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Mick Conneely – Selkie
- Jenny’s Wedding / The Old Bush/Scotch Mary
- Cailleach an Airgid / The Cat in the Corner/ The Looharadhawn’s Jig
- The Road to Cashel / Salthill Prom
- The Providence / The Eel in the Sink / The Culfada
- A Roll of the Dice / A Fig for a Kiss
- The Showman’s Fancy / Free as a Bird
- Dinny O’Brien’s / Farewell to Connaught/ The Gravel Walks
- Farewell to Jim / That’s More of It
- The Jug of Punch / Sergeant Early’s Dream
- McGlinchey’s / McFadden’s Handsome Daughter/ I Have no Money
- The Humours of Bandon / Planxty Maggie Brown
- The Glen of Aherlow / Ril Bhearra / The Green Fields of Glentown
- The Bird in the Bush / The Longford Tinker
Press Reviews
Dirty Linen Reviews. 01/02
Mick Conneely was born in England of Irish parents and grew up in a musical environment. Indeed, his greatest influence was his father, who is heard here on a great set of duos. Conneely plays with an almost fierce attack but great melodic subtlety, and it is curious to note that, while his style defies regional categorisation, it has a very old – fashioned feel to it. Not that there’s anything obvious about the music on this impressive debut: Conneely is as convincing with a quirky slip-jig as with a finger busting reel. His ear for a good tune is matched by his desire to pass on as much information about them as he can. 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
The Living Tradition
Another young fiddler with an impressive CV is Mick Conneely. Mick was eleven when he began lessons with Brendan Mulkere who arranged for him to meet and play with major figures of Irish music. Later he was a founding member of the band, Long Acre, with whom he recorded. Since then he has toured Scandanavia, Europe and the US with Mary Bergin, De Danann, Micho Russell AND Tony MacMahon.
It is obvious that a lot of care and attention has gone into this recording. The result is an album of robust, atmospheric and exciting fiddle music of outstanding quality.
Selkie also features Mick’s father on fiddle and Niall O’Callanain on bouzouki, whose contributions add nicely to the feel of the album.
I highly recommend all of these albums to any enthusiast of fiddle music from whatever tradition. One warning though, with rumours of more gems to come your interest could become expensive. Danny Saunders.
East Bay Express Dec/01 The Best Records of ’01 Mick Conneely Selkie Clo Iar Chonnachta CICD 148
It’s been a great year for Irish music, with veterans like Tony MacMahon and Seamus Creagh producing stunning discs rivaled by such newer faces as John Wynne, John Carty and Johnny Connolly.
I could argue for any of the above against my choice of Mick Conneely’s, Selkie, but it would be hard going because this young fiddler has done so many things right, He’s firmly rooted in the music, having learned from his father, who is heard here on a great set of duos. Conneely plays with an almost fierce attack, but great melodic subtlety; while his style defies regional categorisation, it still has a very old-fashioned feel. Duck Baker
Fiddle On Magazine Review Oct/Nov 2001
This fiddle album was recently in the top ten of traditional music CDs as reported to Mike Harding’s Radio 2 programme by Dublin record shops.
No gimmicks, no Far Eastern tunes or rhythms, this is pure Irish traditional fiddle.
The sleeve notes don’t assign Mick to any particular regional style. Although Frankie Gavin is cited as a favourite fiddler Mick’s playing is a lot edgier with plenty of strong single bows, and he gets really spiky on the Donegal tunes such as “The Gravel Walks”.
The extensive sleeve notes tell where the tunes can be found. Eighteen of them can be found in classic tune books sucha s O’Neill’s Music of Ireland and Ryan’s Mammoth Collection; four are simply from the tradition; twelve are by modern writers including Charlie Lennon and Tommy Peoples; and there is one O’Carolan piece.
Mick is no mindless speed merchant; he’s willing to take reels at a canter rather than a gallop where it suits the tune. The disc includes a gentle set of reels played on fiddle by Mick’s father, accompanied by son on a zingy bouzouki, and they duets delightfully on one track. Niall O’Callanain provides effective but unobtrusive bouzouki support whenever needed.
I might have said that such a pure fiddle album would be of narrow appeal, but this is an excellent CD, and well worth hearing. Tom Bell – Richards.
The Irish Voice Review
In Irish legend, a selkie was a creature half-seal and half-human. On land, a selkie could shed the seal skin and pass for a man or woman. If the skin was lost, however, the selkie was trapped in human form. If the stories they tell in Connemara are true, the Conneely clan are descended from some of these magical beings. If there is some kind of magic in the Conneelys of Errislannan near Clifden, it is a very musical sort of spell. Mick Conneely, Sr., like his father Máirtin before him, is a highly regarded fiddler. The long-time resident of Bedford, England is better known these days, however, as the father of tin whistle player Kathleen Conneely, tenor banjo players Bernie and Pauline Conneely, and fiddler Mick Conneely, Jr. Mick, Jr. is the topic this week as he has just released his first recording, Selkie, on Ireland’s Cló Iar-Chonnachta label. This may be a debut recording, but Mick’s reputation as a musician has been growing for many years. Glowing tributes in the liner notes from Chieftains flute great Matt Molloy and Donegal fiddle star Paddy Glackin attest to the regard in which he is held by his fellow musicians. Some American fans may remember him as the fiddler who stepped in to replace an injured Frankie Gavin for a De Dannan tour a few years ago. Others, in England, Ireland and the Continent, have been lucky enough to hear him perform with his group Errislannan. The rest of us can now enjoy Mick Conneely’s distinctive style, superb technique and impeccable good taste on disc. A solo track featuring Mick Sr. gives some clue to the origin of the son’s style. Both fiddlers play with a nicely measured pace and with a very straightforward rhythm that avoids the excessive swing and backbeat popular among many young hotshots. Mick Jr. has an extraordinary bow hand, playing with a very strong tone and with a great facility for bowed triplets. The tunes he chose are for the most part timeless classics to which he gives his own unique interpretation. Mick is obviously a bit of a music scholar as his notes include correct tune titles, composer credits and references to their history in print. Bouzouki ace Niall Ó Callanáin provides nicely textured and understated backing, venturing some modern jazz harmony on the final selection, an intriguing reworking of the reels “The Bird in the Bush” and “The Longford Tinker.” Don Meade
Traditional Music Maker Magazine Oct/Nov 2001
I can personally attest to the excellence of the fiddle playing within Mick Conneely’s, SELKIE. Mick was born in Bedford, but of Irish parents, and his father is accomplished on the instrument as well. This is Mick’s debut release, a superb fiddle album, but given that he’s toured with the likes of De Dannan in the past, the man is certainly no slouch. Essentially, the CD features Mick’s traditional fiddle, very up front and to the fore, with just a modicum of instrumental accompaniment. It should appeal to students, players and fans of traditional playing alike.
Irish Music Magazine Oct 2001
The root of the interesting title on this debut album is based on an Irish legend that the Conneely’s come from the seals, and the word means “half woman, half seal”.
Mick Conneely displays his personal style of music on this album, honed from his own family tradition and the knowledge and influence gleaned over the years listening to musicians visiting his home in Bedfordshire in England, trips t London, Ireland and further afield.
The music here is bare bones with accompaniment from Niall O’ Callanain on bouzouki and the addition of Mick Conneely senior, himself a fine fiddler and the greatest influence of all on his son’s music.
Mick himself plays Greek bouzouki too in accompaniment to his father’s rich solo set of reels. Impeccable history and notes accompany all the track on this well compiled collection.
