Duets
Showing 1–16 of 54 results
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Ben Lennon & Friends – The Natural Bridge
- Memories of Ballymote /Gurkin Cross
- The Enchanted Lady /The Holy Land
- The Donegal Mazurkas
- The Blackberry Blossom /McFadden’s
- Song: Flora
- Maguire’s Fiddle /O’Donnell’s Hornpipe
- Rattigan’s /The Collier’s
- Mick McNamara’s /Touch Me If You Dare
- Return of Spring /The Mountain Pathway
- Johnny Henry’s /Ryan’s Rant
- Cathleen Hehir’s
- Song: The Banks of the Clyde
- McDermott’s Hornpipe
- The Lonesome Jig /The Tenpenny Bit
- Batt Henry’s Barndance
- The Boys of Ballisodare /The Five Mile Chase
- The Primrose Polka
- Farrell O’Gara /Lucy Campbell
- The Flax in Bloom
Press Reviews
Irish Music Magazine. July 2000
Originally released in 1999 it’s taken a while to pecolate it’s way through our review pages, but like that famous water, it’s the pure drop bottled. The wait only increased the thirst and pleasure from subsequent quenching. For some of us, who have already clocked up four decades, this music will recall the past masters and the sound we grew up with. Remember those old 78’s of Coleman, Morrison and Kiloran? Theirs was a regional style but was that qualitythey had just a little to do with the recording equipment? Not a bit of it, this album proves that gool old-fashioned music is as good as ever. And it can still be made.Proof too that there is a lyrical voice from Leitrim that’s accented and eloquent. Ben Lennon, the elder statesman of Leitrim music, brother of composer Charlie, and father of fiddler, Maurice and fluter, Brian, (all of whom guest on this album), is joined here by Garry O’Briain, John Carty, Ciaran Curran, (Altan) and Seamus Quinn on piano. Gabriel McArdle who plays concertina gives us a song, The Banks of the Clyde, collected from John Redhill, on an island in Loch Eirne. The acompanying 20 page liner notes area a tastefully designed store of information. I’ve now another classic recording to add to Milestone at the Garden, Paddy in the Smoke and The Long Strand, The Natural Bridge links the tunes and styles of two generations ago in a seamless road without a halt in the step, rising above the turbulent waters of fashion with elegant grace. An architectural treasure if ever there was one. You won’t really know the tradition until you number albums like this in your collection. Sean Laffey
Taplas
There’s a wonderful lilt to the tunes, especially the polkas and the barn dances, and a tremendous sense of fun and enjoyment. Not only is this CD a natural bridge between the traditions of north Leitrim and south west Fermanagh, but also between the present and the music of the past, like Paddy Kiloran, Johnny Doherty and Batt Henry.
The Folk Diary #178 Aug/Sept 99
One of Ireland’s best loved, most respected old fiddler’s offers a wonderful selection of his playing, mainly in the Leitrim/Sligo style of his birth. Though the fact that he has lived in Donegal (and played regularly with Johnny Doherty) also shines through. There are only a few solo moments as Ben immerses himself in what sound like a variety of different sessions, featuring his brother Charlie and friends. Mostly recorded in one takes and using an empty pub as a studio, this is fine, varied playing. Ben also shows himself to be a fine singer in a style that seems to derive from the same inspiration as that of Cathal McConnell. Another triumph for the company that are becoming THE company for Irish traditional music and song. Vic Smith.
The Living Tradition #34
Ben and Charlie Lennon together should be enough to make you listen: add Brian and Maurice Lennon, Gary O’Briain, John Carty, Ciaran Curran, Gabriel McArdle and Seamus Quinn, and you really sit up and take notice. This is a typical Clo Iar Chonnachta production; well balanced and with twenty pages of comprehensive notes. There’s one particular Irish label that ought to take heed of CIC’s thoroughness in that regard. “The Natural Bridge” is north Leitrim style at it’s best; flowing and unhurried, giving the music elbow-room, yet with a strong assured rhythm. Maybe maturity in traditional music comes when you don’t play floridly and fast just because you can? As the title implies, there’s feeling for the styles of near neighbours from South Leitrim, Sligo and Fermanagh. The bridge is also with the past, because Ben pays tribute to the older musicians whose records influenced him; Coleman, John and Mickey Doherty, Killoran, James Morrison, etc. There are also tributes to musicians who are still with us, like Michael McNamara of Aughavas, south Leitrim. McNamara’s influence shows through on the reel named for him. Instrumental balance in varied throughout 17 tracks of reels, jigs, hornpipes, polkas and a great barndance, as well as two songs from Gabriel McArdle. An inspired idea is Maurice Lennon’s fine Viola. It fits really well; “Rattigan’s and The Collier’s” rarely sounded so good. There are rarely played tunes as well as old favourites; and the best version of “Cathleen Hehir’s” I’ve heard yet. This is great stuff; definitely one for the ready-for-use rack. Mick Furey.
£14.99 -
Ben Lennon & Tony O’Connell – Rossinver Braes
Music from Two Different Generations
Rossinver Braes is the new album of traditional Irish music on fiddle and concertina from Ben Lennon and Tony O’Connell, released on the Cló Iar-Chonnachta label.
Ben Lennon is a legendary figure in traditional Irish music circles, a fiddler from Co. Leitrim who celebrates his eightieth birthday this year and who has been playing the fiddle for seventy of those years. Although almost fifty years separate Ben from his fellow musician on this album, Tony O’Connell from west Limerick, there is an undeniable musical connection between them. David Lennon, Ben’s son, says in his introduction to the CD: ‘Tony is probably the most empathetic musician I have heard my father play with. There is an understanding of phrasing, time and nuance that one finds only rarely in any musical form.’ This is O’Connell’s second album; his first album was recorded with another Leitrim fiddler, Andy Morrow, and was released to critical acclaim in 2005. The album came second in the top ten albums of 2005 of highly-respected traditional Irish music reviewer Earle Hitchner of the Irish Echo, second, interestingly, to the album Within a Mile of Kilty released on the Cló Iar-Chonnachta label that year and featuring Ben and Charlie Lennon, as well as four other superb Leitrim fiddlers.
Rossinver Braes features both traditional and newly-composed tunes. Several of Charlie Lennon’s compositions are included, including the hornpipe that gives the album its title, named after the village where Ben now lives. Charlie also composed two barn dances in honour of the musicians while the album was being recorded at his Cuan Studios outside Spiddal, ‘Lord Leitrim’ and ‘The Earl of Thomond’, tunes which he feels reflect the spirit of both musicians and their dynamic playing together. The tune selection leans toward the Sligo—Leitrim area and includes many tunes associated with Michael Coleman and James Morrison. Accompaniment is provided by Charlie Lennon (piano), Alec Finn (bouzouki) and Jerry McNamara (guitar).
