rud is annamh is iontach”, “The thing most rare is wonderful”, fits this CD well. Here we have a lovely CD of piping duets, rare in itself, but the pipers here are also a father and son duo.
Peter Carberry has been playing the uilleann pipes for many decades, after first being inspired by the late Johnny Doran, one of the greatest pipers of the last century. His son, Noel, showed an affinity for the pipes at a young age.
One of the most unusual––and most wonderful––things about this CD is the note for note playing on the piping duets. The precision of this playing is only eclipsed by the beauty it brings out.
Not only is the individual piping here particularly melodious, but the interweaving of the pipers’ notes on the duets produces a sweet sound that evokes an image of two strands of braided honey.
The pipers here also play the tunes in measured way that does not feel like a mad dash to the end. Unlike some players of the current era, these gentlemen know that the beauty is in the musical journey, not seeing who can get to the end of the tune first.
With an eloquent introduction by New York-born piper Jerry O’Sullivan, and detailed comments from Peter and Noel, the CD jacket alone is rich in detail about the Carberrys and their musical heritage.
There is some light harmonic backup from Spanish guitar and keyboards on a few of the tunes, but it’s never loud or obtrusive. It does not get in the way of the flowing melody, which is at the heart of Irish traditional music.
This CD is available at http://celticgrooves.homestead.com/CG_Carberry_Peter_Noel.html.
Gaelic Ireland
Various Artists
Gaelic Ireland is a wonderful CD of songs all in Irish, but with a twist. Because it has songs from various artists, it’s a wide-ranging introduction to different Irish singing styles and traditions.
Compiled by John O’Regan, a writer for Irish Music Magazine and a musician himself, this CD features songs that span centuries of tradition, but which all reflect the Irish character and the Irish experience of history.
There are many well-known Irish traditional singers and groups on this CD, including Altan and the Dubliners. Among the unexpected gems on this CD is the popular contemporary singer Brian Kennedy singing his first recorded song in Irish. It’s the lovely traditional song “Táimse i mo chodladh” (“I am asleep”).
The liner notes in English, Spanish, French, and German, but unfortunately not in Irish, provide fascinating details about the historical background to the Irish language and her various singing traditions.
First and foremost, the CD offers several sean-nós (“old-style”) songs. This ancient, pure, unaccompanied singing style expresses human emotions at their most plain and most heart-felt level.
Also unaccompanied, but not strictly considered sean-nós, are some lovely folk songs from the likes of Kevin Conneff of the Chieftains, Breanndán Ó Beaglaoich of the Boys of the Lough and Beginish, and the brilliant Finola Ó Siochrú. One of the most touching, unaccompanied songs is a actually modern song about the potato blight and famine, sung here by the great Conamara sean-nós singer, Róisín Elsafty.
For accompanied songs, the CD again offers the best of the Irish tradition with lively songs from Altan, Crann, the Dubliners, Na Filí, Lasairfhíona Ní Chonaola, and several others.
At 18 tracks total, the CD does not short-change the listener in any way. It’s a wonderful CD, rich in Irish song, styles, and most of all, the Irish soul.
This CD is available at http://www.arcmusic.co.uk/engcat.html
To find the CD:
Click “Index by Category” on the left.
Scroll down to find “Ireland” on the left.
Click “Ireland” on the left.
Scroll down to find the CD on the right.
Sets in the City
Tipsy House
www.tipsyhouse.com
This lively dance music recording is an echo of the vibrant Thursday night Irish set dances at The Plough and the Stars pub in San Francisco. That’s where Tipsy House have held court for some years now, turning out brilliant music for the dancers.
Tipsy House is a San Francisco institution, playing for Irish dances and contradances all over Northern California, not to mention festivals and 101 other venues.
The CD features tunes for the Corofin, West Kerry, and Clare Plain sets, as well as two waltzes. This isn’t "pure-drop" traditional, melodic, Irish dance music, due to the use of the Spanish guitar as a rhythm instrument on every single tune, but the arrangements of the tunes do make for driving dance music.
But this CD isn’t just about the pleasure of listening to - or dancing to – a few tunes. It’s an historical marker of sorts, a tribute in tune form to the “planting” and growth of set dancing in San Francisco. Thanks in large part to the efforts of dance teacher Jim Belcher, Jack Gilder of Tipsy House, and Séan Heaney of The Plough and the Stars, set dancing took root in The Plough and the Stars in the 1990s. And it has been thriving ever since. This CD is a reflection of that success.