Some tunes stand out; the duet with his father Mick snr, the hornpipes, The Showman’s Fancy and the complex Free as a Bird is quite breathtaking. Mick has chosen four of Carl Hession’s compositions to feature on the album and the pair of jigs, Farewell to Jim/That’s More of It” sing out and swing.
Mick’s own solo on McGlinchey’s Reel is perhaps the best track to my mind. Ita Kelly
Taplas Review Oct/Nov 2001
Mick Conneely’s first solo album has already joins Kevin Crawford’s recent offering on my top five traditional CDs of 2001.
It’s everything a classic fiddle recording should be, carrying echoes from the past in his duets with his father, Mick senior, acknowledging the influences of the likes of Frankie Gavin as well as displaying an individual character that looks to the future.
Distinctive triplets are a particular trademark and both the selection of tunes and their execution are a joy to listen to.
Mick in also a fine exponent of the Greek bouzouki (as opposed to the flat-back hybrid) and his accompaniments are a pleasure, inviting comparisons with the classic recording Gavin and Alec Finn made in the 70s. Elsewhere, he’s joined accompanied by ex- Deisal bouzouki player, Niall O’Callanian.
A brilliant and highly recommended CD. Nick Passmore.Born in Bedford, England, of Irish parents, Mick was immersed in Irish music from a very early age. His father, Mick senior, who came from Errislannan near Clifden, is a fine fiddle player and the Conneely home in Bedford was always filled with the sound of great Irish music, dancing and singing.
Mick began formal lessons in Irish music at the age of eleven with the legendary Clare musician and teacher, Brendan Mulkere. Building on the foundation laid down by Brendan’s teaching, the young Conneelys learned tunes from their father, from records and tapes and from the many musicians who regularly visited the house. As Mick got older he travelled to sessions all over England meeting with other great musicians, and it was at one such weekly session in Birmingham that Mick met Joe Molloy, Brendan Boyle and Kevin Crawford with whom he formed the group LONG ACRE. They recorded one album in 1986.
Since the mid eighties Mick has toured extensively, particularly in Scandinavia where he toured with many musicians including Mary Bergin and De Danann. During the early nineties Mick guested on a number of occasions with De Danann both in Europe and in the US, and in 1993 he was part of that memorable ‘Pure Irish Drops’ tour with the legendary Micho Russell and Tony MacMahon.
In 1992, while touring Denmark with Mary Bergin, Mick met Danish bodhrán player Svend Kjeldsen who arranged a tour of Denmark for the following year with Mick, accordion player Brendan Boyle, singer/guitarist Seámus Cahill from Cork, and Svend himself. This was the start of ErrisLannan, Mick’s own band project and in 1998 they released their first album ‘All About TIME’ on the German Raumer Records label.
In 1999 Mick recorded ‘SELKIE’ which also features his father Mick senior on fiddle and bouzouki player Niall Ó Callanáin.
The entire album was recorded ‘live’ in Studio Schauf in Berlin, and the result is a wonderfully warm and expressive debut album from an outstanding young musician.
£14.99 -
Mick O’Brien – May Morning Dew
- Statia Donnelly’s/ I Will if I Can/ Patsy Geary’s
- Higgin’s Hornpipe/ The Cuckoo’s Nest
- Kerry Reel/ Kerry Fling/ Joe Bane’s
- Bumper Squire Jones/ An Sean Duine/ O’Sullivan’s March
- Caslean an Oir/ Her Golden Hair Was Hanging Down Her Back
- May Morning Dew/ Sporting Nell
- Micko Russell’s/ Moneymusk
- An Rogaire Dubh/ Connaughtman’s Rambles/ Cailleach an Airgrid
- The Strawberry Blossom/ The Honeymoon
- Johnny Cope
- Farewell to Miltown/ West Clare Railway/ Sporting Molly
- Humours of Lisheen/ Tom Billy’s Fancy/ Humours of Kilkenny
- An Buachaill Dreoite
- The Camaronion/ Greenfields of Rossbeigh/ Connaught Heifers
Press Reviews
Irish Music Magazine
Concert and flat pipes, whistles and Flutes not only demonstrate Mick O’Brien’s great instrumental versatility, but also make a fine job of the challenge of presenting yet another fine piping album…award this piper his pedestal and to prove that the Uilleann pipes can still do what they were designed for; self accompaniment of a primary melody. Fintan Vallely,
Hot Press
May Morning Dew is a snapshot of the best in trad music with not an inch left over for ego. Get your record shop to stock it and put it on their play station and you’ll be seduced utterly. Siobhan Long, 11 out of a possible 12
Evening Herald
May Morning Dew offers an interesting selection of tunes played in an easy unpretentious style with tasteful accompaniment by fiddler Terry Crehan and producer Garry O’Briain on Mandocello and Keyboards. This recording is one the nicest packages I’ve seen in a long time, beautifully designed with lovely photography and detailed notes. With
Terry Crehan: Fiddle
Mick Giblin: Guitar
Gary O’Briain: Mandocello & Keyboards
Seamus Brett: Piano & Keyboards
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Mick O’Brien & Caoimhin O’Raghallaigh – Kitty Lie Over
Press Reviews
FolkWorld CD Reviews
The herrings are boiled and the praties are roasting, Kitty lie over close to the wall!
The a line borrowed from the Irish jig “The Frost is All Over”. Dubliners north and south, Mick O’Brien (uilleann pipes, whistle) and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh (fiddle, whistle), meet. And it wasn’t in the midst of the muddy river Liffey, though one may say this record is a landmark like the newly erected Millennium Spire on O’Connell Street.
These days there seems to be a trend to the pure drop. 15 tracks including 11 pipes/fiddle duets, 2 whistle duets, and 2 fiddle/whistle duets. The only accompaniment is the drones and regulators of the uilleann pipes. These are pitched in Bb, and the fiddle is obviously tuned down. Thus the sound is mellow and smooth.
There is a fondness for Sliabh Luachra music, Mick and Caoimhín pay homage to the great names, Denis Murphy, Patrick Kelly. The latter is almost forgotten:
Isn’t it shocking that with all the recordings available nowadays, you can’t get a single track of this most wonderful of fiddle players. If you were to give him a few bits of cast-off tunes, he would sculpt them into something that could fly – like making an aeroplane out of a scrapheap..
Mick and Caoimhín give their best to continue this legacy. As Peter Browne puts it in the liner notes: Everything sounds right! Walkin’ T:-)M
IRISH ECHO Newspaper. New York City
CEOL Column
By Earle Hitchner
Top 10 Traditional Albums of 2003
Number 1. KITTY LIE OVER, by Mick O’Brien and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh (ACMCD 102)
The uilleann piping of Dublin’s Mick O’Brien first earned international recognition through his teenage performances on two late-’70s recordings, “The Piper’s Rock” and “The Flags of Dublin.
” In 1996, he issued a superb solo debut, “May Morning Dew,” that finished in the Irish Echo’s list of top 10 albums.
Now comes “Kitty Lie Over,” a duet album with fellow Dublin-born musician Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh that surpasses
O’Brien’s earlier achievements.
In Ó Raghallaigh, O’Brien has found a fiddler whose style is an ideal match to his tonally rich, expressive chanter, regulator,
and drone work. This is much more than two talented instrumentalists getting together in the studio for some tunes.
They’ve carefully worked out the repertoire (much of it drawn from Sliabh Luachra), arrangements, pitch (B or B-flat),
and harmonies that allow them to truly marry their instruments, one complementing and extending and bolstering the other.
Ó Raghallaigh is himself an accomplished uilleann piper and pipemaker (apprenticed to Geoff Wooff in Miltown Malbay, Co Clare), so his pipes-like style and reflexes on fiddle add immeasurably to his duets with O’Brien.
