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  Charlie Lennon – Turning the Tune

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  Charlie Lennon – Turning the Tune

  Turning the Tune is a new double-CD of fiddle music from Charlie Lennon which includes one CD of his own compositions, released on the CIC label.

  “One CD looks back, the other looks forward.” That is how Charlie Lennon summed up his new double-CD Turning the Tune.

  Charlie is a veteran of traditional Irish music and a member of the well-known Lennon family from Kiltyclogher, Co. Leitrim, which includes his older brother Ben, also a master fiddler. Charlie has seen many changes within the tradition over the years and fears that it may be in danger of becoming too diluted. “We are moving through a period of constant innovation and unless we keep a sharp eye on where we’ve come from, we’re likely to stray off course,” he says. The challenge, he feels, is to build on the tradition, and that is the underlying principle of Turning the Tune. The first CD looks back to the roots of the tradition and past masters and features trusted old tunes with the notes in the booklet referring to many sources including McKenna, Morrison, Coleman and Killoran. Charlie Lennon presents many of these tunes in a new way while staying within the tradition, demonstrating the possibilities which the tradition offers. The second CD looks forward, and contains all new music composed by Charlie. He says of the compositions: “I find it helpful in writing to recall good memories of people and places and seek to capture these in music. While the genre is primarily Irish traditional, I have moved into other genres at times in order to best paint the picture.” The booklet details the inspiration for each piece, adding a particularly personal touch to the album.

  Other musicians featuring on the album include: Brian McGrath, Frank Kilkelly, Éilís Lennon, Brian Lennon, Johnny and Johnny Óg Connolly, Steve Simmons and Emmet Gill. Turning the Tune contains thirty tracks in total.

  Press Reviews

  The Irish Times 2.11.07

  Leitrim fiddler and prolific composer Charlie Lennon lends some finely wrought tunes to the tradition, and this double CD is a formidable addition to his arsenal.

  With one CD of established tunes accompanied by another brimful of newly minted compatriots, Lennon bestows another gabháil of music to listeners and players hungry to cross new borders.

  Against an occasionally overly robust backdrop of piano, banjo, viola and box, Lennon’s throaty fiddle traces an earthy route around old standards such as James Morrison’s Peach Blossom, as well as recently birthed muzettes (Waltz Joe-Anne), strathspeys and a pair of sublime commemorative pieces: an air/reel in memory of Lennon’s talented sound engineer, Éamonn Goggin, and a reel dedicated to his nephew, John Lennon.

  Delicately perceptive playing from a musician who marries the cerebral and the emotional without ever sacrificing one to the other. Siobhan Long

  The Folk Diary

  Under the booklet section entitled “A Word of Advice” Charlie counsels ‘Don’t just learn the notes for these are only a portion of the tune.

  Think about the different ways of phrasing it.’ He then demonstrates the value of this over 30 tracks and two albums. Thus on the first album,

  his assured fiddling finds new and exciting ways of addressing standards from the Irish repertoire and tunes such as ‘The Liverpool Hornpipe’ and

  ‘The Wind that Shakes the Barley’ have new life breathed into them and his rendition of ‘The Blackbird’ makes the hair stand on its end.

  Charlie doesn’t mention the value of listening to the classic recordings of Irish music, but from his whole approach we can hear his appreciation of these, particularly of the early Irish American 78s.

  On the second album, Charlie plays tunes that he has written himself, but apart from the fact that these obviously sound less familiar than those on

  the first album, nothing else in the approach is changed. These are tunes that totally fit alongside the tradition.

  These albums are as exhilarating as any I have heard in a long time. Vic Smith

  (This album also got my vote in the fRoots Critics/BBC Radio 3 “Album of the Year” poll)

  Irish Music Magazine OCT 07

  To get one CD of fiddler, Charlie Lennon’s playing is cause enough for celebration, but to get two, one of them devoted entirely to his own compositions, is quite something indeed. On the album he also plays viola, piano, harpsichord, bass and keyboards, and he is joined here and there by Brian McGrath (piano & banjo), Frank Kilkelly (guitar), Johnny O’Connolly (accordion), Johnny Connolly (melodeon), Steve Simmons (guitar), Emmet Gill (uilleann pipes), and family members, Eilis Lennon (fiddle), and Brian Lennon (flute).

  The arrangements are nicely varied, but always with justice done to the fiddle player himself, whose sound doesn’t lose out to over-dominant accompaniment. For that we must thank Charlie himself who, along with David Lennon, produced the album, and to Ed Kenehan and the late Eamonn Goggin who were the sound engineers. The CD is dedicated to Eamonn, who was a close friend of Charlie’s.