This CD is available at http://www.tipsyhouse.com/t_recordings.html.
Sessions from…An Teach Beag
Various Artists
http://www.odonovanshotel.com/teach.shtml
This delightful CD offers a taste of live and lively music from Clonakilty, West Cork, along the southwestern coast of Ireland. An Teach Beag (the Little House) was the venue for this recording, near famed O'Donovan's Hotel.
An Teach Beag also has a reputation to uphold, as it was named Traditional Irish Music Pub of the Year in 2003.
And it is truly fine traditional music that you’ll get on this CD, along with some wonderful songs. The CD opens with a pair of intoxicating slides on button accordion and fiddle, played with joy and style by Mairéad Casey and Tom O’Leary.
Other highlights on this CD include a lovely fiddle duet with Séamus Creagh and Dolcie Keogh. Well-known fiddler Séamus Creagh himself has appeared on several CDs, but the fact that most of the musicians and singers on this CD aren’t well-known only goes more to the point that, unlike in many types of music, in Irish music the music’s the thing. The musicians are just the vessels for the music, after all.
Also on this CD is a rare march, even rarer for being played on the concertina. It’s played solo here with the kind of gentle, rolling motion that puts one in mind of time, and the beauty of enjoying it – slowly, perhaps even sitting in a cozy (and now smoke-free) pub in the West of Ireland.
From strength to strength the CD marches on, on to a vibrant combination of flute, fiddle, and accordion on the classic “George White’s Favourite” and “Man of the House”. Brilliant.
The CD also has some wonderful songs, like “The Top of a Mountain”, sung beautifully by Tomás Tuipéar. Then there’s the classic “Withered and Died”, sung plaintively by Rose O’Brien, and the lovely “Éamonn an Chnoic”, and more.
The CD really has a little of everything, including a haunting slow air on fiddle, a slow air on whistle, jigs and polkas, and even some reels on banjo.
One of my favorites from 2003. Ceol den scoth.
This CD is available at http://www.tayberry.com.
Luna Park
Kíla
www.kila.ie
This CD is another brilliant example from Kíla of how to weave the Irish melodic tradition with the rhythmic “otherworld”, and still create something distinctively Irish. “World Music” is the label most often put on Kíla, but it belies the power of the melodic thread that runs through each Kíla CD, and indeed most Irish CDs.
Beyond sheer melodic power, one of the things that sets Kíla apart from most other rock or world music bands is Kíla’s gift for making a tune ”bloom” or open up without losing the melodic theme. The best example of this from Kíla is the stunning tune set called “Ríl a Dó”, which is actually from an earlier Kíla CD, but this new CD again shows this ability to create a tune and then make it seem that the tune is “blossoming” even as you listen to it.
The first song, “Glanfaidh Mé”, is a good example of this gift for invention. Here the focus is on shifting rhythmic patterns. On “Bully’s Acre”, the melody moves from a modestly driving rhythmic feel to a brief, but brilliant, piano solo at the end.
The pop/rock group that most consistently shows this same kind of brilliant gift for melodic and rhythmic invention is the Beatles. Another group with a similar history of consistent innovation and invention is Jethro Tull.
The only times that this CD seems to slip away from its brilliant inventiveness is when a tune gets in a “groove”, and the Irish melodic drive that was the focus gets lost in a rhythmic frenzy that can wear thin.
Now, there is one tune that features neither brilliant shifting melodic patterns nor a rhythmic frenzy. “Wandering Fish” is one of the tunes that you want to hear over and over, because in its simple melody, Kíla captures a mood utterly sensual and sad. It echoes the sweet sadness found in so many traditional Irish tunes, but here it comes with a slow, swaying bass line that is pure magic. It’s worth the cost of the CD alone.
As is usual for Kíla, the songs on the CD are all in Irish. They include the sweet “Béilín Meala” (Little Honey Mouth), which has the feel of a sentimental 1960s American pop song, and “Maith Dhom” (Forgive Me), a lovely a cappella piece.
Another must-have CD from Kíla. Maith sibh féin.
This CD is available at http://www.tayberry.com.
Late...in the Night
Christy Barry and Conor McCarthy
www.irishaccordion.com
Several of the tunes on this CD of Irish music were recorded live in O’Connor’s Bar in Doolin, Co. Clare. This promises a warm, lively recording, and the CD delivers.