The 11 pipes-and-fiddle tracks are wondrous, with “Woman of the House/Rolling in the Ryegrass” a shining example of this interplay, and there are also some tantalizing whistle and fiddle-and-whistle duets.
Hands down (or should I say up?), this is the most impressive Irish traditional instrumental CD of 2003 and one of the best in many years. [Published on January 21, 2004, in the IRISH ECHO newspaper in New York City. Copyright
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Mick Sands with Clive Carroll – The Ominous and the Luminous
It was while at university in Manchester he made lifelong musical friendships with Londoners Kevin Boyle and John Roe; here they befriended the wonderful musicians of Manchester and especially the iconic fiddler, Des Donnelly (senior).
After university he they moved to London and got involved with the wonderful London Irish trad scene. He and his sister, Susan joined Kevin, Paul and Maggie Boyle in the shortlived but much loved group, “Mah Bhi”. He was also briefly member of the legendary London super group, Le Cheile.
In recent years, Mick has concentrated his multi talents in theatre work, specialising in adapting medieval and ethnic vocal music for use in classical plays, he began composing original material which he continues today, working with Sir Peter Hall’s Company, The Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. In 2002 he was the recipient of the prestigious Christopher Walken Award for Music in the Theatre. Mick has been involved in many award wining productions in the West End. Recently he has composed and performed music for a major TV film, Tantalus: Behind the Mask, which has been nominated for an Emmy.
Despite all this brilliant work has continued to be a stalwart of the London Irish session scene and has found time to complete this his debut album. All his musical friends can now share his talents with a broader audience, but the one question remains, “Why did it take so Long Mick”?
Mick includes his version of When the Boat Comes in which has been used on a TV commercial selling Young’s fish cakes!
Clive Carroll is a young member of the guitar maestro club whose fine playing and compositions have seen him establish himself at the forefront of the next generation of British guitar wizards. His musical contribution to Mick’s music is much more that an accompanist, his total commitment to the project has led to this pair forming a musical duet which they want to take to a broader audience, as a working duet. They hope you will enjoy this new musical partnership.
Copperplate is very proud to have this title on our roster and to help it achieve its full potential will be supporting this release with a full-scale promotional mail out to media and retail. Feedback welcome.
For more detail check out Mick’s own web site at www.micksongsands.com
Press Reviews
www.liveireland.com 5.13
In packing up the cd’s we were digging in nooks and crannies and found an album sent to us by the aforementioned, Copperplate. How we missed this, we don’t know. It is a few years old. We never heard it. We never reviewed it. Somehow, with getting 500 cd’s a year, it fell between the cracks. Criminal. The album is called The Ominous and the Luminous by Micks Sands. Alan O’Leary tells us that Mick is from Northern Ireland originally but now lives in London. He is one of the best Irish singers we have ever heard. Mick is also a gorgeous flute player. He sings and plays Irish music the way others want to. We know Alan has it at Copperplate. Just Google, Copperplatedistribution.com . This gem may be hard to find, otherwise. Don’t repeat our mistake. Find it.
Bill Margeson
The Folk Diary June/July 07
In many ways this is a low-key record. The song arrangements using flute and guitar and pleasing and really compliment the singing which is often quite laid-back and understated.
The repertoire is mainly traditional and has generally been recorded previously by others. The photographs show that this north-easterner is no
spring chicken and yet this is his debut album.So, nothing remarkable then? Well, the one thing is quite outstanding is the quality of Mick’s voice and the ease with which he puts over his well chosen programme.
The notes show that he learned songs from the likes of Paddy Tunney and Cathal McConnell and the evidence here is that he has learned more than repertoire from those two masterly singers. Clive’s guitar consistently adds to the enjoyment. (Vic Smith)
The Irish Times ****
Mick Sands is an English folk singer with an ear for the dramatic intricacies of folk song, a flute player and singer whose musical identity is infused with a rare sense of time and place.
His melding of Louis MacNeice’s Autobiography with an aptly disconnected melody line serves homage to the rich lyrics, while his reading of Midsummer Reels is an airy celebration of his buoyant flute in full flight. Sands strikes a minimalist, medievalist mood to Donai Og (an interesting counterpoint to the version beloved of Maighread Nf Dhomhnaill), which sacrifices none of the vulnerability of co-dependency inherent in the lyric. Sands’s bare-boned music is for wide open spaces and dark corners in equal measure. SIOBHAN LONG
Folk World 33
Mick Sands is a fine singer and flutist from the West Durham coalfields in the North East of England. After university Mick moved to London, where he was briefly a member of the legendary London group Le Cheile. Today Mick concentrates on theatre work, specialised in adapting medieval and ethnic vocal music for use in classical plays on the one hand, and in composing original music on the other. He mixed with the London Irish session scene and eventually has found some time to record his debut album. “The Ominous and the Luminous” is centred around his remarkable singing voice. Songs from Northumbria (“Up the Raw”, “I Drew My Ship”, “When the Boat Comes In”), Ireland (“Lough Erne’s Shore”, “Donal Og”, “Cunla”) and the Appallachians (“Silver Dagger”), even a traditional Sephardic text (“Tres Damas”) set to original music. There is a Louis MacNeice poem and Burns’ “The Slave’s Lament” (compare the Battlefield Band version -> FW#32). The original “Where the Deerness Flows” is about the decay of the coal industry in his native home. In the end, Mick takes up the flute and treats us to three self-penned reels and a medley of a Romanian air, a jig and a slip-jig. The album title “The Ominous and the Luminous” might be intended for guiding any reviewer, but there is some truth in it.
Walkin’ T:-)M
ROCK’N’REEL Magazine May/June 07 * * *
Despite the awful cover, thankfully the long overdue debut album from Mick Sands impresses. Sands himself is a performer semi-active on the folk and session scene since the mid-60s, originally around his native North East where he and sibling’s a cappella group shared the stage with Boys Of The Lough, Five Hand Reel and Eddie and Finbarr Furey; later, in Manchester, he developed his whistle and flute skills alongside many of the legendary musicians including the one and only Des Donnelly (senior).
A later move to London (where he’s now based) saw him team up with the Boyle family- Kevin, Paul and Maggie – in folk act Man Bhi.
Nowadays he adapts classical and medieval vocal music for use in plays and works with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre, but he still found time to put together this quietly confident and vocally assured selection.
From his cleverly inventive reworking of North-East trad song ‘Up The Raw’ which opens the album, another from the Northumbrian tradition – ‘I Drew My Ship’, through to his sensitive reading of Irish song Donal Og’, it’s a well-executed collection, albeit a little short of thrills. Steve Caseman
HOT PRESS
Singer and flute player Mick Sands hails from a musical family in the North East of England and has made quite a name for himself as a composer for the theatre, working with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre among others.
Meanwhile he’s continued to be a stalwart of the London Irish session scene, and this long-overdue debut album sees him wearing both of his musical hats, so to speak. He’s certainly convincing and pleasant as a singer and player of traditional material, and Clive Carroll’s accompaniment on guitar and banjo is delicate and tastefully understated.
However, it’s the original material that really stands out – notably ‘Autobiography’, Sands’ setting of the poem by Louis MacNiece, and ‘Tres Damas’, his darkly atmospheric setting of a traditional Sephardic text for a 2005 RSC production of the 1630 Philip Massinger play Believe What You Will.