  In Clo lar-Chonnachta’s (CIC) website notes we are told, “One CD looks back, the other looks forward,” which is how Charlie summed up his new double-CD Turning the Tune. The first CD looks back to the roots of the tradition and past masters and features trusted old tunes with the notes in the booklet referring to many sources including McKenna, Morrison, Coleman and Killoran. Charlie presents many of these tunes in a new way while staying within the tradition, demonstrating the possibilities that the tradition offers. The second CD looks forward, and contains all new music composed by Charlie. He says of the compositions: “I find it helpful in writing to recall good memories of people and places and seek to capture these in music. While the genre is primarily Irish traditional, I have moved into other genres at times in order to best paint the picture.” The CD booklet details the inspiration for each piece, adding a particularly personal touch to the album.

  In his written introduction to the CD, Charlie explains the choice of the album’s title. “Can you turn this one?” Francis John McGovern used to spend time at Charlie’s parents’ house in Co. Leitrim in long winter evenings. Charlie recalls that his father and Francis John would chat by the fire, and during a pause in the conversation, the latter would draw a Clarke’s whistle from his breast pocket and play part of a seldom-heard tune. “That came to me while I was taking the rough off a headstone in the workshop today but I can’t turn it,” he would say. There’d be another long pause while all looked into the fire for inspiration. “Sometimes I would get an inkling of the high part,” Charlie writes, “reach for the fiddle and start to stagger out a phrase or two.” Francis John would exclaim, “That’s it! I have it now.” Then the old man and the boy would take time in fleshing out the tune together. “This was Francis John McGovern’s way of giving encouragement and recognition to any aspiring young musician that he came in contact with,” says Charlie.

  There is a feast of good music and tunes on these two CDs of Charlie’s: reels, jigs, hornpipes, a couple of barn dances, a waltz, an air/reel (dedicated to Eamonn and his parents), and even a strathspey which Charlie composed in memory of his friend, Dick Lett, who promoted Irish and Scottish music workshops when Charlie lived in the north of England. I recommend this album highly. Aidan O’Hara

  www.liveireland.com

  Turning the Tune” is a new double album out from the great musician, Charlie Lennon. In this outing, we have Charlie giving a tour de force on fiddle. This is a beautiful textbook of music at its best, played with total understanding and grace. This is for real trad lovers only. It is required for all aspiring Irish fiddlers, not only for the technique, but the vast array of tunes on offer. In a double album we would have wanted more airs, but you can’t have everything. This is a corker. Rating: Recommended. Bill Margeson

  SKU: 662 Categories: Accordion, Fiddle, Flute, Guitar, Melodeon, Piano

  £16.99
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  The London Lasses & Pete Quinn

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  The London Lasses & Pete Quinn

  Press Reviews

  ‘One of the most remarkable releases of 2000,’ The Rough Guide to Irish Music

  ‘There is a genuine sense of personality and a magnetic attraction to the music that enables them to produce performances laced with skill, sincerity and a lack of pretension,’ John O’Regan, fRoots

  ‘a sheer delight, a beauty of a collection

  SKU: 525 Categories: Accordion, Fiddle, Flute, Groups, Piano, Vocals Female

  £14.99
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  Kevin Crawford – Carrying the Tune

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  Kevin Crawford – Carrying the Tune

  Lunasa flute player releases new solo album

  Carrying The Tune is the latest solo album by Kevin Crawford. A member of the internationally acclaimed traditional Irish music group Lunasa, the ace flautist and whistle player has taken time out from his busy touring schedule with the band to record this new disc in West Clare. The album also features John Doyle on guitar and bouzouki, bodhran player Brian Morrissey plus Mick Conneely on bouzouki. Recorded by Martin O’Malley at Malbay Studios, Carrying The Tune contains fourteen tracks and is a joyful romp through an eclectic yet seamless collection of tunes that are sourced from both the deep well of tradition and from more recent compositions by the likes of Paddy O’Brien, Donal Lunny, Maurice Lennon and Crawford himself.

  Born in Birmingham, England to parents from Miltown Malbay, Co Clare, Kevin Crawford’s early life was sound-tracked by the resonance of the lively traditional music scene in the midlands city. Moving to Co. Clare in 1989, he soon became a pivotal member of the effervescent session trail in the Banner county before enhancing his burgeoning reputation in the group Grianan and the trio Raise the Rafters. He then propelled himself to international recognition with Moving Cloud, with whom he recorded Moving Cloud in 1995 and Foxglove in 1998. Kevin joined Lunasa in January 1997 for a tour of Australia and has been ever-present in the group since. To date, the instrumental quintet have eight albums to their credit while Kevin has released two solo records, V Flute Album (1994) and In Good Company (2001). He joined fellow band member, piper Cillian Vallelly for a critically acclaimed duet album, On Common Ground, in 2009. The innovative flute player has appeared as a guest on several albums, including singer Sean Tyrrell’s Cry of a Dreamer (1994) accordionist Joe Derrane’s The Tie That Binds (1998). and American singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant’s 2010 release, Leave Your Sleep.