At the heart of this CD are the famed Kilfenora flute and whistle player and stepdancer Christy Barry, and Ennis accordion player Conor McCarthy. Conor McCarthy is one of the leading members of the Kilfenora Céilí Band.
The tunes here are played beautifully, with a vibrant bounce and lift that you seem to get in so much music from Co. Clare. It’s something that the Kilfenora Céilí Band is known for, and it’s alive and well on this CD.
There is prominent rhythmic Spanish guitar accompaniment on this CD. Some listeners will not even notice the Spanish guitar, while others will find that the guitar chords get in the way of the native Irish flow of the melodies.
One of the highlights of the CD is the air “Dear Little Isle”, played on low whistle by Christy Barry. On this air the accompaniment on guitar is very restrained, as in the style of the brilliant Dennis Cahill, who accompanies the great Co. Clare fiddler Martin Hayes.
Also particularly lovely to hear is the Scottish air “Anach Cuain”, played on accordion by Conor McCarthy.
This CD is available at celticgrooves.com.
An Dealg Óir - The Golden Thorn (CD)
Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin
www.irishsong.com
This lovely collection of 14 songs from the southeast Ulster song tradition is much more than just a fine recording of Irish songs. It’s a reflection of a living song tradition, and no small amount of scholarship.
That’s because some of the songs on the CD are still sung in the local tradition, and some have been lovingly resurrected from printed sources by Pádraigín.
Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin is a singer and scholar, and a native speaker of Irish. She lives where she grew up, in southeast Ulster, where all of the songs on this CD come from.
For each song, the CD jacket gives the first two verses, with English translations. The songs and their history are also briefly described in Irish and English.
One of the most evocative songs is “Thugamar Féin an Samradh Linn” (We brought the summer with us). This song was sung in May as part of a gay processional from house to house to ritually celebrate the arrival of summer and call out the fertility of the season. In just one of the many touches of true scholarship, Pádraigín here sings this song to its lovely, seldom-heard original air. An rud is annamh is iontach…
Another beautiful May song is “Amhrán na Craoibhe” (The Song of the Garland). This chant-like processional song from Co. Armagh would have been sung by women carrying a May Garland or a branch of white blackthorn blossom as part of the May fertility rituals.
The gorgeous, ethereal “Cailín as Contae Lú” (A Girl from Co. Louth) is an Irish song with a twist. Its unusual air reflects possible influences from all over Europe, including Scotland, Wales, and Spain.
Among the many other gems is a fun, bouncy version of “Tá ‘na Lá” (Day Has Come), a local version of the song known in other parts of Ireland as “Níl sé ‘na Lá” (It’s Not Day).
Ceol den scoth.
All 14 songs on this CD are described in detail in Pádraigín’s amazing new book “A Hidden Ulster: People, Songs, and Traditions of Oriel”. This book has full lyrics in Irish and English translations for each of the 14 songs on the CD, and much more. See the accompanying review of this brilliant book.
This CD is available at celticgrooves.com.
A Hidden Ulster: People, Songs, and Traditions of Oriel (book)
Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin
www.irishsong.com
Oriel is a relatively modest portion of the ancient Irish province of Ulster, about halfway between Belfast and Dublin, but it is the source of an incredible amount of Irish mythology, poetry, folklore, and song.
While this book focuses on the vibrant song tradition of Oriel, the book as a whole is about something universal. It is about a people and their struggle to save their songs, their heritage, and their identity in the face of great adversity.
Scholar, poet, and singer Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin succeeds here in creating a masterpiece because she brings to life the powerful connections between otherwise plain song lyrics on a page and the vibrant, tangled lives of the people who wrote and sang the songs. The book is subtitled “People, Songs, and Traditions of Oriel” because the songs are the reflections of the deeper struggles of people living out their lives in difficult times.
The heart of this amazing book is 54 song lyrics in the original Irish, with English translations. Along with the lyrics, the music for most songs is provided. The known history of each song is also described in rich detail. This includes the historical, religious, and social context of the songs, information about other versions and how they developed, pictures of the original collectors’ manuscripts when available, as well as information about who collected the songs and from whom. When appropriate, Pádraigín also notes the original airs to the songs.
Of the 54 songs described in the book, Pádraigín sings 14 on “An Dealg Óir”. See the accompanying review of this CD. A CD set featuring all 54 of the songs in the book will be released next year.