Sarah McQuaid Seven / Ten
www.netrhythms.com
Why it’s taken this excellent singer/flute player so long to get round to recording a solo album is a real mystery. Mick’s been around music all his life: his Northumbrian background and musical family ensured early exposure to the delights of music-making, and together with his sister Susan he was heavily involved in the London Irish music scene after leaving university (he was in a group with the three Boyles at one point). Latterly Mick’s been concentrating on theatre work, among other things adapting medieval and ethnic vocal music for use in classical plays, but he’s not neglected folk music, keeping his hand in with the London Irish session scene.
But this slightly-offputtingly-titled CD (well it is a bit of a mouthful!) by and large steers clear of both of the above aspects of Mick’s talent, concentrating instead primarily on his fabulous singing voice. Having said that, it proudly encompasses a vastly more varied selection of source material than you might expect to encounter from Mick, even acknowledging his multi-talented nature.
The disc is bookended by truly delightful performances of two indigenous songs from the north-east: Up The Raw (taken from the Northumbrian Minstrelsy) and When The Boat Comes In – the latter backed percussively (and most creatively) by spoons and handclapping! – while a further reflection of Mick’s north-eastern lineage comes with I Drew My Ship. The second track, the beautifully melancholy Autobiography, is a superb setting by Mick of a favourite Louis MacNeice poem, accompanied by Siáned Jones’ keening violin and Clive Carroll’s guitar. On which subject, Mick couldn’t have chosen a finer guitarist to complement the unique character of his own singing voice – notwithstanding the fact that Clive’s immensely highly regarded as a skilled soloist, nay virtuoso, in his own right (and here on Mick’s record he’s no mere subordinate support artist). Back to Mick’s singing, the solo and/or unaccompanied tracks are tremendous: potent yet utterly unaffected renditions of Dónal Og (with only a pipe drone for backing) and Robert Burns’ Slave’s Lament, and a seductive rendition of Cunla which at times sounds almost casually tossed out of Mick’s mouth but by gum, its tongue-tripping lines are expertly handled! Instrumentally, Mick demonstrates his considerable skills (mostly on flute) on a lovely Forest Fields (a medley of Roumanian air, jig and slip-jig) and a set of Midsummer Reels (where you can marvel at Clive’s extraordinarily sympathetic guitar work), also an intriguing, freshly syncopated “Irish-flavoured” version of Maid On The Shore (though I hear as much of Eastern Europe in those dashing rhythms!). Mick’s treatment of Silver Dagger is set as a kind of Appalachian slow-drag-blues – and very effective it is too. As is Mick’s original song Where The Deerness Flows, a poignant lament for the loss of the west Durham coalfield and the area’s industrial heritage that has much of the feel of a traditional Irish ballad. And last but not least there’s Tres Damas, Mick’s mysterious, atmospheric yet simple setting of a traditional Sephardic text (originally done for a RSC production).
This is a landmark CD, a brilliant portrayal of Mick’s multi-faceted musical personality. David Kidman
The Living Tradition
This CD comes as a worthy addition to the canon of North East English folk, as well as introducing a fine selection of music and song from further afield. With an impressive pedigree in Theatre, Mick Sands brings together tunes and songs from England, Ireland, Romania and the Jewish Diaspora and manages to make a coherent whole.
Many of the arrangements and compositions were commissioned for specific theatre productions and provide a perfect platform for Mick’s versatility.
The recording quality is good and the whole thing is enhanced with excellent support from guitarist Clive Carroll.
At the heart of it all there is a sense of belonging, and a sense that wherever Mick’s musical iournevs take him, the music of the North East will always be at the heart of things. Thus for me the stand out tracks are his beautifully unaffected renditions of Up The Raw and When the Boat Comes In, for while there is occasional unevenness in the flute and whistle playing, Mick’s vocals are outstanding.
There is an accuracy and warmth to his singing, which lingers in the mind and brings the songs to life. Nick Keir
The Irish Democrat
THIS DEBUT album by Northumbrian singer and flautist Mick Sands is delightful mixture of original compositions and arrangements of mainly traditional tunes originating from the north east of England, Ireland and further afield.
Produced in collaboration with Chelmsford-born banjo player and guitarist Clive Caroll, a talented composer, performer and the recipient of numerous musical prizes and awards, it’s hard to believe, given Sands’ own pedigree, that the album is his first.
Born into a musical family, Sands has been performing since his youth. During a spell in Manchester where he was studying at university, he made lifelong musical friendships with Londoners Kevin Boyle and John Roe. He also befriended the legendary fiddler Des Donnelly (senior).
On moving to London, he soon became associated with the Irish session scene there, and still is. However, he has also built up a formidable reputation for adapting medieval and ethnic vocal music for use in the theatre, having worked for some of the most prestigious in the land, including as the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and the Royal National Theatre (RNT).
There’s a definite nod in the direction Sands’ theatre work on the album with the inclusion of Tres Damas, a traditional Sephardic text, beautifully set to music by Sands for an RSC production of Philip Massinger’s play ‘Believe What You Will’, written in 1630.
The album also includes three reels written for an Irish version of Strindberg’s play ‘Miss Julia’, produced last year (2006) at the Theatre Hall, Bath, as part of a series of plays directed by Sir Peter Hall.
As might be expected given Sands’ background, there’s a fair smattering of songs from the north east. These include a number from what he describes on the album’s liner notes as ‘the Northumbrian Minstrelsy’
These include the album’s opener ‘Up the Raw’ , with its original arrangement by Sands, and ‘I Drew My Ship’, a song about lost opportunities in love.
The original Sands composition, ‘Where the Deerness Flows’, is a poignant reflection on the dramatic changes that have taken place in recent years in the once industrious west Durham coalfield. Sands’ love of Irish music can be found throughout the album. In addition to the reels already mentioned, there’s a haunting version of the pentatonic Fermanagh love song ‘Lough Erne’s Shore’, an 800-year-old song from the Irish medieval tradition,’Donal Og’, and an arrangement of ‘Cunla’, learnt from the legendary piper Seamus Ennis.
Spreading their wings even further, Sands and Carroll have included an arrangement of a traditional Appalachian murder ballad, ‘Silver Dagger’.
Between them these two multi-talented musicians have produced an album that will warm the hearts and stimulate the intelligence of folk music lovers, from wherever they hail. An absolute delight. David Granville
TAPLAS The Welsh Folk Magazine Dec 06/Jan 07
Initially a mainstay of the Irish music scene in North-East England, then relocating to London to concentrate on theatre work, singer and flute player, Mick Sands has remained a stalwart of the London Irish scene for many years.
On this his first recording, he is joined by guitar wizard, Clive Carroll. The songs are a varied selection, mainly from the Irish and North-Eastern traditions, with Mick’s theatrical background showing through on his arrangement of Louis McNiece’s poem, Autobiograph and, to a lesser degree, on his highly ornamented singing of Donal Og. He’s more successful with the less melodramatically delivered (though more dramatic in content) Slave’s Lament, which he sings unaccompanied to great effect. Other musicians include Tim Van Eyken (on one track briefly).
Overall quite an impressive, if long overdue debut, which reveals more with repeated listening. Nick Passmore
Irish Dancing & Culture Feb 07
Mick Sands is a singer and flautist from the North East of England, The Ominous and the Luminous is Mick Sand’s debut Album, although he has been involved in the theatre for many years and has won awards in this field.
When you listen to his works, it is surprising to think how long this CD has been coming, it’s hard to believe that this is Mick Sands debut album. It becomes clear the reason why so many of Mick’s peers were excited at the release of such an album. It’s a great CD.
The music has a refreshing traditional air about it, each track is very different from the other. All-in-all, a refreshing CD for fans of Irish culture! Leanne Nelson. Fab Rating * * *
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Mick, Louise & Michelle Mulcahy – Reelin’ in Tradition
Following their outstanding 2005 recording Notes from the Heart on the Cló Iar-Chonnachta label, Mick Mulcahy and his daughters Louise (26) and Michelle (24) are back with a new album, Reelin’ in Tradition.