Ben Lennon is from Kiltyclogher, Co. Leitrim and has recorded many albums during a long and illustrious traditional music career. He is regarded as one of the very finest of Leitrim’s fiddlers, no mean feat in a county renowned for its fiddling tradition.
Tony O’Connell is from Glin in west Co. Limerick and is currently living in Limerick city where he plays regularly and teaches at the Irish World Music Centre in the University of Limerick. He has won All-Ireland concertina titles at both underage and senior levels and has toured Asia, America and Europe with various shows and groups.
Also available from Copperplate and featuring Ben Lennon
CICD 139 The Natural Bridge
CICD 159 Within A Mile of Kilty
Press Reviews
Irish Music Magazine March 09
“When my father mentioned that he thought it would be a good idea to make a CD with Tony, I sensed that something special was happening, and so it proved to be.” That quote is taken from the CD notes of Rossinver and was written by David Lennon, one of Ben’s sons. David also said that when his father first mentioned he had been playing music with a top-class concertina player called Tony O’Connell from Limerick, he realised that this man must be good. “My father is not in the habit of praising musicians without considerable merit…”
Ben is a great living exponent of the strong, regional style of fiddle playing from the north Leitrim, south-eastern Fermanagh area and the fact that he took up with a man from far-off Limerick and almost fifty years his junior was also a bit of a surprise. “It took a while for us to get it all together,” Ben says, “because we have different styles of playing but he was able to adapt. He’s very adaptable, very musical, and he has a great passion for the music. He’s a younger man, but he really knows what it’s all about.”
That said, Ben is no stranger to playing with musicians from all over Ireland, having lived at various times in Cork, Limerick and Donegal. “When I was in Cork we had a group with Jackie Daly and Charlie Piggott and Gary Cronin. At that time there was great music in Cork and we had regular sessions, maybe twice a week. We formed this little group and called ourselves The Shaskeen, long before the well-known band of the same name came along. I enjoyed that very much. Then in Donegal we had a band called Dog Big Dog Little that featured himself, Seamus Quinn, Gabriel McArdle & Ciaran Curran. I liked playing with them very much. And then I played with my own family, my sons, Brian and Maurice, and my brother, Charlie.”
David notes: “Tony is probably the most empathetic musician I have heard my father play with. There is an understanding of phrasing, time and nuance that one finds only rarely in any musical form.” You can check it out for yourself in this delightful fifteen-track album of reels, jigs, hornpipes and barn dances that comes with the typical Clo lar-Chonnachta attention to detail in notes that are full and generously informative on the musicians and their music. Aidan O’Hara
LiveIreland.com
You can always, always count on Clo Iar Chonanachta to put out wonderful, traditional music. Now the label brings us Ben Lennon on fiddle and Tony O’Connell on concertina in a magical thing called, Rossinver Braes. Wonderful. Guest musicians include Charlie Lennon on piano, Alec Finn on bouzouki and guitarist, Jerry McNamara. A contender for Instrumental Album of the Year. If you love real Irish music, this one is for you. A wondrous and lively piece of work, altogether. Rating Four Harps Bill Margeson
The Folk Diary
The much-loved octogenarian fiddler from Co. Leitrim with the totally distinctive way of phrasing his tunes teams up with a much younger concertina player from west Limerick.
The instinctive way that their instruments phrase together belies the near half century that separates their ages. This is delightful inspiring music that produces a sense a
relaxed control in their playing, even when they are playing reels and the sense of space in The Cavan Reel/The Galway Rambler is delightful though the real beauty of their playing
is when they playing at a slower pace – barn dances and hornpipes and even a tune that is somewhat dubiously deemed to be a foxtrot.
The recording mix favours strongly the lead instruments so that the superb playing of the likes of Alex Finn of De Danann fame and Ben’s brother Charlie on piano is very much in the background. As well as being Ireland’s top accompanist of choice, Charlie Lennon is also one of his country’s leading composers of dance tunes and here he contributes two barn dances,
each named for the lead musicians. Vic Smith
£14.99 -
Brian Conway – First Through the Gate
First Through The Gate
In his long awaited, stunning solo debut, premier Irish-American fiddler, Brian Conway performs with a skill, grace and force that are steeped in tradition but distinctively his own. Well known in the New York Irish community. Brian has won numerous All-Ireland fiddling competitions, and has been called “one of the best fiddlers of his generation”. Nothing is missed or missing in his Sligo style fiddling. From hop jigs to hornpipes,
from highland to slow airs, Conway preserves and passes along the best of the past, while melding it with the talent and imagination of the present.
Brian Conway’s new recording on Smithsonian-Folkways offers the “Sligo-New York Style” of fiddle playing. One special moment includes three generations of fiddlers where Brian plays with former mentor Andy McGann and former student Pat Mangan. Another great moment is the set of 4 Martin wynne reels back to back. The title “First Through the Gate” refers to W.B. Yeats’ poem: The Fiddler Of Dooney. Includes extensive liner notes.
Named “CD of the Year” for 2002 by the Irish Echo, the largest Irish American newspaper in the United States, this long-awaited, stunning solo debut was identified as a benchmark release. Premier Irish American fiddler Brian Conway performs with a skill, grace and force that are steeped in tradition but distinctively his own. Well known in the Irish Celtic community, Conway has won numerous All-Ireland fiddling competitions, and has been called one of the best fiddlers of his generation. Nothing is missed or missing in Brian Conway’s Sligo-style fiddling. From jigs to hornpipes, and highlands to slow airs, Conway preserves and passes along the best of the past while molding it with the talent and imagination of the present.
Press Reviews
Conway, Kanes Head Up Best Traditional Albums of 2002
CEOL
By Earle Hitchner
[Published in Earle Hitchner’s “Ceol” column in the IRISH ECHO newspaper on January 15, 2003, in New York City. Copyright Earle Hitchner. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of author.]
CD sales, including for Irish music, can generally be summed up last year in two words: slipped disks. As of late December, the number of units sold fell 9.3 percent, from 688.2 million in 2001 to 624.2 million in 2002.
Record companies put much of the blame for this decline on the downloading, file-sharing, and pirating of copyrighted music. Not surprisingly, the Recording Industry Association of America has increased its efforts to monitor these activities and prosecute transgressors. But you have to wonder how successful the RIAA will be when just recently hackers broke into its website and posted fake messages such as this: “Government bans music as final desperate attempt to control piracy.”