  A year earlier along with his four fellow members of Lunasa, he performed on The Leitrim Equation. One of Kevin’s latest side-projects is the formation of a new super-trio, The Teetotallers alongside John Doyle and fiddler Martin Hayes. They have an Irish nationwide tour mid January 2012.

  The music on Carrying The Tune is loving embraced and made anew through the mastery of Crawford’s technical prowess in conjunction with an informed passion for tradition. The overall result is an exuberant celebration of Irish music in its most innovative form. With sympathetic and inventive accompaniment by Doyle throughout and occasional contributions by Conneely and Morrissey, Crawford’s flute and whistle playing creates inspiring music that’s full of surprises sophisticated and completely accessible all at once.

  Also available from Copperplate BOR 001 Kevin Crawford & Cillian Vallely: On Common Ground

  Press Reviews

  TRADCONNECT

  The virtuoso flute and whistle player Kevin Crawford has gifted us once again with a superb exposition of the finest in flute and tin whistle playing with his latest solo album ‘Carrying the Tune’. His last solo album was entitled ‘D’ flute album (1994) so perhaps it is no coincidence that this latest album now features Eb, C and Bb flutes.

  The album comprises 14 tracks, each containing lesser known tunes (the Hula Hoop reel anyone?) that now demand to be added to the common repertoire. Reels, jigs, airs, horos (yes I said horos) and self-compositions make up the tracks. For the most part the music is energetic, rhythmic and full of pace. However with the tempo turned down we also get to be carried away with sensitive and haunting sounds such as in his whistle rendition of ‘ The Dear Irish Boy ‘.

  Crawford’s Grinter flutes purr like a cat, giving us a master class in tightly controlled phrasing, ornamentation and surgically delivered crans. Although a predominantly flute album, it is the measure of the man that his whistle tracks are on equal basis in terms of musicality and technical genius.

  Recording standards are also being pushed to new levels. On Slippery Slope a combination of double and treble tracking is used. On the first tune in the set he has double tracked a counter melody line on the flute which drops out for the second tune leaving room for the bodhrán to shine. The third tune kicks in with three flute parts, one main melody flute and two harmony flute tracks basically playing thirds and fifths whilst sticking to the exact same phrasing as the melody line. Ingenious stuff and worth the cover price of the album alone.

  Kevin is accompanied for the most part by John Doyle ( guitar/bouzouki ) whose steady and faithful rhythmic playing is a joy in itself. The accompaniment on Double Barrelled deserves repeated listens for its syncopated rhythms, again setting new standards.

  Accompaniment is also provided by Brian Morrissey (bodhrán) and Mick Conneely (Bouzouki). Crawford’s latest creation joins the canon of great Irish traditional flute albums and comes highly recommended.

  The Living Tradition

  If you expect this solo album to resemble edited highlights of Kevin’s Lunasa career, you’re about half right. Fluter extraordinaire though he is, and a defining element of the best band in Irish music for a long time, Kevin Crawford has taken a step back from that intense modern trad vibe. A gentler mood prevails through most of Carrying The Tune, a return to simple arrangements of time-polished melodies. Kevin carries the tune alone: strings and drums are provided by Doyle, Morrissey and Conneely, but the front line is just flutes and whistles. Nothing wrong with that, certainly, and there’s few people better able to fill an album – plus there are none of Kevin’s terrible jokes and stories here. Instead, every minute is packed with the finest of Irish music.

  Mostly Irish, anyway. In amongst the compositions of Paddy Taylor, Paddy O’Brien, Pat McNulty, Donal Lunny and Maurice Lennon are two tip-top Scottish waltzes from

  Cunningham and Campbell, together with a Bulgarian horo picked up in Brittany. Kevin’s own fine compositions feature strongly too, of course – but only five of them, as he makes room for many traditional favourites.

  He has a lovely light touch on John McKenna’s, and a hefty punch for Tom Dowd’s. The slow air The Dear Irish Boy is deeply moving on Bb whistle, and the twin whistles on Flatwater Fran are a clear echo of that great Lunasa sound. Kevin pairs whistle and flute, flute and flute, and mixes the keys from B to F. Its all first rate stuff, with several outstanding moments: Michael Hynes’ jig The Smithstown Jaunt, Willie Clancy’s slide, the traditional Ivy Leaf.