If their first album was a revelation for the rhythmic and beautiful Mulcahy sound – as well as the virtuosity across several instruments of Michelle and Louise – Reelin’ in Tradition presents a new level of musicianship exploring their collective repertoire.
Mick Mulcahy from Brosna, Co. Kerry, recorded two accordion albums on the Gael-Linn label in 1976 and 1990, and, while he always played music at home, he never had to try to get his children to play as they quickly found their own way to it.
Louise and Michelle both started on tin whistle. At age 10 Louise moved on to the flute and as a teenager began playing uilleann pipes. Mick recalls driving Louise to Dublin from their home in Limerick every month for a year for lessons in Na Píobairí Uilleann. Louise recently guest-presented the TG4 traditional-music show Geantraí.
Michelle started playing the accordion aged six and surprised everyone when she asked for a harp at age ten. She subsequently took up the fiddle, piano and concertina. Michelle was TG4 Young Traditional Musician of the Year in 2006 and recently featured on Riverdance composer Bill Whelan’s new album, The Connemara Suite, on a piece for harp and orchestra which he wrote for her.
Mick, Louise and Michelle Mulcahy regularly perform in Ireland the USA and have an unmistakeable, infectious sound. As Martin Hayes writes, ‘I first became familiar with the music of Mick Mulcahy from his first solo recording… I remember that both my father and I felt that his music had a great depth of feeling. That same feeling that first made an impression on me has been handed on to his daughters and continues all the way through this recording.’
Also available from Copperplate: CICD 160 Mick, Louis & Michelle Mulcahy: Notes from the Heart
Press Reviews
The Folk Diary 4.10
The previous album of this family of traditional musicians from County Limerick in 2005 did to an extent sound like Mick and his daughters, but it is clear that here the three have equal status. In fact the album is at its most impressive when the three of them are playing at full pelt; Mick on button accordion, Michelle on concertina, fiddle or piano. Louise on flute, uillean pipes or harp. There is that
close understanding that comes from talented blood relations playing together
and jointly their music really soars.
They have a carefully chosen programme drawing on tunes from all over Ireland and they show their ability to demonstrate region variations in style, particularly when it is the lovely Sliabh Luachra polka style.
The tracks led by individuals don’t have quite the same spark as those featuring all three and the least successful are the harp tracks. It is clear that Louise is a very fine harpist, but the recording here is a bit unbalanced and does not do her justice.
As on their previous album there are two accompanists; Tommy Hayes on bodhrán and bones and Cyril O’Donaghue on bouzouki but the recording balance keeps their contributions very much in the background
to favour the superb melody playing. Vic Smith.
2009 TOP 10 TRAD RELEASES in Ceol Column in The Irish Echo newspaper, New York City
“Reelin’ in Tradition” by Mick, Louise, and Michelle Mulcahy (Clo Iar-Chonnachta CICD 180).
It’s not fair. No three family members should have the abundance of musical talent that Mick, Louise, and Michelle Mulcahy of Abbeyfeale, West Limerick, have. On this, their third album together (“The Mulcahy Family” and “Notes From the Heart” came out in 2000 and 2005, respectively), the Brosna, North Kerry-born Mick Mulcahy on C#/D, B/C, D/D#, C/C#, and D button accordions joins daughter Lucille on uilleann pipes and D and E-flat flutes and daughter Michelle on harp, concertina, fiddle, and piano for a largely familiar repertoire that’s freshly and impressively played. Earle Hitchner
www.liveIreland.com
The Livies 1.1.2010
Instrumental Album of the Year
Reelin’ in Tradition by the Mulcahy family is the easy choice. The album is being handled by the unequalled Alan O’Leary out of Copperplate Distribution in London, and he handles only the best. The Mulcahys won this Award with their last album, and we suspect they will again with their next album! Mick, Michelle and Louise are the real, true deal. Michelle is best known for her harp work, Louise for her uillean pipes and father, Mick for his button box. But, Louise and Michelle seem to play every instrument ever made—and they play them perfectly. Indescribable. We’ll settle for the word, ‘fabulous’ and leave it at that. If you love trad, and you do, why would you not have this album? Every note perfect. Instrumental Album of the Year. Bill Margeson
www.liveireland.com
So, with this rambling in mind, I received the new Mulcahy family album from the best promoter and distributor in the business, Alan O’Leary of Copperplate in London. Michelle Mulcahy, sister Louise and father, Mick have done it again. This time, it is called, Reelin’ in Tradition. Mick holds forth on the accordion, Michelle and Louise on every other instrument in the tradition. Does it do to tell you that Michelle was teaching master classes in the Irish harp at the age of 18? That, at 16, Louise was in the very forefront of uillean pipers? See, for you, after all these years, the hope is that you find a critic or writer in whose taste you trust. Our pal, Jimmy Keane—himself the best piano accordion player in Irish music
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Neansai Ni Choisdealbha – Draiocht na Feadoige
Press Reviews
The Living Tradition Jan/15
Well known in lreland and beyond as a broadcaster, Nancy Costello shows herself here to be an equally ?ne fluter. In a generous 21 tracks, she covers a wide range of lrish music from session tunes to slow airs, on flutes and whistles, joined by some excellent accompanists and other musicians.
The title of this CD might translate as ‘Woodwind Wizardry’ and that would be no great exaggeration, although Nancy has no pretentions to be a Finnegan or McGoldrick.
She breathes life into these tunes though and it’s the warmth and spirit which really comes across in her music, with enough technical skill to make her playing seem the most natural thing in the world. Most of these tunes are ones l often play myself, being a whistler, so l have to take a step back from the familiar and try to be objective.
The material here comes from the heart of the tradition, well loved but sometimes neglected melodies. John Brennan ‘s and George White’s Favourite are great old reels, not heard so much in sessions these days. Tommy Mulhaire’s Jig is another rarity, but Condon’s Frolics is currently in favour. A set of polkas rolls beautifully off the fingers – no slides though. There are some exemplary hornpipes here too: The Navigator is a politically correct title and The Swan is rather less well known. Oiche Nollaig is a tune which is usually only heard for about one week a year, which is a shame. Redican’s Mother; The Skylark, The Green Mountain and The Lark On The Strand are all welcome as old friends. Lorna Hunter’s Reel puts a name to a tune for me, and Nancy’s Reel is a composition of Michael Hynes who joins Nancy here to play it. Fiddles, button boxes, jaw harp and the pipes of Nancy’s mentor, the iconic Meaiti Jo Shéamuis, provide duets and an occasional kitchen session sound, but most tracks are flute or whistle solos with deft accompaniment.
Slow airs and waltzes are plentiful, some of them true solos. Taimse im Chodhladh, An Buachaillin Ban and Ballyvaughan Bay come from the lrish repertoire, while The Duchess Tree, Westering Home and Scottish Lament have crossed the North Channel at some stage.
Alter more than an hour of fine music, Nancy launches into the pair of challenging reels, Colonel Rogers and Happy Days Of Youth, before a final house céili on four reels from Patrick’s Night to Ormond Sound. Warm, spirited and inclusive: The Magic of the Flute is a charming album which will bring a smile to the face of any lrish music fan. Alex Monaghan
R2 Magazine Nov/Dec 14 * * * *
Nancy Costello is one of the foremost’ broadcasters on RTE Radio na Gaeltachta, where she was appointed Head of Music in 2010.