Ironically, as mainstream music market woes deepened last year, the number of Irish traditional recordings I received for review grew exponentially. In 2001, I got roughly 300. In 2002, over 1,000 arrived from all points of the globe (farthest: from a tenor banjoist in New Zealand). Though there was inevitable mediocrity and dross among these CDs, the overall quantity of quality was encouraging.
The vast majority of the recordings I received were self-released, and half of my top 10 picks were self-released as well. It’s a clear sign that established record companies, major or indie, are no longer the only recourse for musicians who know how to slap Sonex on the walls of a spare bedroom and use affordable recording equipment and computer software to create a home studio.
In this brave new world of technological advances and marketplace regresses, these 10 Irish traditional albums stood out. Over the years I’ve been warned many times that a top 10 list “really only sends one artist home happy.” I accept the risk, partly because I dislike critical cop-outs and partly because I’m confident these choices pose no risk at all aesthetically. They’re the cream of an abundant crop and belong in your music library.
Conway, Kanes Head Up Best Traditional Albums of 2002
First Through The Gate
Smithsonian Folkways Record 40481
Review by Ken Ricketts and Maya Parker
used with Permission
Brian Conway, a fiddle player born and raised in New York, is one of those rare musicians who has developed a naturally Irish way of playing without having spent long periods in Ireland. This is his first solo release made up from studio sessions over a few years. This unhurried approach to making a CD means all the tracks are top class and have a freshness and clarity which adds to enjoyment of the music. He is joined on some selections by his mentor Andy McGann and by his own pupil Pat Mangan, another New York native.
It takes a special combination of circumstances to produce a fiddler of this maturity and style, and Brian has enjoyed his fair share of help and encouragement. His first teacher was Martin Mulvihill from Limerick. Brian’s other big influence was Martin Wynne, one of Sligo’s best-loved sons who died in America a few years ago. As his experience and ability grew he became friends with Andy McGann, himself a native of New York but a man who in his early days met, studied with and played with some of the great names of the 78rpm era, including Michael Coleman, Lad O’Beirne, Paddy Killoran and others. Brian has stayed faithful to the style of those exiles of the past and it pleasing to report that the influences of American swing, jazz and all the other paraphernalia that are obvious in the playing of Eileen Ivers or Liz Carroll are completely absent from this record.
Kicking off with a set of reels, Brian’s mastery of the instrument is immediately obvious, as is the influence of Andy McGann. Anybody who has listened to McGann’s classic Shanachie LP from the ’70s will recognise the master’s tricks; a wonderfully light touch on the bow that emphasises the triplets and rolls and a fierce rhythm that bounces the tunes along without ever feeling hurried. What can’t be learnt though is the way traditional players introduce subtle variations in ornamentation and melody. Brian Conway shows tremendous understanding of the possibilities presented by the idiom in his own use of rolls, triplets and the occasional drop to the bottom string to play a note an octave lower than normal.
The choice of tunes often has references back to those recordings that McGann made with Paddy Reynolds or Joe Burke, although they are not slavish copies. A brisker tempo than McGann’s in the slip Barney Brallaghan show that Brian Conway is his own man. The McGann and Reynolds LP is also brought to mind when Conway plays a couple of duets with his guests. All three fiddlers join forces for one selection each of reels and jigs and their playing is wonderful throughout. This is a good example of how Irish music bridges the generations. There are more links with the past when Brian and Pat Mangan play four of Martin Wynne’s reels. Three of these tunes are fairly well known and widely played but this is the first time the fourth has been recorded. The sleeve notes tell a nice tale of how Brian coaxed this reel out of Martin.
Mark Simos on guitar and Felix Dolan on piano provide most of the backing. Dolan’s piano has graced some of the great New York recordings since the ’70s and his touch is always sure and supporting. The guitar sounds very well mixed and sits comfortably against the fiddle, clear and yet never dominant.
The sleeve notes on this CD are exemplary. Running to nearly 30 pages, they give a short biography of Brian and his musical influences and each selection of tunes is supported by some brief but informative notes.
All in all this is an unassuming classic and a worthy addition to the Smithsonian catalogue. There has been no great hype to launch the CD and indeed it took several months before it was available in the British Isles. If you see a copy grab it with both hands.
Ken Ricketts & Marya Parker – 21.9.03
£14.99 -
Cathal Clohessy & Eamonn Costello – Bosca Ceoil & Fiddle
Eamonn Costello (button accordion) and Cathal Clohessy (fiddle) have being playing together as a duo since 2008.They released their debut album Bosca Ceoil & Fiddle, an album of Irish traditional music, in June 2010. On the album Rodney Lancashire guests on five tracks playing bouzouki and mandolin. The remainder of the album consists of solos and duets. On a number of traditional tunes Cathal and Eamonn experiment with: tempo, dynamics, and counter melodies. However, the majority of tracks on the album are played in a more ‘traditional’ manner. Cathal and Eamonn have also composed a number of pieces on this album.
Cathal hails from Fedamore in Co. Limerick. He is influenced by the music of his own West Limerick, as well as the music of North Connacht. He is from a very musical family; both of his sisters and his brother play Irish music. One of his main teachers on the fiddle was Maureen Glynn Connolly (R.I.P). Cathal holds a number of All-Ireland titles at under-age level in duet and slow-air playing. He has also toured extensively with various traditional ensembles.
Eamonn is from An Cheathru Rua (Carraroe) in the Connemara Gaeltacht. His style of accordion playing is influenced by the music of Connemara and the music of North Connacht. He has guested on collaborations with a number of musicians and groups, including: Mactira (2000), Frozen Fish (6-Pack, 2004), Papua Merdeka: Tribal Songs of Love and Freedom (2004). Eamonn holds a B.A in Irish Music and Dance from the University of Limerick and an M.A in Ethnomusicology from University College Cork.
Rodney is originally from Cotehill in Co. Cavan. His style of accompaniment is inspired by the bouzouki playing of John Faulkner and Andy Irvine. Rodney has recorded two traditional/folk albums: Mactira (2000), and Tireile (2003). He has also produced a number of albums, and he has toured England, Europe, and America with various traditional groups. In 2007 Rodney graduated with a 1st class Masters in Irish traditional music from the University of Limerick.
Press Reviews
TRADCONNECT
There are times when we should treat ourselves to music that has at its core the essence of what it’s all about. This is always best appreciated in duo’s or trio’s. The accordion and fiddle combo have featured over the years on many great recordings and when they fuse it can indeed be a magical pairing.