The book also features copies of tune transcriptions from various collections, some of them never printed before. This includes, for example, the Patrick Mc Gahon Collection of Music from 1817, as well as many dance tunes and airs recorded in staff notation by the famous collector Luke Donnellan around 1900.
Part of what makes this book such a jewel is that Pádraigín, who is known as a singer, here shows herself to be a scholar, as well. Adding to the shimmer of this jewel is Pádraigín’s native language, Irish Gaelic. The ability to speak, read, and write Irish gives her the power to translate Irish song lyrics skillfully and to read the many archival and modern records in Irish that were key to writing the book. Indeed it may also give her the power to better see the world the way that the singers, who were also native speakers, saw the world 100 or more years ago.
As with any great work of scholarship, the content is meticulously researched and supported. Like a folio from the Book of Kells, the concept of detail is taken to new levels as Pádraigín provides the most precise information available in the body of the book, as well as adding further information in the extensive footnotes.
The book also contains a meticulous list of all known printed and recorded sources for each of the 54 songs. The book even offers a detailed list of placenames that occur in the book. For each placename in Irish, the meanings of the Irish words and their English versions are listed.
One of the most intriguing aspects of this book is the many archival photographs of the people and places of Oriel. It puts added power in the book to see images of the poets, singers, collectors, and scholars who formed human links in the chain of preservation that has led to this book.
Beyond the descriptions of the songs, Pádraigín also describes the broader social, religious, and political pressures of the day, and how they combined to begin eating away at the strength of the Irish song tradition, Irish folklore, and Irish language in southeast Ulster in the mid-1800s.
But this book is not intended to be just a “caoine”, or lament, for what has been lost. The book and its accompanying CDs together form a deep well of memory, “grá”, and song for lovers of this living song tradition and this living Irish language.
Leabhar den scoth.
This book is available at celticgrooves.com.
Golden Lights and Green Shadows
Gráinne Hambly
www.grainne.harp.net
Gráinne Hambly is one of the key "players" in the current renaissance of Irish harp music. Having played Irish traditional music from an early age on tin whistle and concertina, and later moving to harp, she later graduated from Queen's University Belfast in music, and is now in high demand at summer schools and festivals in Ireland and abroad.
This captivating solo harp CD shows Gráinne's absolute mastery of the Irish harp. It's an utter joy to listen to her turn out dance tunes, slow airs, and pieces from the 17th and 18th century harp repertoire.
One of the older tunes is the lovely, seldom-heard "Celia Connellan", composed by Thomas Connellan some 300 years ago. Also among the gems is a version of the well-known air "An raibh tú ar an gCarraig?", collected over 200 years ago from Daniel Black, a blind harper and singer from County Derry.
Another old tune as rare as it is beautiful (An rud is annamh is iontach) is Kitty Magennis, composed by Turlough O'Carolan.
Among the more modern tunes is the absolutely magical "Rectory Reel", composed in 1995 by Belfast uilleann piper Patrick Davey.
In Giraldus Cambrensis' "Topography of Ireland", written after his first trip to Ireland in 1183, the only good thing he had to say about the "wild and inhospitable" Irish was that they were "incomparably more skilled" in music than any other people, including those in his native Wales and England. Although the ancient Irish harp tradition that Cambrensis was referring to did eventually die out in the 1800s, this stunning CD makes it clear that even music can be re-born.
This CD is available at celticgrooves.com.
The Essential Guide to
Irish Flute and Tin Whistle
Grey Larsen
Mel Bay Publications
www.greylarsen.com
This is a comprehensive guide for the beginner to the highly advanced player of Irish flute, tin whistle, or Boehm-system flute (with keys).
What sets this extensive book apart from others on learning Irish music is that it's the first really complete guide that includes Irish flute, Boehm-system flute, and Irish tin whistle.
It also has a simple and new approach to understanding and notating ornamentation. The book also explores ornamentation techniques that don't appear in other printed sources.
The 480-page book comes with pretty much everything you could need, including fingering charts and a raft of studies for ornamentation practice. The book also includes adaptations for Boehm-system flute players, guidance on breathing and phrasing, history and theory of traditional Irish flute and whistle music, and 27 meticulous transcriptions of recordings from 1926 to 2001 by Irish flute and tin whistle players like John McKenna, Séamus Ennis, Willie Clancy, Josie McDermott, Matt Molloy, Cathal McConnell, Mary Bergin, Joanie Madden, Kevin Crawford, and Catherine McEvoy, to name but a few.