Originally from a Gaelic-speaking part of Galway, a small locality that has always been renowned for tradition, Nancy was first encouraged to play music by her parents.
Accompanied by some excellent musicians, including Michael Hynes, Johnny Connolly and Eoin O’Neill, The Magic of the Flute is a varied collection of jigs, reels, hornpipes and airs, led by Nancy on flute and whistle. The playing and arrangements are solidly traditional.
Nancy is a very capable flautist with a rock-steady rhythm. Her version of the C reel ‘Swinging On The Gate’ is beautifully played, with each rolling triplet adding to the flow of the tune. Likewise, Nancy is similarly adept on the whistle, as her excellent playing of ‘The Sweep’s Hornpipe’ demonstrates. The majestic slow air, ‘Taimse lm chodladh is na duistear Mé’ (I am Sleeping, do not awaken me) is, for me, a highlight of the CD. Here Nancy nicely decorates the melody and plays with true emotion.
Draiocht Na Feadoige translates as the ‘Magic Of The Flute’, which is a very fitting title for this lovely CD. Keith Whiddon
www.liveireland.com
One of my favorites is by a terrific flute player named Nancy Costello from the Connemara in Ireland. The title: The Enchantment of the Flute on Clo Iar-Chonnacht. There are 21 cuts of fab fluting. Good heavens, this girl can play. I’m going to suggest that you get to the Clo Iar-Chonnacht website or Alan O’Leary at Copperplate Distribution in London to get this. Why? For some reason, this cd has the title, ‘Draiocht Na Feadoige’ by Neansai Ni Choisdealbha. Good God. That translates to Enchantment of the Flute by Nancy Costello. The title cannot possibly help sales, and that is a shame. All 21 tunes here are played impeccably in a gorgeous style. Nancy is a master musician. We will be playing this a lot on our LiveIreland show to help introduce this wonderful talent. Part of the fun will be to try to pronounce it. We can hear the purists calling in now. This is a terrific album, and qualifies Nancy for serious consideration as Female Musician of the Year. Bill Margeson
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Neill Mulligan – An Tobar Gle
Press Reviews
FolkWorld CD Reviews
Séamus Ennis used to tell a lovely story of how a piper got [The Gold Ring] jig from the fairies after coming across a fairy session late one night and finding a gold ring after disturbing the proceedings. On returning with the tiny gold ring the next day he was rewarded by a grateful fairy with the tune that the piper was playing the previous night and The Gold Ring was the title that the piper gave to the tune from that day forth.
Séamus Ennis was the spiritus rector of uilleann piper Neil Mulligan. In the 1970s, when Séamus ran a traditional club in Slattery’s pub of Capel Street, Dublin, called An Tobar Glé (i.e. the clear/bright well), Neil was one of the resident musicians. Neil also has fond memories of Séamus’s father Jim Ennis coming on visits to our house when I was a young boy and telling wonderful stories to us all. He certainly followed the piper’s instruction that a piper should spend seven years learning, seven years practising, and seven years playing before calling himself a piper.
Neil has been through to this. He brings to life the legacy of Ennis, but he also recalls the other heroes of the Irish piping tradition, Willie Clancy, Leo Rowsome, and even sean-nós singer Seán ach Dhonncha from Carna who influenced Neil’s attitude to the playing of slow airs. Again it was Séamus Ennis who always insisted on the importance of understanding the Gaelic words.
However, it was Neil’s father Tom being the source for most of his tunes, and the album finishes off appropriately with two home recorded sets from 1982 featuring the late Tom Mulligan on the fiddle. Neil prefers the art of solo piping, he says: Unless you’re into buying and listening to CDs, there’s no place to hear it. There’s nowhere like Slattery’s today. And music is all speeded up — everybody seems to have a bouzouki or guitar player in tow.
This is the pure drop from the well of tradition. Walkin’ T:-)M
CHANNEL 4 TV TELE TEXT
NEW ROOTS
The Piper Calls the Tune.
A protégé of greats like Leo Rowsome and Seamus Ennis, not to mention his own dad, Tom. Neillidh Mulligan is steeped in the greatest traditions of ulleann piping.
His third album, An Tobar Gle (The Bright Well) proudly maintains these rich traditions with a masterful display of top tunes.
In an age of hybrids and cultural crossover, it’s also refreshing joy to hear the pure art of the musician. COLIN IRWIN
The Journal of Music in Ireland Nov/Dec 2003
One of the driving influences in the development of traditional music is the process of transmission.
Maybe transmission is not always how it looks and feels at first hand – within the community of practitioners of traditional music, we often talk about getting things from others, we talk of learning from others, We rarely say that we took anything from anybody. For us, things just get passed on deliberately or by chance, by somebody specific or by somebody who knows somebody, yes, it does sound shady, We pick things up. Maybe from time to time they fall off the back of the proverbial lorry! The right time and the right place are important in this music.
Only rarely does the idea of reciprocation come into it, although we do stray into this territory when we talk of being ‘influenced by or ‘following in the tradition of’. Some musicians will create their own sound world around the music of one or more significant players who they were lucky enough meet. Some musicians will follow a path that is more or lest, mapped out by others whose music and musical attitude made enough of an impression on them, even from a distance in space of time, to determine their personal musical choices and direction into the future.
These ways into the transmission process are visible to a greater or lesser degree throughout the entire practise of traditional music, song and dance, in my view; they are especially prominent in a few elements of the instrumental tradition and also in the song traditions of our two principal languages. Within the instrumental tradition, the amazing world of piping and pipering stands out.
The particular culture around the instrument itself, the piperosity of its players, the way players influence and lead others, and the act of performance of music on this instrument all lend extra weight to standard notions of transmission and legacy.
ln this context, An Tobar Gle, the new album from Neil Mulligan, presses many of the right, buttons for me, nor least in the quality of the relaxed playing that Mulligan presents here.
He comes across as relaxed and confident to the extent that the pure musicality of performance takes precedence over any aspirations to faultlessness of performance and I think this works really well in this case. Listening to An Tobar Gle for the first time, I was struck by two things.
First, the extent to which Mulligan very comfortably inhibits what is an exclusive enough territory, and not one into which any piper wisely strays either unprepared or by chance – the Ennis school of piping. Choice of repertoire is only one indicator of Mulligan’s debt to Ennis. What makes for much more interesting listening to my ear, is how Mulligan interprets other tunes (‘other’ meaning not from the Ennis canon) through the filter of Ennis’s approach which is by far the strongest influence on his playing here.
On An Tobar Gle, we get a very clear sense or how Mulligan has internalised and re-expressed in his own voice, a particular approach to rhythm, ornamentation and overall sound that is clearly indebted to the Ennis school, with many shades of other influences as well. Frankie Lane’s informed approach to the recording and engineering of An Tobar Gle also suggests a relaxed confidence – is it not about time that we were allowed to hear pipes being played enjoyably in a room sound just pipes being played enjoyably in a room.
The second thing that struck me was the graceful and respectful way in which Mulligan discloses his relatively privileged access to all of the significant routes into the transmission processes have made him the musician he is today.
The reason Mulligan is good is not simply that he knew anybody in particular, it’s that he knows exactly what it means to have known them and he has made musical sense of all of this. Aside from the solo piping which acts as a musical mirror Mulligan’s development as a musician, there is a constant grounding effect in the notes to the performances. Everything has come to Mulligan from somebody somewhere and the way he sets about ‘owning up’ to this adds immeasurably to the sense of authenticity that pours from his music.
Hence the inclusion of two sonically difficult tracks derived from home recordings of Neil and his father, Tom, which do jar on the ear on first hearing, but also explain much of the rest of the music on the album. The visual material in the liner notes are presented in a warmly conceived design by Edain O’Donnell and they reinforce the importance of the people who make and keep tradition alive and dynamic as any contemporary artform must be if it is to make sense.