  Crawford leaves the best to last, I think, as the three final tracks include a pair of fabulous slow reels, two perfectly crafted Crawford pieces, and the happy joining of a classic Irish air with a grand old reel. No fanfares, no fireworks, just flawless flute. Enjoy. Alex Monaghan

  Hearth Music Web Site

  This album has exactly what you’d expect from Kevin Crawford: rare and carefully sourced tunes, impeccable playing on the Irish wooden flute and tin whistles, tasteful accompaniment, and a modern edge to an old sound. Crawford’s best known as the Irish fluter in all-star ensemble Lunasa, and though a few tracks here have the kind of angular modern arrangements that made Lunasa one of the best and most in-demand Irish trad bands on the planet, most tracks are subtle, tasteful performances of purely traditional music. Carrying the Tune is an all-flute/whistle album, which can get a bit tiring, but Crawford’s one of the few who can pull off an album like this and make every track sound refreshing and different. It helps too that he’s got John Doyle on guitar. Doyle’s got quite the Midas touch in Irish trad today; everything he touches comes out golden. Together Crawford and Doyle are a formidable duo, and if you’re a big fat Irish trad nerd like me, I know you’re waiting very impatiently for the album from the new super-group The Teetotallers, which features Crawford and Doyle together with Irish fiddle genius Martin Hayes. But until that drops (and until you start your own blog to get a promo copy), we’ll have to content ourselves with this album. Actually, rumor has it that this album was intended to be a Teetotallers album, but schedule conflicts kept Hayes from joining Doyle and Crawford. Anyways, we’ll take what we can get, and this is certainly more than we expected! The liner notes here track the source of each tune, and the tunes range the gamut of Irish tune families (including two nice waltzes!), so there’s a ton of great material here for the budding Irish musician. And throughout there’s such a genuine love for the music that it’s hard not to fall in love too. In short, this is the kind of masterful album one would expect from Kevin Crawford. –Devon Leger

  www.folkworks.org

  In 1989, a young man from Birmingham, England moved to Ireland in order to concentrate more fully on his passion for Irish traditional music and most specifically, on the wooden flute. Instilled with a love and appreciation of Irish music and culture from his Irish-born parents, he quickly settled into the local session scene and a few short years later released his first solo CD. That young man was Kevin Crawford and the CD entitled simply, ‘D’ Flute Album, quickly became a classic of the Irish trad genre and required listening for Irish flute players worldwide. Crawford went on to join the band Moving Cloud, with whom he toured and released two albums. In 1997, he was asked to join the band Lunasa, replacing departing flute player Michael McGoldrick. Crawford’s addition to the then up and coming supergroup marked a turning point in the band’s sound and he has remained a driving force in the group’s arrangements over 7 albums as well as their frontman in concert. In 2001, he released In Good Company, an album of duets with favorite fiddle player friends, and in 2009 he collaborated with fellow Lunasa bandmate Cillian Vallely for On Common Ground, a duo album featuring Crawford on flute and Vallely on uilleann pipes. During this time, he continued to refine and expand his playing and the many years spent on the road and in the studio are highly apparent on his most recent offering, released in February of 2012. Carrying the Tune marks Crawford’s first return to the true solo album format since 1994s ‘D’ Flute Album and the wait, while long, has been more than worthwhile. Teaming up with Irish guitar phenomenon John Doyle, Kevin Crawford proves once again why he is one of the top Irish flute players in the world, and why he continues to be such an influence on the current generation of young Irish musicians.

  Originally intended to be a Teetotaler’s album (a trio comprised of Crawford, Doyle and fiddler Martin Hayes) the project was quickly revised into a solo album when schedules conflicted. Mostly recorded over the short span of a few days, Crawford and Doyle recorded their tracks together live and then picked out what they felt to be the best performances of each track for the album. Later some additional bouzouki, guizouki and mandola were added by Doyle, along with some flute and whistle overdubbing from Crawford and some additional rhythm work from Mick Conneely on bouzouki and Brian Morrissey on bodhran. For the most part the overdubs are spare and this combined with the short recording period and rich, warm production value gives the album a lovely intimacy that is often lacking in the great wealth of trad albums now being offered.

  The opening set of reels, titled McHugh’s/Michael Murphy’s/The Humors of Tullycrine, immediately dispels any uncertainties about what kind of an album this is. Crawford and Doyle are in top form as they effortlessly plow through a set of reels featuring Crawford on the Eb flute, soaring above Doyle’s driving, syncopated guitar. Indeed, perhaps in a nod to his original ‘D’ Flute Album, there is not a bit of ‘D’ pitched flute to be found on this recording, replaced by C and Eb flutes and D, C and Bb whistles. These differences in pitch from the usual concert D flute allow Crawford and Doyle to play with some interesting textures and tunings for the accompaniment instruments which further adds a very different vibe to the proceedings.