On Bosca Ceoil and Fiddle Cathal Clohessy and Éamonn Costello have now added to this collection. It is an album that hits all the right notes and creates some magic in the process. They have pared the music right back and have opted to present it in a refreshingly clear and crisp manner. They have intentionally divided the album into three sections: duets on button accordion and fiddle, trio on button accordion, fiddle, and bouzouki, and accordion and fiddle solos. It is gently restrained music that lets the tunes live and breath. It is traditional music as it should be played and it is an album that you can fall in love with. The arrangements are perfect.
The Stray-Away Child is a lovely five part jig to open the album with. Likewise Sean Ryan’s/Return To Milltown/Farewell to Milltown which is predominately accordion shows what a self assured player Éamonn is. He takes the tunes, and with a great tone that he gets from his accordion, delivers a beautiful set. With his home being the Connemara Gaeltacht, his playing has been very much influenced by the music of North Connaught region according to the album notes and this is evident here. As a pair they tackle the reels The Tempest/Farrell O’ Gara’s/Rhattigan’s and deliver as tight a combination as your are likely to encounter on any album. I haven’t had the pleasure to listen to many accordion and fiddle duet albums recently and having listened to Bosca Ceoil and Fiddle I am quickly realising what a pleasure I have been missing. It’s good to get back to basics and these musicians deliver an album worthy of their talents. It captures two musicians with a deep love and understanding of the music.
The Living Tradition
‘If you can’t think up a fancy title for an album, then just tell people what it is’ seems to be as good a marketing strategy as any, and you know that you’ll never get done under the Trades Descriptions Act. Bosca Ceoil is Irish for button accordion, and fiddle is English for fidil, so that’s cleared that up. Cathal (fiddle) and Eamonn (accordion) have been playing as a duo since 2008, and this CD is mostly duets and solos, but with Rodney Lancashire guesting on bouzouki and mandolin on five of the fourteen tracks.
The musicianship throughout this release is outstandingly good. Cathal and Eamonn take a ‘less is more’ approach, eschewing flashy pyrotechnics and preferring a gentle yet direct style which gets to the heart of the music and embodies it with a lift and drive whilst allowing all the subtleties of the tunes to be fully appreciated. This doesn’t stop them from introducing counter melodies and arrangements, however, and, all in all, it’s the sort of playing that draws the listener in and then rewards them handsomely for their time.
The music is influenced a fair bit by the mighty Michael Coleman, who is often held to be the most influential Irish traditional musician of the twentieth century, and the respect which this duo show to the background to their music ensures that twenty-first century playing passes on the flame. Just to give a contrast, the last track combines a Breton and A Neapolitan dance, which also gets the respectful treatment without losing any of the flair or drive needed. It really doesn’t get much better than this. Gordon Potter
R2 ****
Cathal (fiddle) from Limerick and Eamonn (button accordion) from Connemara have been playing together as a duo since 2008. Their album title translates literally as Music Box [accordion] and Fiddle and apart from some sensitive bouzouki and mandolin accompaniment from Rodney Lancashire, that’s exactly what you get. This is an album of two halves – duets and solos. However, Cathal and Eamonn are at their best when playing together, which they do with great precision. This is well illustrated on ‘Farewell To Eyrecourt’ where box and iddle are as one. Most of the arrangements are simple, though a few liberties are taken on occasion. For example, the start of Miss Langford turns it from being a reel into a slow air, with fiddle and accordion playing counter-melodies.
The lads’ playing is rock steady throughout and very traditional in style. There’s nothing showy, even on the solo tracks. What counts here is their clear respect for the music. Keith Whiddon
Taplas 11.2011
THIS DUO from Connemara and Limerick play mostly traditional tunes at a measured pace on button accordion and fiddle, with Rodney Lancashire’s occasional bouzouki or mandolin adding extra colour.On some of his solos Eamonn Costello’s box playing seems to try a little too hard with the ornamentation, but as a duo they experiment with interesting counterpoint melodies (as on the lovely version of The Strayaway Child, which opens the album) and throughout Cathal Clohessy’s fiddle provides flow and bounce.
A careful selection of interesting tunes played with intensity and admirably devoid of any fashionable over-dressing. John Neilson
www.netrhythms.com
Cathal and Eamonn have been performing together as a fiddle-and-button-accordion duo since 2008, and yet this is their debut CD release. As the disc’s plain-spoken title would appear to indicate, much of the record consists of solos and duets. Pick of these has to be Cathal’s vigorous yet highly musical treatment of a pair of hornpipes (track 2 — the second of which, Clay’s, was penned by Cathal himself), and Eamonn’s tricky solo set of reels (track 4), but in truth every single track dazzles with a vital combination of proven musicianship and the virtue of exercising restraint in pacing above expressiveness. Taking that track 4 set of reels as an example, there’s no lack of nifty precision in Eamonn’s expert handling of his chosen instrument, and yet there’s no feeling that he’s hurrying through the notes to prove a point, and the musical communication of those notes is paramount.
The pair of jigs at track 6 is another key example of the musicians’ empathy and their ability to combine and interpolate both unison and counter-melody techniques in their trade-offs; on this and a further four tracks, Eamonn and Cathal are augmented by Rodney Lancashire playing bouzouki or mandolin in nimble and refreshingly understated supporting mode. But it’s for the brilliance, the precision and the sheer presence of the main players’ contributions, naturally, that this disc will be purchased — and for those it will doubtless be hailed as a supreme example of its kind, both uplifting and invigorating, cutting but not grating in its rhythmic drive (check out the marvellous track 7 reel-set) and yet capable of flowing lyricism and impressive dynamic shading on slower pieces like Sergeant Early’s Dream and the air Aisling Gheal.
Presentation is accomplished too; the booklet’s notes on the tunes’ sources are excellent, detailed and most informative. One engineering decision with which I would take issue, however, is that of leaving insufficient space between the individual tracks. The vast majority follow on absolutely instantaneously, with no chance to pause for breath even — this is not standard session practice, and I can’t see the rationale for adopting this technique, even for a continuous home-listening sequence; it does mar the impact of the music-making ever so slightly, I feel, albeit a very minor point to make in the overall scheme of things. David Kidman August 2011
US NPR
Cathal Clohessy and Eamonn Costello are out with Bosca Ceoil & Fiddle. We know this one is also available from Copperplate in London, as it was they who brought it to our attention. This all-instrumental treat of 14 cuts is only for the dyed-in-the-wool, honest-to-heavens trad fan. But if that describes you, this is a great piece of business that you will love. A lot of the tunes are rare treats to be recorded and recorded perfectly. We cannot urge this album upon the real trad fan highly enough. A must-have.