I was delighted to hear four new compositions of Mulligan’s on this album. These show another dimension to his musicianship – he is well aware of both the tradition and the limitations that go with the instrument, but he is game to tackle these to good effect, particularly in the air ‘Caitriona Rua’ and the reels An Tobar Gle’ and ‘Oilean na Meannain.
As an accurate musical portrait of a man who has given so much to piping and who has so much still to say, An Tobar Gle does the business.
Dermot McLaughlin (Donegal Fiddler)
From www.irishmusicreview.com
Finally, replete with informative notes on the tunes and plenty of archive photographs, the album’s beautifully designed liner should serve as a model for other small independent labels. Geoff Wallis
Pay The Reckoning, October 2003
Pipers are few and far between. The task of mastering the instrument’s intricacies and idiosyncrasy is beyond most musicians and consequently only a few, a devoted and courageous few, stick the pace.
Thank God Mulligan didn’t take the path of least resistance, because An Tobar Gle shows what a consummate musician he is. There are no niches and alleyways in which to lurk as a solo musician. The “line of sight” into the piper’s heart and soul is perfectly clear. We feel every shift in mood, every doubt, every worry, every up-welling of joy. Because music played at the level at which Mulligan operates is nothing to do with “the dots”. Instead it’s about communicating the tune, or rather his version of the tune, with all of its humours and notions, to the listener.
Some fine dance sets such as “East Of Glendart/I Buried My Wife And Danced On Top Of Her”, “The Morning Thrush/Colonel Frazer” and “An Fainne Oir/Airgead Realach” are interspersed with tremendous airs, such as his moving version of “A Stor Mo Chroi” and a jaw-droppingly fine rendition of “Taimse im’ Chodladh”.
Mulligan is as good a writer of tunes as he is a player. “An Tobar Gle”, “The Dooneen Reel “and “Oilean Na Meannain” are as infectious and memorable as any of the traditional material on the album and warrant becoming part of anyone’s repertoire.
However the most beautiful of Mulligan’s self-composed tracks on the album is a slow air dedicated to the memory of his mother. “Caitriona Rua” is a fitting ode to a deeply loved and sorely missed mother.
Mulligan’s love and respect for his family is demonstrated further. The album contains two tracks on which Mulligan duets with his late father, Tom Mulligan – “The Fermoy Lasses/The London Lasses/The Rose In The Garden” and “Chase Her Through The Garden/Kiss Her In The Furze”. Although recorded on primitive domestic equipment, the quality of the playing and the very obvious musical bond between father and son overcome any doubts about the technical aspects of the recording process.
This shockingly good album is available from the increasingly influential and consistently discerning at Copperplate.
Taplas, The Welsh Folk Magazine. Oct/ Nov 2003
Mulligan is something of a purist’s musician. His third CD of uilleann piping is, again, unencumbered by accompaniment.
Don’t expect brazen virtuosity or fireworks either: Mulligan can rattle out the reels with the best of them, but his style remains measured and tasteful with a judicious use of ornamentation and variation that never draws attention to itself.
His three sets of pipes (including one made by Leo Rowsome for Felix Doran) are beautiful-sounding instruments and the varied choice of tunes is never arbitrary. As the sleeve notes explain, every tune, from well-known standards like The Gold Ring or Donal Óg to some interesting ones of his own, is there because of some association or connection, sometimes to his late father, who as a musician was Mullligan’s greatest influence, or one of the circle of players around Rowsome and Seamus Ennis. John Neilson.
Musical Traditions Web Site 9.03
An Tobar Glé is an unquestionably exquisite example of the piper’s art and confirms Neil Mulligan as one of the instrument’s supreme contemporary exponents. Geoff Wallis – 3.09.03
Hot Press 17.703
The third album by Dublin piper, Neil Mulligan is as excellent as one would expect from this master musician. There’s a splendid solidarity and authority to his playing, particularly on slow airs like Stor Mo Chroi, Donal Og and th epoignant Caitriona Rua written by Mulligan after the death of his mother. Other originals include th etitle track, a rollicking jig in honour of a folk club run by Seamus Ennis at Slattery’s in Capel St during the 70’s. Like it’s predecessors, the CD features pure unadulterated solo piping — which is just as well, as any accompaniment would have been rendered superflous by Mulligan’s adroit use of his instrument’s full range, complete with drones and regulators. Extensive notes on the jacket tell the stories behind the tunes and reveal the writer’s affection for the music. Sarah McQuiad. 9 OUT OF 10.
The Irish Times.
Piper Neil Mulligan is back, as exuberant in his playing as ever. His taut rendition of The MorningThrush and Colonel Fraser is a tribute to their original caretakers, Seamus Ennis and his father, Jim, and a fitting bedrock underpinning a rake of fine tunes that shimmy between his armpit and dancing fingers. Rhythm masters of any hue would do well to cock an ear to I Buried My Wife, not for and Soprano-esque top tips, but for the taste of how organic timekeeping can soaar. Mulligan’s own jigs, including the eponymous opener, are a shot in the arm for the pipes, with enough buoyant optimism to carry them well into the belly of the 21st century. Siobhan Long.
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Niamh Dunne – Portraits
Press Reviews
R2 Magazine ***
This is the first solo album by Niamh Dunne from County Limerick, who has spent the last eight years as singer and ?ddler of the band Beoga. Its eleven songs are a mix of traditional and contemporary songs, two in Irish, most of them with a Limerick connection, many of them not well known (to these ears anyway).
It all starts at a fair old lick on the traditional ‘Ballyneety’s Walls’, driven along by Damien O’Kane’s fluid banjo. Overall, the pace tends to be slower and more re?ective, though my particular favourite is the more upbeat ‘When Autumn Comes’ written by Barry Kerr-the only track where Niamh’s punchy fiddle is brought to the fore. More like this would have been most welcome.
The two best-known songs, Richard Thompson’s ‘Strange Affair’ and Joe South’s ‘Games People Play’, are nice enough but the performance offers nothing new. Niamh has a good though quite inexpressive voice and is supported here by a cast of musicians marshalled by Beoga’s Sean Og Graham, to provide tasteful accompaniment. Throughout, it’s all very well sung and played, making it easy to listen to though there’s little to get the heart pumping. Ian Croft
www.irishcentral.com
The snail mailbag brings many treats to me in the form of new (or sometimes old) music contained in those disappearing artifacts known as CDs. I still like holding the covers or booklets describing the musical contents that artists or agents send my way for a listen. Some are greatly detailed revealing extensive research along with the necessary production elements and others simply give you the basic facts. And I’ll share three wonderful CDs with you that came my way this summer.
The Limerick Lass, Niamh Dunne, first came to my awareness as part of the Northern-Ireland based band Beoga (‘Lively’) shortly after she joined the four original gentlemen who founded the already interesting and cutting edge double-accordion trad band (Damien McKee, Sean Og Graham, Eamon Murray and Liam Bradley) eight years ago.
Beoga was performing at the late-lamented ICONS festival at the Canton New England Irish Cultural Center outside of Boston. Dunne was diminutive in stature but not in voice on the occasion, and along with her fiddling she instantly made an impression as a stylish and sophisticated singer whose fiddle licks added great dimension to the band. Since 2005 she has been featured on three of their four CDs.
I had a chance to observe her further on her own around her familiar Limerick haunts near the University of Limerick singing songs in sessions, and it was clear that she was going to be a rising star inside and outside the Beoga firmament.