  2 Days, the second track, consists of two slip jigs written by Kevin and originally pitched as a set to Lunasa. Vetoed by the band, the version here begins with some gorgeous textures set by Doyle on bouzouki and guitar with Crawford playing whistle and later layering in flute on the second tune. Lucky, Lucky Day, the second slip jig in the set, is a stunning tune that I predict will be making the Irish session rounds in the very near future and the tight, tasteful playing and chordal progressions make this track worth the price of the album alone.

  Autumn’s Apples/Cormac O’Lunny’s/Paddy Sean Nancy’s is a light, straight ahead set of reels showcasing the two musicians’ obvious delight in playing together as the flute and guitar call and answer one another through one tune variations after the other. How many of these little bits of the musical “conversation” were planned out and how many were happy accidents in the studio we will probably never know but it is a wonderful track that nicely showcases two master musicians at the height of their craft.

  Flatwater Fran/Mrs. Jean Cambell BSC is a set of waltzes, performed by Crawford on several overdubbed low F whistles and a low Bb harmony flute. For fans of Lunasa, this is probably the track that is closest in sound to the band’s now famous “low whistle trio” arrangements. The first tune is a composition of Scottish accordion maestro Phil Cunningham. The second comes from the playing of Scottish piper Rory Campbell and was originally recorded by the band Deaf Shepherd. I had not heard the tune in years and was pleasantly surprised as it is one of my favorite waltzes, and both tunes are given a wonderful life and quality here by Crawford and Co.

  On an album that features primarily flute and guitar, even well played music can quickly become stale if the same formula is repeated over and over and Crawford wisely finds ways to avoid this problem without ever losing the essential momentum of the recording as a whole. I have long said that Kevin is one of the Irish music’s premiere air players and on The Dear Irish Boy he takes up one of the big standard pipe airs on the Bb whistle, infusing the tune with his usual sense of melodic taste and emotional clarity. The result is a truly haunting performance, supported by sparse but perfect guitar accompaniment from John Doyle. The two then continue on with a set of darkly rhythmic jigs, The Hole in the Boat/Sally Sloan’s.

  The Slippery Slope may take my vote for favorite track on the album. Finely textured guitar opens this set of slip jigs with Crawford leaping forward on both melody and harmony flutes. I have always appreciated musicians who, while talented, restrain themselves from the absolute craziness you know they could ascend to if they wished, and instead choose to implement that prowess for just the right moments. Crawford exercises that tasteful restraint here though you hear his energy and enthusiasm bursting at the edges of his music until the track hits the final tune (a traditional Bulgarian ‘Horo’). He then unleashes several harmony flutes and, along with Doyle’s lush chordal arrangements, builds the track in intensity until the satisfying climax.

  Repeal of the Union is a set of reels starting with the eponymous old piping tune before switching into one of the nicest and most interesting versions of the Ivy Leaf I have ever heard. This particular reel is oft played by many pipers and flute players and Kevin presents an interpretation that combines elements of many different versions of the tune while adding in various aspects of his own inimitable style.

  Della the Diamond is a set of three tunes written by Crawford, each for a member of his family (mother-in-law, sister-in-law and wife, Tracy, respectively) and it provides a wonderful example of his tune writing abilities. This is one of several tracks that feature bouzouki player Mick Conneely. Conneely plays a Greek bouzouki with 6 strings and his style is very reminiscent of Alec Finn’s classic approach to the instrument. You would think that his rolling, old school playing on the bouzouki would clash with Doyle’s very modern, syncopated style on the guitar but in fact the two very different accompanists mesh perfectly on this track, providing a sure and measured textural net underneath Crawford’s lilting whistle playing.

  The Hula Hoop opens with a jig written for a neighbor and snooker rival of Kevin’s and it is another example of his gifts for hiding subtle musical ‘winks’ in his playing. The tune takes some unexpected variational paths, replacing legato phrasing with a staccato phrase here and there and is a testament to the sheer joy and love of playing that is inherent in this album. The set then shifts gear into a reel and churns along to the solid, neatly locked rhythms of Doyle on guitar and Brian Morrissey on bodhran.

  The album ends appropriately with the air Ag Taisteal na Blárnan (Travelling Through Blarney) on the low C flute, once again displaying the ease and understanding with which Crawford presents slower melodies. The air is then followed up by one last reel in the form of the session favorite, Come West Along the Road.