Musical Traditions web site
I was sure that I’d like this CD before I’d even played it – for a start, the two gentlemen pictured on the sleeve look as if they’re really enjoying the music and each other’s company. Then there’s the fact that Eamonn Costello is playing the same Cairdín melodeon that I play myself. And, to top it all, I’ve heard a melodeon called a lot of things in my time … but ‘music box’ has never been one of them!
So – what of the record? A reviewer at alt-celtic-music wrote: ‘A gentle master-class in the art of traditional Irish music’, and I couldn’t have put it better myself. We start with a very restrained version on Margaret Barry’s splendid 5-part jig The Stray-Away Child, followed by The Minstrel’s Fancy, a hornpipe I know as The Buck in the Mountain … though we play it a little slower, in the English way – and call it The Duck in the Fountain! It’s followed by the excellent Claw’s Hornpipe – a tune we’ll definitely have to learn.
Next comes Sergeant Early’s Dream, described as a ‘slow reel’ – though it’s played here as an air, or ‘piece’. Six more conventional reels follow, including the lovely Gan Ainm. A nicely judged pair of jigs come next – it’s always surprising to find such a lively tune as The Drowning of Bruckless commemorating the loss of more than 80 fishermen’s lives. The reel Miss Langford is treated as was Sergeant Early’s Dream, but then breaks into normal tempo after a couple of iterations.
It would be a bit tedious going through each track in turn, though mention should be made of track 13, Philobus / Brian O’Kane’s (waltz and march) , though it should be noted that the ‘march’ is actually played as a barndance – and a damn fine one it makes, too!
It seems a shame to have any grumbles about such an enjoyable and interesting CD, but one thing does rather annoy me. I feel that any record should allow the listener a moment or two to digest what they’ve just listened to before setting off on the next track. The default 2 second gap is usually insufficient, in my opinion. Here we find that the gap has been cut to 1 second (or even less in a few cases), so that there’s often no noticeable break between one tune and the next. This must have been done deliberately, since defeating the default 2 second gap has to be a conscious decision, and doesn’t happen inadvertently. Damned if I understand why that decision was made. But it’s a lovely record all the same. Rod Stradling
www.liveIreland.com
For the true true trad fan, it is hard to do better than Bosca Ceoil and Fiddle from Cathal Clohessy and Eamonn Costello on fiddle and button box, respectively. Copperplate in London has it available. This is a hard to find gem. The trad fan will adore this. Really terrific playing from two young men who really understand the tradition and play it gorgeously. We play this a LOT in the office. Just Google Copperplate. Welcome to heaven. Bill Margeson
Fatea Online Magazine
The title of the is album, “Bosca Ceoil & Fiddle” becomes blindingly obvious if you know that bosca ceoil is gaelic for accordion, what with Cathal Clohessy being a master fiddler and Eamonn Costello being virtuoso on the squeezebox. Despite the duo having performed together since 2008, this is actually their debut album, it’s been a long time coming, but definitely worth the wait. Occasionally adding the bouzouki and mandolin of Rodney Lancashire, this album brings in stunning individual solo flights to complement the captivating duets. Reel, jig and waltz to great tunes.Tim Carroll
www.allcelticmusic.com
Another gentle master-class in the art of traditional Irish music.
The Irish Times
It’s not every day a debut cuts through the ether with such razor-sharp precision. This box and fiddle duo lay claim to regional styles stretching from north Connaught to west Limerick, but the most striking features of this fresh-faced collection are the idiosyncrasies of their musical personalities and the delicateness of their arrangements. The gothic grandeur of Sergeant Early’s Dream, where fiddle and box don’t so much play the tune as infiltrate its every pore, is akin to the delicate deconstruction of tunes so beloved of Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill. Costello’s box playing is impressively restrained, and his own waltz composition, Aile Dhomhain, a masterclass in minimalism. Clohessy strikes the kind of mournful tone on the Breton An Dro that haunts the subconscious long after the tune has evaporated. Pin-prick precision crossed with musical curiosity. (Four Stars!) Siobhan Long
Irish Music Magazine
Tunes are the order of the day with ‘Bosca Ceoil and Fiddle’ the new CD by fiddler, Cathal Clohessy and box player, Eamonn Costello with Rodney Lancashire on bouzouki providing gentle accompaniment.
Bringing a West Limerick and North Connaught influence the lads begin with ‘Stray away Child’ a five part jig composed by the late Margaret Barry from Cork. This track sets the tone for the rest of the CD in that it prepares the listener for purely unadorned playing with no added extras. The box and the fiddle blend perfectly together note for note and it is obvious that a lot of technical thought has gone into the tune. This carries through and is apparent in ‘Sean Ryan’s’ set and the ‘Tempest’ set which pace steadily and are again note perfect.
For some reason I can’t quite pinpoint, I prefer the solo renditions on the CD with ‘Claw’s Hornpipe’ a composition by Cathal flowing beautifully on the fiddle and Eamonn’s jig ‘Loch Pholl an Ghaine’ timed flawlessly. Watch out for a breathy waltz by the name of ‘Aille Dhomain’ and an emotive air on track ten in the form of ‘Aisling Gheal’.
The detail and historical depth on the sleeve notes are a major benefit to the tune dissection with mini biogs of the composers and descriptive anecdotes adding to the vivid imagery of the recordings. This CD is all about technical skill and intellectual arrangement with a subtle experimentation on dynamics. If your perception of a good traditional CD is an explosion of fast paced jazzed up music then this is not for you, however, if you prefer thoughtful sensitivity then this is right up your street. Eileen McCabe.
froots magazine
There’s nothing quite like a fiddle/button accordion pairing to warm the cockles and the combination of Limerick’s Cathal Clohessy and Connemara’s Eamonn Costello (with occasional accompaniment from Rodney Lancashire on bouzouki and guitar) proves more than up to the task.Costello shows sensitivity lacked by many box merchants, exhibited to great effect on the reel Sean Ryan’s, and in cahoots with Clohessy, an equal aficionado of the hidden note, produce music that both lifts the spirit and sets the toes tapping. Geoff Wallis.
Irish Music Magazine
This album by Eamonn Costello and Cathal Clohessy is leisurely music not heady in any extreme, yet it reaches the emotional core … Cathal Clohessy’s fiddling shines on the Minstrel’s Fancy, while Eamonn’s solo on Sean Ryan’s shows a player who is assured in both technique and style and is well able to coax many nuances out of the tunes. Aisling Gheal offers Cathal Clohessy a solo opportunity which he takes and triumphs, his telling of the air bordering on definitive. Rodney Lancashire’s bouzouki and mandolin […] contributes minimalist though subtle and highly ornate work on the album. John O’Regan.