Grey Larsen is an American-born musician who had the great good luck to spend many hours with Irish musicians who emigrated to the vicinity of his home in Ohio.
This guide also comes with two CDs, which contain many tunes from the book. This is essential to a learner, who may not otherwise have music CDs with versions of the tunes used in the guide.
This CD is available at celticgrooves.com.
Bóithríní
an Locháin
Meaití Jó Shéamuis Ó Fátharta
Cló
Iar-Chonnachta
www.cic.ie
This is the long-awaited debut solo album from one of the most prominent singers and musicians in the Conamara area of Ireland. Meaití Jó is a well-known figure in Irish music circles, as he is a fine sean-nós singer, and also plays flute and uilleann pipes.
This CD is a fine collection of songs in Irish, and one in English. For lovers of sean-nós singing, this is likely to become an instant classic. For the average listener, this can be a good introduction to sean-nós singing, as it contains singing mixed in with some tunes.
Like all CDs from CIC, this one features detailed sleeve notes in Irish and English. The notes are a treasure trove of information about Meaití Jó and the ancient sean-nós singing tradition, not to mention the songs and their own fascinating histories.
Along with the songs, there is one charming track of lilting, with harp accompaniment.
The tunes include a lovely flute duet with Neansaí Ní Choisdealbha, as well as two sets of reels and jigs played by Meaití on uilleann pipes, and others on flute, harp, fiddle, melodeon, and accordion. The tunes include tight, driving versions of the classics "Lucy Campbell" and "The Drunken Landlady", tunes made "famous" by the Bothy Band in the 1970s. Meaití Jó and friends also treat us to fine versions of the jigs "The Trip to Athlone" and "Cos na Lachan".
Thar barr ar fad.
This CD is available at celticgrooves.com.
The Tap Room Trio
Harry
Bradley, Jesse Smith, John Blake
Phaeton Records - with Céirníní
Cladaigh
This fantastic CD is a reflection of the state and reach of Irish traditional music today. With its three musicians born variously in Ireland, England, and North America, its coherence and brilliance reflect how Irish music remains strong in Ireland, and in the main places where children of the Irish Diaspora live and play.
Belfast-born flute and whistle player Harry Bradley, American-born fiddler Jesse Smith, and London-born John Blake (of Mayo parents) all have supernal musical credentials. Harry Bradley has two flute CDs, Jesse Smith has a solo fiddle CD and played with the Irish group Danú, and John Blake played flute on the acclaimed "Traditional Irish Music from London" CD. Blake is also one of the most sought-after accompanists on piano in Ireland and beyond.
The lads also get some help from a couple other performers, stars in their own right. Fiddler John Carty plays on "The Contradiction" and "The Monasteryedan Fancy" reels. Young Galway dancer Seósamh Ó Neachtáin also makes an appearance with his sean-nós dancing to liven up a couple Schottisches. Seósamh Ó Neachtáin is also a veteran of earlier Harry Bradley and Jesse Smith CDs.
This CD is a fascinating collection of tunes, many echoes of old recordings of the famous Flanagan Brothers, Sligo fiddlers Paddy Killoran, James Morrison, and Michael Coleman, and Leitrim flute player John McKenna, nach maireann. These musicians, as well as some others whose tunes are also featured on this CD, became stars in the 1920s and 1930s in America. They made hugely popular records, many of which found their way back home to Ireland.
The sound of this CD captures the lift and drive of those older recordings in a way that has already made this a classic recording among Irish music lovers.
Thar barr ar fad.
This CD is available at celticgrooves.com.
The Poet and the Piper
Music
by Liam O'Flynn
Words by Séamus Heaney
Céirníní
Cladaigh - Claddagh Records
This lovely CD is a great chance to hear modern Irish poetry, threaded with tunes on uilleann pipes and whistle. And you could hardly have a better reader - and a better poet - than Séamus Heaney, laureate of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature. Born near Derry City, Heaney grew up speaking English, and later learned Irish, Latin, and Anglo-Saxon.
In some poems Heaney describes the land under his feet, as well as the past behind him, which are intertwined topics. In "Bogland", he talks about the bog, the "unfenced country", and the pieces of the past that Irish excavations bring up from it. Then there's "The Tollund Man", about an Iron Age bog body found in Denmark in 1952. Both poems talk about the discovery of things ancient just beneath our feet.