  Kevin Crawford has said that this album was meant to be primarily about musicality rather than showy technique, and this choice becomes more and more evident upon both first and repeated listenings. The technique and pyrotechnics are there, but they never get in the way of the melody and there is a excitement and playfulness to his music that grabs the listener from the first note. All in all, this album succeeds brilliantly because it takes no shortcuts in how it presents the material. Talented and inventive musicians with a deep respect for their craft and tradition coupled with a simple approach to the arranging and a stellar production make this CD a must have for fans of the genre and for Irish flute players especially. Zac Leger

  Folkworld 47

  Kevin Crawford of Lúnasa fame is taking a break from the band’s hectic touring schedule. Together with the help of John Doyle on guitar and bouzouki and occasionally Mick Conneely on bouzouki and Brian Morrissey on the bodhran, Kevin recorded 14 tracks that weren’t meant to become part of Lúnasa’s repertoire, though I see no reason why not. It’s a party, it’s fresh and innovative as we knew it from Lunasa – though more stripped down here, of course. I love the nice slip jig set of Maurice Lennon’s “La Ollamh” and Donal Lunny’s “Lucky Lucky Day”. There’s a pair of lovely waltzes, Phil Cunningham’s “Flatwater Fran” and Rory Campbell’s “Mrs Jean Campbell (BSC),” and before finishing off Kevin throws in a couple of his own original jigs. The highlight though is in the middle of the album, the song air “Dear Irish Boy” followed by two jigs with a total lenght of seven minutes. For sure, Kevin Crawford can carry a tune. Great traditional Irish music, not only for flute afficionados!

  SKU: 840 Categories: Flute, Guitar, Tin Whistle

  £14.99
• 

  Providence – A Fig for a Kiss

  £14.99 Add to cart

  Providence – A Fig for a Kiss

  1. The Road to Lisdoonvarna / Carthy’s Reel / The Mermaid of Mullaghmore. (4.16)
  2. Smuggling the Tin. (3.20)
  3. The Lurgadaun / Dancing Eyes / Down the Back Lane. (3.44)
  4. The Curlew Hills / Father Dollard’s. (4.04)
  5. Will Ye Go to Flanders. (4.02)
  6. The Arragh Mountains / The Rakes of Westmeath / A Fig for a Kiss. (3.55)
  7. The Providence / Roscommon Reels/ Fred Finn’s. (4.24)
  8. Muiris O Coinnleain. (3.10)
  9. McDonagh’s Air. (4.08)
  10. The Jolly Young Ploughboy. (3.37)
  11. In Memory of Coleman / Farewell to London / The Sunny Banks. (3.20)
  12. Se Fath Mo Bhurtha. (3.42)
  13. Music in the Glen / Sean sa Cheo. (4.14)

  Providence

  Providence have just completed a very successful year of gigging which saw them release their second album A Fig for a Kiss, RoRi CD 002, on their own label Rolling River Productions. Their eponymous debut album received great acclaim both in Ireland and abroad. The band’s first tour outside Ireland brought them to the Arctic Circle for St. Patrick’s Day. The band also appeared at some major European festivals during the summer including Dranouter Festival in Belgium and Waidhofen Festival in Austria, the Finnish Irish Folk Festival Tour as well as making numerous appearances around Ireland, Éigse Mrs Crotty, Mary of Dungloe Festival and the world famous Queens Festival in Belfast to mention but a few. Providence were also special guests on the prestigious Iain Anderson Show on BBC Radio Scotland prior to an appearance at the Callander Festival. Since the launch of their second album the band have featured live on the legendary John Creedon Show, RTÉ Radio 1 and on RTÉ TV’s Open House. They also featured on the award-winning series on TG4 Geantraí. Apart from touring Ireland in February the band will also be touring Italy, Germany, UK, Norway and the USA over the coming months.

  Providence are:

   

  Joan McDermott from County Wexford is the group’s singer. Joan formerly sang with the famed a cappella group The Fallen Angels which included Frances Black and Máire Bhreathnach among its ranks over the years. Joan toured extensively with the Fallen Angels and appeared at many major festivals including Cambridge Folk Festival, Leysin Rock Festival in Switzerland, and Fairport Convention’s Reunion Festival. She has also performed with Kieran Halpin, Kieran Goss, Steve Cooney, Manus Lunny, Mark Kelly, and Macalla among others.

  Mícheál Ó Raghallaigh hails from a musical family in County Meath. He has played concertina and accordion from an early age. Mícheál has taught workshops and has toured all over Europe and the USA. He is also a member of the three-time All-Ireland winning Táin Céilí Band.

  John Wynne plays flute and whistle. From Roscommon, he was immersed in the North Connacht flute tradition, playing with such eminent players as Patsy Hanly, Tommy Guihan, and Peter Horan to mention a few. John has won numerous All-Ireland titled for whistle and flute. He plays and teaches at various workshops and festivals around the country.