Folk-World
Remarkable and routine simultaneously, this debut recording from two young bucks is a multi-layered mixture. Cathal plays West Limerick fiddle, while box-player Eamonn hails from Connemara, and the two meet musically somewhere in North Connacht. They are joined for a few tracks by Cavan man Rodney Lancashire on bouzouki and mandolin, but this CD is basically box and fiddle, separately and in combination. One of the remarkable things is that these lads take their time: The Strayaway Child opens at a nice steady pace, and The Minstrel’s Fancy follows with a slightly flat rhythm but clearly at hornpipe speed. In fact, one or two selections here are a little too slow for my liking – or too metronomic in their observance of the slow tempo. I’m thinking of Sergeant Early’s Dream and Brian O’Kane’s. No complaints about the slow version of Miss Langford, though: this piece is beautifully interpreted. There’s plenty of toe-tapping music here too, including the oddly cheerful jig The Drowning of Buckless and a great selection of reels starting with Farewell to Eyrecourt. Another remarkable aspect of this CD is the detailed notes and monochrome photos which give an air of maturity and consideration to the whole project.
Contrary to my natural inclination, I was more taken with the fiddle solos than the box-playing on this album. Whether it’s on his own Claw’s Hornpipe or the well-known air Aisling Gheal, Cathal’s fiddle holds the attention effortlessly. Not that there’s nothing good coming out of the box: Eamonn contributes an intriguing little jig Loch Pholl an Ghainne and a graceful modern waltz, both his own. The routine aspect of this music is the easy familiarity of the tunes and style, the relaxed duetting [sicjas though this was just another local session, and the total immersion in each other’s playing which is usually the preserve of much older musicians. When the fiddle and box come together here, they can meld completely into the most perfect of duets, where it’s impossible to hear where one instrument ends and the other begins. The Tempest is a case in point, and the final meaty track of Breton and Italian melodies underlines their tight timing. With this degree of understanding, Clohessy and Costello are certainly a pair to watch for the future. Alex Monaghan.
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Cillian Vallely & Kevin Crawford – On Common Ground
Cillian Vallely.
Starting at age 7, Cillian Vallely learned the whistle and pipes from his parents Brian and Eithne at the Armagh Pipers Club, a group that for over 3 decades has fostered the revival of traditional music in the north of Ireland. Since leaving college, he has played professionally and has toured all over North America and Europe in addition to Japan, Hong Kong and Australia.
Since 1999, he has been a member of the band ‘Lunasa’, with whom he has recorded 5 albums and played at many major festivals including Womad, Edmonton Folk Festival and The Hollywood Bowl. He has also performed and toured with ‘Riverdance’, Tim O Brien’s ‘The Crossing’, New York-based ‘Whirligig’, and the ‘Celtic Jazz Collective’. He has recorded on over 40 albums including ‘Callanbridge’ with his brother Niall, and various guest spots with Natalie Merchant, Alan Simon’s ‘Excalibur’ project with Fairport Convention and Moody Blues, ‘GAIA’ with the Prague Philharmonic and Karan Casey. He has recently recorded on two movie soundtracks, ‘Irish Jam’ and ‘Chatham’ and played pipes on the BBC’s ‘Flight of the Earls’ soundtrack.
Kevin Crawford
Born in Birmingham, England, Kevin Crawford’s early life was one long journey into Irish music and Co. Clare, to where he eventually moved while in his 20’s.
He was a member of Moving Cloud, the Clare-based band who recorded such critically-acclaimed albums as Moving Cloud and Foxglove, and he also recorded with Grianán, Raise The Rafters, Joe Derrane and Sean Tyrrell and appears on the 1994 recording The Sanctuary Sessions.
Kevin now tours the world with Ireland’s cutting edge traditional band, Lúnasa, called by some the ‘Bothy Band of the 21st Century,’ with six ground breaking albums to their credit; Lúnasa, Otherworld, The Merry Sisters of Fate, Redwood, The Kinnitty Sessions and Sé. A virtuoso flute player, Kevin has also recorded two solo albums, D’Flute Album and the more recent In Good Company.
Press Reviews
2010 TIR AWARDS in The Chicago Irish Newspaper
Instrumental CD of the Year: On Common Ground
There are those who would argue that Kevin Crawford of Lunasa is the best trad flute player in the business. That is a sustainable point. He and his musical partner, Cillian Vallely, uillean piper supremo, (also of Lunasa) released a gorgeous, perfect gem of a thing this year, entitled, On Common Ground. Incredible. If you love real
Irish music, and you DO—(elsewise how did you get this far in the article?)—this is a must have album. We don’t have space here for it all. There are 12 cuts on the album, covering a bunch of tunes. It is brilliant. THEY are brilliant. YOU will feel brilliant when you hear it. Go get it. Hear it. It IS Irish music. At its best.
This is a classic. Big time. Bill Margeson
2009 TOP 10 Trad Releases in CEOL Column in The Irish Echo, New York City Newspaper
#3. “On Common Ground” by Cillian Vallely and Kevin Crawford (self-issued; BallyO Records BOR 001).
Two members of Lunasa, still the best all-instrumental band in Irish trad today, venture out for a duet recording, and it’s a dazzler. Born in Birmingham but a resident of Clare since 1989, flute, low whistle, and bodhran player Kevin Crawford and Armagh-born, Woodside, N.Y., resident Cillian Vallely on uilleann pipes and low whistle perform music that’s fluid and full-blooded, with a trace of sharpness to avoid any simpering sweetness. Their initial twin low whistle playing on the jigs “The Ivory Flute
/ Straddle the Donkey / Visit to Ireland” incorporates subtle variations and flourishes to keep the musical pot simmering, and the eventual entry of Vallely’s pipes adds to the track’s piquancy. The duo maintain a tempo that’s dynamic without being too fast or too slow, allowing ample opportunity for embellishment and spontaneity in the service of melody. “On Common Ground” is a pinnacle performance from Cillian Vallely and Kevin Crawford, two uncommonly gifted Irish traditional musicians.
Earle Hitchner
Irish Music Magazine
Two of the most well-known musicians on the Irish music circuit, flute player Kevin Crawford and uilleann piper Cillian Vallely, announce the release of their exciting new album, ‘On Common Ground’. A couple of years of researching tunes in between a heavy schedule of band commitments has directly led to this recording from Lúnasa’s powerhouse melody makers.
Born in Birmingham, England, Kevin Crawford’s early life was one long journey into Irish music and Co. Clare, where he eventually moved while in his 20’s. He quickly became one of the most sought-after and respected traditional musicians in Ireland and played in various groups including Moving Cloud, Grianan and Raise the Rafters.