On the music side, you could hardly do better than Liam O'Flynn, one of the best-known uilleann pipers in Ireland. Among the reels, jigs, and airs that he plays is the lovely Ulster air called "Airdí Cuan", which is the melody behind the haunting North Antrim song made famous in the 1971 groundbreaking Irish CD "Skara Brae". Liam O'Flynn plays it to perfection on whistle.
And of course there are mesmerizing reels like "Garrett Barry's" and "Seán Reid's Favourite". "Sliabh Gallon Brae" is an air on low whistle that captures particularly well the pensive flavor of the poems. Rounding out the sound on some tunes is Rod McVey on harmonium.
One of the most interesting poems is "St. Kevin and the Blackbird". This is a re-telling and re-thinking of the ancient story of how a blackbird landed and laid eggs in the open palm of St. Kevin, who then, like a Taoist monk, kept his palm in place until the eggs finally hatched.
This CD is available
at celticgrooves.com.
Becky Taylor
Becky
Taylor
www.beckytaylor.info
Becky Taylor is a rare bird, an English female uilleann piper. After starting out on recorder, piano, and whistle, and later moving on to fiddle and Northumbrian smallpipes, at 16 years of age, she got her hands on a set of Irish uilleann (elbow) pipes.
She has played with many bands in and around the North of England, as well as with the Chieftains on "A Chieftains' Celebration" in 1988 after a series of performances with them as part of Dublin's millennium celebrations.
On this CD, she plays uilleann pipes, different whistles, concertina, and Northumbrian smallpipes, all with clear mastery.
She really shines on classic, driving reels like the Maple Leaf, here with Becky on whistle and an electric bass. Then there are a couple of lovely reels that she learned from Irish piper and trad radio show host Robbie Hannan. What's different here is that the reels come with the sound of a didg (didgeridoo), which fits in perfectly behind the weeping note on the pipes. Creative bodhrán playing on these tunes also "plays well" with the melody.
While there are a couple fantastic pure drop tunes, one on uilleann pipes, and one on smallpipes, the other tunes all feature some kind of accompaniment. These range from the Spanish guitar to the electric bass to the didg, which is the Australian didgeridoo. Of note, a researcher says that Irish or Scots Gaelic speakers that went to Australia may have given the name dúdaire dubh (dark hummer or trumpeter) or dúdaire dúth (native hummer or trumpeter) to the person playing the native instrument, and that those Gaelic words became associated with the instrument in the English spoken in Australia.
In addition to the Irish tunes and some tunes from the North of England, the mix includes a couple of Breton tunes, some wonderful original tunes, and even a couple fine songs.
This CD is available at www.beckytaylor.info.
The West
Stories
by Eddie Stack
Music by Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill
www.tintaun.com
When you first hear this stunning CD of stories, your first thought might be to connect Eddie Stack with someone with whom you are already familiar, like Garrison Keillor.
But, apart from both being great storytellers, the resemblance there ends. Keillor's American stories are often drenched in dry humor and nostalgia, while Eddie Stack's Irish stories are speckled with dark humor and drowning in the dark, rich beauty of the Irish world around him.
Unlike Garrison Keillor, whose real childhood is often fairly transparent and well-known to listeners of "A Prairie Home Companion", Eddie Stack and his real childhood are an unknown quantity to Americans. This makes these stories even more incredible, as it's hard to know where lies the line between the reality of his memories and the cauldron of his imagination.
This all the more so because the stories are sometimes so fantastical to Americans with little exposure to the Irish world of thirty or forty years ago. One of the funniest - and darkest - is "Limbo", a story of a day spent in the classroom of Brother Mahan. It moves from sweetly warm to frightening to hysterical, and then 'round again. Brilliant, and brilliantly told by the author.
"Time Passes" is a Christmas story about the holiday return to Ireland of young men from their jobs in England, told from the perspective of a young man who had stayed in Ireland. The lads' return from Camden town to their native land is remarkable for its rich, frank detail about what it was really like to have to leave your native land for lack of work, and then return for a short time, only to leave again. Eddie Stack misses nothing, good or bad, dark or bright.
Adding to the grip of these and other stories is subtle, lovely music in the background from Co. Clare fiddler Martin Hayes and Chicago guitarist Dennis Cahill.
This
CD is available at www.tintaun.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 |