  Clodagh Boylan also comes from a musical family from Glenullin, Co. Derry. She plays with members of her family in the Gleann an Iolair Céilí Band. She has toured England, USA and Australia extensively with Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann and has also toured Italy with All Set.

  Paul Doyle is the band’s bouzouki/guitar player. Formerly he was a member of Arcady which included Frances Black, Sharon Shannon and Cathal Hayden. Paul also played with Martin Hayes, the Máire Bhreathnach Band, and the Seán Keane Band with whom he toured such countries as Poland, Germany, Finland, Sweden. Over the years Paul has also recorded with many of Ireland’s most respected musicians among them Matt Molloy, Paul O’Shaughnessy, Paul McGrattan, Gay McKeon, and Arty McGlynn.

  Press Reviews

  Pay The Reckoning August 2002

  Pay The Reckoning has already waxed lyrical over the solo CD “The Nervous Man”, by Providence’s concertinist and accordionist Micheal O’Raghallaigh. We are no less impressed by this, the second CD by one of Ireland’s most exciting traditional groups, which in addition to O’Raghallaigh comprises Clodagh Boylan (fiddle), John Wynne (flute, low whistles), Joan McDermott (vocals) and Paul Doyle (guitar, bouzouki, backing vocals, bodhran).

  The instrumentation invites comparisons to Altan, and indeed if Providence have musical peers, then the Donegal-based outfit are a convenient reference point. (Or at least the early incarnation of the band, when Frankie Kennedy was still with us and the band were wedded to exploring the rich musical traditions of North-West Ulster.) However, although they may be as exciting, as vibrant and as accessible (without ever diluting the music) as the early Altan, Providence plough their own furrow, and a deep and productive furrow at that.

  The album’s opening is perfectly judged to raise the hairs on the back of the tradophile’s neck. The opening reel in the set of three (The Road To Lisdoonvarna/Carty’s Reel/The Maid Of Mullaghmore) kicks off with Boylan underpinning O’Raghallaigh’s edgy concertina with an eerie, bittersweet drone. The tension between the two instruments builds to a climax at the end of the first go-round and then, as we knew – or hoped – resolves at the repeat as Boylan picks up the melody with O’Raghallaigh. Wynne takes up the rein for the second tune and then all democracy breaks loose as the band give the final reel (long associated with John Doherty) a lash.

  The precise yet characterful playing and intelligent, uncluttered arrangements witnessed in this first set set a standard for the album which Providence never after fail to meet. On reel sets such as “The Providence Reel/Roscommon Reel/Fred Finn’s”, “In Memory of Coleman/Farewell To London/The Sunny Banks” and “Music In The Glen/Sean Sa Cheo”, the same spine-tingling mixture of control and abandon is in evidence. McDermott’s voice is a revelation. Clear as a bell, unforced and untainted by any form of “artfulness”, she is utterly compelling in her renditions of “Muiris O Coinnleain” and “Se Fath Mo Bhuartha”. However her best work is reserved for the English language songs “Smuggling The Tin” and “The Jolly Young Ploughboy”. The former is a great comic song from the Second World War when there was a trade in smuggled tin between Northern Ireland and the Free State and concerns the misadventures of a group of hapless reprobates whose efforts at lawlessness come to nothing. The second, originally from England, McDermott picked up from the singing of the saintly Frank Harte and delivers with great commitment. (Incidentally, are we alone in detecting in the song’s air the embryo of the tune of that American folk classic “Jesse James”?)

  Two tune sets in particular are worthy of special mention. The jig set “The Lurgadaun/Dancing Eyes/Down The Back Lane” is instantly gripping and as fine an example of ensemble musicianship as you’re likely to hear. And as for the hornpipe set “The Curlew Hills/Father Dollard’s”, we’re at a loss to describe the inventiveness and sophistication of the band’s mastery of the crooked rhythm. The second tune in this set in particular must surely rank as one of the most definitive of Irish hornpipes.

  “A Fig For A Kiss” is the sort of CD which, given a wide audience, will establish Providence at the very forefront of the trad mob! So, do your bit for a great band; via http://go.to/copperplate and order a copy for yourself (and your friends – converted and non-believers alike!). For more information about the band itself, visit http://www.providence-trad.com

  The Living Tradition. 01/02

  I first came across Providence after hearing John Wynne’s solo flute album. Wanting to hear more, I bought the groups first album and liked it. This is their second, which is usually the trickiest for anybody. Not to worry, this is up to the standard of the previous outing. The only line up change is Clodagh Boylan on fiddle instead of Meabh O’Hare The instrumental balance is slightly different with a wee bit more prominence to Micheal O’Raghallaigh’s concertina this time out, but that’s no harm. They’re not out to make a particular sound, but to show different blends of instruments

  Seven dance tracks, one slow air and five songs with nothing you wouldn’t be happy to listen to for a long time. The Road to Lisdoonvarna is mostly played as a jig, odd times as a reel, but Providence play a fling version that works well. The other tunes are a mix of old friends and less widely known tunes.