Starting at age 7, Cillian Vallely learned the whistle and pipes from his parents, Brian and Eithne, at the Armagh Pipers Club. A childhood of travelling and playing with his family led to a career as a full-time musician which he has pursued for the last 15 years, recording on more than 40 albums and touring worldwide with such names as Riverdance, Tim O’Brien and Mary Chapin-Carpenter.
Joining Lúnasa in 1997 and 1999 respectively, Crawford and Vallely have become key components of a group which has become one of the most acclaimed and influential bands in the recent history of Irish music. Having released seven band albums and worked on numerous solo projects, the duo decided to combine their individual talents and create something different. An album with the distinctive sound of ‘flat-pitched’ flute and pipes duets has emerged.
The combination of uilleann pipes and flute is rare in duet recordings of traditional music and the duo have utilised the unique tonal qualities of these flat-pitched ‘C’ instruments to record their music. The tunes have been sourced from various manuscripts, archives and field recordings but there are also a number of new, self-composed pieces. In addition, Kevin and Cillian play a variety of low whistles and are accompanied on guitar by two of Ireland’s most recognised and respected guitarists; Donal Clancy and Paul Meehan.
‘Tasty tunes and terrific playing make “On Common Ground” one of the recording triumphs of this still young year’ Irish Echo
‘Vallely, whose family has played a seminal role in piping and Irish music in the north of Ireland for years, shows why he is one of the most respected pipers playing today’ Irish Voice
‘This is an album that features two guys at the top of their game offering up a stunner, slowly aged to perfection after years together. We love it. Done. Dusted.’ Chicago Irish-American News
Irish Echo
‘…With Armagh-born Cillian Vallely playing uilleann pipes, Crawford tackles that reel again on flute in “On Common Ground,” an outstanding new duet debut by these Lunasa bandmates. Pipes and flute are heard without backing at the onset of “Teampall an Ghleantain / Fr. Newman’s / The Periwig,” then are joined by the guitar of fellow Lunasa colleague Paul Meehan in a medley bristling with energy and expertise, capped by that last reel’s inexhaustible appeal.
On the album the music of Vallely and Crawford is fluid and full-blooded, with a trace of sharpness to avoid any simpering sweetness. Even their initial twin low whistle playing on the jigs “The Ivory Flute / Straddle the Donkey / Visit to Ireland” incorporates subtle variations and flourishes to keep the musical pot simmering, and the eventual entry of Vallely’s pipes adds to the track’s piquancy.Both musicians maintain a tempo that’s dynamic without being too fast or too slow, allowing ample opportunity for embellishment and spontaneity in the service of melody. Vallely on pipes and Meehan on guitar start off the jigs “John Feehilly’s / Ned Coleman’s / Dominic’s Farewell to Cashel,” and then Crawford injects flute sustains that extend the regulator action of Vallely until pipes, flute, guitar, and bodhran mesh fully. The deceptively well-conceived architecture of this medley is easy on the ear.
The jigs “Helvic Head / Bill Harte’s” feature another talented guitarist, Donal Clancy, who lays down a sturdy, flexible rhythm on which Crawford’s flute and Vallely’s pipes can confidently rely. Close listening reveals some passages of symmetrical, four-beat regulator work from Vallely to boost variety as he and Crawford skillfully drive the melody along.”Days Around Lahinch / The Man From Moyasta” are slow reels written by Crawford and played by him and Vallely on low whistles, with Crawford adroitly tucking in accents and ornaments to pique interest.With Meehan backing him, Crawford takes a captivating flute solo on “The Leading Role / Little Man with the Brown Shoes / Bill Hoare’s,” all reels linked to button accordionist Billy McComiskey through his solo debut, “Makin’ the Rounds,” or the two albums made by Trian, a trio comprising McComiskey, Liz Carroll, and Daithi Sproule. Crawford has told me of his admiration for tunes written by McComiskey, especially on “Outside the Box,” the Irish Echo’s top traditional recording for 2008, and also for tunes by Carroll. The flutist nimbly fleshes out the track with his bodhran playing on the last two reels.
Vallely’s solo is a medley of the slow air “Uirchill a’ Chreagain,” which he plays without accompaniment, followed by the reels “Gorman’s” and “Ta an Saol ar Fad i nGra Liom,” where Clancy joins on guitar. His piping is assured, crisp, and altogether impressive. Also on the album are a hornpipe-fling pairing of “The Birds / Jim Ward’s,” featuring flute, pipes, low whistle, and the guitar of Clancy, and other tracks of jigs and reels strengthening the allure of the duo’s music made on flat-pitched instruments.
Tasty tunes and terrific playing make “On Common Ground” one of the recording triumphs of this still young year. It is a pinnacle performance from Cillian Vallely and Kevin Crawford, two uncommonly gifted Irish traditional musicians.’
Irish Voice
‘ Owing to the successful mating of these talented musicians, a new CD aptly named “On Common Ground” has emerged as an independent project on Bally O Records funded by both the Arts Council of Ireland and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland (Crawford lives in Clare while Vallely comes from Armagh).
Twelve tracks grace this new effort, and it is very clear that these boyos enjoy playing with one another and share a high regard for their fellow musicians who inspired them and with whom they have shared many a stage in their own extensive careers before they teamed up together when Vallely joined Lunasa a decade ago.
Carefully selected tunes with good liner notes flow fluidly throughout the album, reflecting many of the musical influences that formed them as individual artists who have much in common these days.
Crawford shines on his own in his solo track starting with a Carroll tune, ‘The Leading Role,’ followed by McComiskey’s ‘Little Man with the Brown Shoes’ and also ‘Bill Hoare’s Reel’ from McComiskey’s 1981 jewel “Making the Rounds.” Vallely, whose family has played a seminal role in piping and Irish music in the north of Ireland for years, shows why he is one of the most respected pipers playing today and in great demand for workshops. His solo spot begins with the air ‘Uirchil a Chreagain,’ which was the first one he learned from his parents Brian and Eithne Vallely at the Armagh Pipers Club before tearing into reels.
Guitar accompaniment is handled by their stellar Lunasa mate Paul Meehan, and Donal Clancy appears on five tracks with equal aplomb. Thirty-three tunes are played in lively and enjoyable fashion on the flute, pipes, low whistles in a style that won’t have you thinking it’s Lunasa lite, but rather two masters sharing an awful lot of common ground.’