  They’ve even adapted a tune learded from the McDonagh brothers of Ballinafad as a waltz and made a slow air of it. It probably was originally an air, as many of the older players used to play airs in 3:4 time, so they’ve restored it to its rightful place.

  I get the feeling that Joan McDermott is more at home with the two songs in Irish than the three in English. Maybe they’re more suited to her singing style, but they do flow more easily. None of the songs are hackneyed though and include some gems. She’s done her homework in the National Archives, and found a fine song in ‘Muiris O’ Coinnleain’, from the Waterford tradition.

  Providence have overcome the dreaded ‘second CD’ hazard; we’ll see more of them in future. Mick Furey.

  Taplas Dec/Jan 02 (The Welsh Folk Magazine)

  As I had predicted, Dublin based Providence’s second album marks a significant advance on their debut. When I reviewed that, I claimed their fiddler was Claire Boylan, Oops! On that CD it was Meabh O’Hare, whom Boylan replaces this time round. Otherwise, the line up is unchanged, with Roscommon flute player John Wynne and concertina player Micheal O’Raghallaigh very much to the fore. I still have reservations about singer Joan McDermott and really dislike the sleeve design. But, don’t let that put you off. This is fine traditional Irish music played with great swing and vitality. Nick Passmore.

  Teletext

  Some strong Irish albums emerge on the horizon, notably Providence’s A Fig For A Kiss. Top notch instrumentals plus a classy singer in Joan McDermott supplying a light and shade that bears comparison with the immortal Bothy Band. Colin Irwin

  Hot Press

  The Irish music scene is blessed with an embarrassment of riches where traditional bands are concerned, with outfits such as Sliabh Nulor, Dervish and many more appealing to a variety of constituancies. To that list must now be added the name of Providence. A Fig For A Kiss is their second album, and quite an advance on their debut. A sound, which will be refined even further, is beginning to evolve – a lively interplay between fiddle, flute and double leads, heard to fine effect on tunes sets like, The Road to Lisdoonvarna and The Arragh Mountains, jig set.

  There is great internal space created within these tunes, with lead instruments dipping, weaving and walloping where appropraite, and backed up by Paul Doyle’s ever solid guitar work never threatening to overwhelm either the music or the listener.

  In every crown there is a jewel and for this listener it’s the voice of Joan McDermott, bell like in its clarity, skittish as a young pup on Smuggling The Tin and solemn as is appropriate on Se Fath mo Bhurtha. With this album, Providence have done themselves a wealth of good, and I’d venture to say that it is one of the finest records of the year so far. Oliver P. Sweeney 10 out of 12

  The Examiner

  Dark fiddle provides the opening drone for the jaunty concertina driven fling, The Road to Lisdoonvarna. The tune develops nicely, maintaining its shape with the addition of flute and a drop of an octave on the fiddle. This is Providence, more mature and more assured than before.

  A Fig for a Kiss is a mix of tunes and songs, a well designed vehicle for the individual and collective talents of Clodagh Boylan, fiddle; Micheal O’Raghallaigh, concertina/ accordion; John Wynne, flute/whistles; Joan McDermott, vocals and Paul Doyle, guitar/ bouzouki/ bodhran. There is a natural interplay on Junior Crehan’s sprightly Lurgadaun Jig, with an increasingly dense sound leading into Dancing Eyes. Precise fiddle opens The Curlew Hills, a second cousin of The Glenbeigh Hornpipe. The bands signature tune, The Providence Reel, is given a special surge of power, as is its follow up, Roscommon Reel. Fred Finn’s has a hint of raggedness that gives the music its fourth dimension. Doyle’s guitar comes to the fore on an air learned from the McDonagh Brothers of Sligo. He may rarely emerge from the background, yet his playing is the glue that holds the Providence sound together. The songs have a good balance. Smuggling The Tin, refers to cross – border trade during the Second World War. Will Ye Go To Flanders is an 18th century Scotish anti war song. The album closes with a live set, Music In The Glen/ Sean sa Cheo, recorded at Dougie McLean’s bar in Taybank, Scotland. Pat Ahern

  SKU: 436 Categories: Accordion, Bozouki, Concertina, Flute, Groups, Guitar, Tin Whistle, Vocals Female

  £14.99