Chicago Irish-American News
‘The first time we ever heard Paul Crawford play the flute was many, many years ago with the best all-instrumental group in the history of Irish music, Moving Cloud. The group’s two albums on Green Linnet still stand as the gold standard for musicians who love traditional music the world round. No question. Done. Dusted. Paul also did a lovely solo cd for Green Linnet, entitled, The Dflat Flute. Still superb, lo’ these many years later. The videotape fast forwards, and I am seeing Paul again after all these years at The Old Town School of Folk Music, where I am about to introduce his group, Lunasa. The lads are celebrating their 10 years together on the scene. There can be no band in Irish music who has, for a decade, had a fuller, more hectic, more successful worldwide schedule than this group. A few days before the concert, one of the 500 or so albums we receive annually had arrived. It is entitled, On Common Ground. And, right there on the cover are Lunasa’s piper, the wonderful Cillian Vallely, and
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Danny Meehan – The Navvy On The Shore
- The Navvy on the Shore/Cathal McConnell’s Reels
- The Japanese Hornpipe/McCormacks.
- Johnny’s So Long at the Fair/The Trip to the Cottage. Jigs
- Kitty Sean’s Barndance/Jamesy Byrne’s Downfall. Reel
- The Humours of Whiskey. Slip Jig
- Tom Ward’s Downfall/Crossing the Shannon. Reels
- Dr Gilbert/The Donegal Peter Street. Reels
- Herlihy’s Rant/Con Cassidy’s. Jigs
- The Dovecot-Lament/Docherty’s Strathspey.
- Rakish Paddy. Reel
- The Longford Tinker/Paddy Canny’s. Reels
- O’Donnell’s Air.
- Jamsey Byrne’s No 1 & 2. Reels
- Casey’s/Jimmy Meehan’s. Polkas
- Dermot Byrne’s Delight-Strathspey/Drowsy Maggie. Reel
- Napoleon’s Grand March.
- The Shaskeen. Reel
- Johnny Docherty’s-Piece/Father O’Flynn. Jig
- Sean Dún na nGall-Air/Bean a tí ar lár. Reel
- The Lowlands of Scotland. Reel
- Tarbolton/Over the Moor to Maggie. Reels
Press Reviews
Dirty Linen Reviews.01/02
Danny Meehan comes form southern Donegal, and his primary influences are from his own family and local players, though he also has ties to the great John Doherty and the tradition of travelling musicians he represents.
Meehan moved to London in the 60’s and has been part of the lively Irish musical community there ever since.
He was a member of a loosely knit band called, Le Cheile, who put out two exciting records in the mid 70s, but Navvy on the Shore is, incredibly, his first solo effort. Meehan is a strong player with the forceful attack typical of Donegal players.
He still plays many of the tunes learned as a youngster, but he has also added melodies from all over Ireland, tipping his hat now to Coleman, now to his old comrade Raymond Roland. His version of “Humours of Whisky”, should not be missed.
In fact, all three of these releases are graced with superb liner notes, and all should be eagerly sought by lovers of Irish Music. Duck Baker.
Musical Traditions Web Magazine
‘As you were close to the Favourite scene in the ’70s and ’80s’ stated our editor as the criterion for offering this review to me – and I admit that I feel more confident reminiscing about the pubs of North-East London than analysing the remarkable and eccentric fiddle style of Danny Meehan. At least it gives me a place to start.
Two good reasons, then, for buying this one straightaway: to enjoy this excellent and unique music and encourage the next release from Bow Hand.
Roger Digby – 30.10.00
With this recording we have a wonderful opportunity to listen to yet another of the under-recorded masters of Donegal fiddle music.
Danny Meehan was born in 1940 and grew up in Mount Charles, just west of Donegal Town. There, he was exposed to the music of a relatively unrecorded, apparently under appreciated circle of musicians, mainly fiddlers.
The influence of the Dochertys and their relatives was strongly felt, as it was in other parts of southwest and central Donegal. The liner notes, by Reg Hall, nicely elaborate on these influences.
Other influences on Danny’s playing, however, seem to my ears equally strong. As a young man Danny moved to London, where he fell in with the now famous London Irish music scene that included the likes of Bobby Casey, Michael Gorman, Margaret Barry, Reg Hall, and many other musicians, many of them brilliant.
The liner notes also state that Danny was also very much taken with Coleman. The result in Danny’s playing is the blend of a staccato, attacking Donegal style with a more understated southern style perhaps somewhere intermediate between the styles of Gorman, Casey, and Jimmy Power.
Danny’s style is nonetheless unique–a very lively, bouncy, attacking style, which is highly ornamented, featuring rolls, cuts, triplets, and quite a bit of unison double stops.
Having listened to the CD twice, I already have some favourite tracks. The first, “The Navvy on the Shore/Cathal McConnell’s” is rightly highlighted, since the playing swings along confidently, is cleaner than on some other tracks, the fiddle is higher in the mix, and the tunes too are nice and well-performed.
“Humours of Whiskey,” a Donegal slip jig, is played unaccompanied, very briskly, with great spirit, in two octaves, and in a setting somewhat similar to (but also different from) that played by Francie and Mickey Byrne and recorded by Altan. Danny does a fine job on some Donegal showpieces, including “The Japanese Hornpipe” and a couple of strathspeys. I was particularly taken with his playing of “Rakish Paddy,” not the Donegal version, but a nonetheless wonderful, elaborate, four-part version. We are also treated to a duet of Mick O’Connell, an All-Ireland accordion champion who apparently learned a great deal from Danny, backed by Reg Hall. Very nice playing on that track–Mick definitely has the touch. There are 21 tracks in all, and definitely you’re getting your money’s worth in terms of sheer amount of music, especially considering that the CD is reasonably priced.
From the point of view of the Donegal fiddle aficionado, the CD is valuable not only for the above-mentioned reasons, but also because there are a few tunes recorded here that are not recorded on any other commercially available recordings of Donegal music–indeed, there are a few Donegal-sourced tunes I’d never heard before. One is based on a song Danny’s grandmother used to sing, called “Johnny’s So Long at the Fair.” Another is a polka, sourced from his father, called “Jimmy Meehan’s.” There’s a very nice strathspey Danny calls “Dermot Byrne’s Delight,” which, the liner notes say, “comes from a much younger fiddle player … who is now playing with Altan.” Finally, there’s a piece, either a song tune or a march, called just “Johnny Docherty’s.” Many of the other Donegal-sourced tunes–about half of the several dozen tunes–are in settings close to those of players such as James Byrne and Con Cassidy, while others are interestingly different. Unfortunately, Danny did not record “Danny Meehan’s,” the reel so masterfully played by Tommy Peoples on The High Part of the Road as one of “McCahill’s Reels.”
I’d recommend this to any fan of Donegal fiddling and anyone interested in the London Irish trad scene. The playing is very solid, listenable, and traditional. Larry Sanger
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