Classically trained as a violinist, she also has drawn into the Dunne family history as ‘traveler musicians’ (most notably Pecker Dunne who passed away last year), and her fiddling/piping father Mickey Dunne with whom she recorded Legacy in 2004 with another fiddling sister, Brid.
That grounding along with a confident flair for tackling ‘good songs’ in and outside the tradition has made her a singer to be reckoned with. So with great anticipation she finally released a solo CD called Portraits in Ireland to display her wares as a vocalist.
While living up north and touring around Europe with Beoga and around Ireland, Dunne keeps up the family tradition of traveling a good deal, so the notion came to her to emphasize her native Limerick in the song selections on the new recording.
Four of the 11 tracks are Limerick-inspired (‘Ballyneety’s Walls,’ ‘Beauty of Limerick,’ ‘Cailin Rua’ and the oft-covered ‘Shanagolden’ from songwriter Sean McCarthy).
Add to those beautiful trad songs like ‘Bonny Woodhall’ and’ Jimmy mo Mhile Stor’ delivered in her lush voice with just enough musical accompaniment to appreciate the tender care that she and her producer and fellow Beoga bandmate Sean Og Graham apply to their craft.
What makes Dunne so appealing as a contemporary singer in the traditional idiom is her moxy and sensitivity while interpreting modern songs in the folk or popular vein also.
On the CD we have Richard Thompson’s ‘Strange Affair,’ Barry Kerr’s ‘When Autumn Comes,’ Joe Dolan’s ‘Foxy Devil,’ and from the brilliant Irish language combo of John Spillane and Louis de Paor known as the Gaelic Hit Factory ‘Eist do Bhéal,’ voiced with a knowing sensibility.
As a further example Dunne, inspired by Tyrone fiddler Cathal Hayden, resurrects the old Rock and Roll gem ‘Games People Play’ penned by Joe South, whose message of intolerance still resonates today.
As you might expect, Dunne and Graham were able to recruit an outstanding array of musicians to tastefully accompany her solo singing CD that include Damien O’Kane, Eamon Murray, Trevor Hutchinson, Kate Ellis, Barry Kerr, Mickey Dunne, Noell McDonnell, Nicola Joyce, Cathal Hayden, Caitriona McKay and Richard Nelson.
Dunne adds her fiddle and multi-instrumentalist Graham contributes his talents on guitar, bouzouki, accordion, keys and banjo which you think would be enough, but according to the liner notes he has a walk-on part in ‘Beauty of Limerick’ as well.
Regrettably, Beoga forays over to America are too infrequent to expose both their many talents and those of Ms. Dunne, but do yourself a favor and reach out for their CDs at www.copperplatemailorder.com.Paul Keating.
The Living Tradition 97
Limerick’s Niamh Dunne is already renowned for her accomplishments on fiddle; a classically trained violinist, shes also, for the past eight years, been a key member of the award-winning band Beoga, with whom she’s recorded three CDs. Prior to which, Niamh’s only available recording had been Legacy, a joint album with her father Mickey (the famed Limerick piper) and her sister Brid.
Now, at last, Niamh has finally got around to releasing a proper solo album that fully capitalises on her deep love of song (although she does get to play the fiddle too).
lt’s a beguiling mix of traditional and contemporary material which seems to get that tricky balance just right and very naturally too. The depth of her feeling for her native region and its heritage is apparent right from the outset on Ballyneety’s Walls, which tells of Limerick’s victory during the Siege Of Limerick in 1690, which is aptly followed by the yearning ballad Beauty Of Limerick; later on the album we find another Limerick standout, Cailin Rua.
Niamh’s wonderful, warm singing voice is ideally focused by the excellent recording and receives a perfectly judged degree of instrumental support from a small pool of musicians that includes Sean Og Graham (guitars), father Mickey (Uilleann pipes), Trevor Hutchinson (bass), Kate Ellis (cello), Barry Kerr (low whistles) and Eamon Murray (bodhran, percussion), while backing vocals come courtesy of Noelle McDonnell and Nicola Joyce. Other musicians put in isolated appearances to great effect: there’s Richard Nelson’s dobro adding poignancy to Joe Dolan’s Foxy Devil, Cathal Hayden’s sensitive fiddle on The Games People Play (a song which Niamh makes her own by taking a more reflective stance than most), Catriona McKay’s harp on Callin Rua and Damien O’Kane’s banjo on the spirited opener.
But this is so much Niamh’s own personal collection, unerringly conveying the essence of her interpretive flair and her gorgeous singing. Every single track is a highlight in its own right, and the listener feels privileged to be in Niamh’s intimate company for this all-toobrieftimespan. While her version of Richard Thompson’s Strange Affair can hold up is well to competition, it’s also been a revelation to discover new songs through Niamh’s advocacy – here I’m thinking especially of Sean McCarthy’s Shanagolden (another song with a Limerick connection, incidentally) and the beautiful traditional song Jimmy Mo Mhile Stor (Niamh’s treatment of which is crowned by Sean Og Graham’s impeccable flowing guitar solo). All told, this is a quite sublime record, one that’s been worth the wait. David Kidman
www.tradconnect.com
Niamh Dunne is best known for her work with the group Beoga. Over the last decade they have been at the forefront of traditional music with a number of highly regarded albums. As a group they were not afraid to incorporate other genres’ into their music with a resultant jazz and bluesy feel giving it a “wonderful bouncy Irish sound” as they describe it themselves. As always, production values were high and for this release Beoga stalwart Seán Óg Graham is again responsible for production and mixing. Niamh has also brought on board an impressive array of other support musicians including Eamon Murray, Damien O’ Kane, Cathal Hayden, Barry Kerr and Trevor Hutchinson. Another notable feature of the album is the fact that Niamh has brought her song selection back to the city of Limerick with a number of tracks sourced locally.
The opening Ballyneety’s Walls tells of Limerick’s victory during the Siege of Limerick in 1690 and the second track is called The Beauty of Limerick which is a song of “love and great yearning” about an Irish man many miles from his home. The guitar and accordion of Seán Óg underpins many of the tracks. Arrangements are exceptionally good giving a modern feel to some great song selections. In addition to the traditional songs she includes some that are more recent including the ever beautiful Shanagolden by Sean McCarthy and Strange Affair by the legendary Richard Thompson. These sit very comfortably alongside the more traditional Irish material. The arrangements never stretch Niamh’s voice and she steers clear of the jigs and reels, keeping a clear focus on the job at hand. This allows her to take the limelight as an artist with a true interpretative spirit and voice when it comes to traditional song. Other songs include an Andy Irvine inspired Bonny Woodhall from the songbook of Sam Henry, John Spillanes’s Éist do Bhéal and the more modern The Games People Play. Overall it is an impressive debut album with some great songs that have been part of Niamh’s repertoire over the years. The arrangements and accompaniment lift the material and give it a thoroughly modern feel. Tony Lawless
Irish Music Magazine.
Limerick born singer and fiddler, Niamh Dunne has made a reputation as a formidable force on the Irish music scene. Bright eyed and bushy tailed her bubbly personality has woven itself into the Beoga psyche befitting their eclectic approach.The question is how would she cope and fare outside the band confines working as a solo artist.
Niamh’s first solo album Portraits is a highly woven affair with evocative arrangements and a song bag that frames her origins and cuts a swathe through classic ballads and newer compositions. The singing is strong and distinctive and the local ballad cache includes a rousing Ballyneety’s Walls and a recasting of Beauty of Limerick with some ambient soundscapes cradled with a simple narrative. Similarly Shannagolden and Cailin Rua reveal her balladic strengths and Bonny Woodhall breathes anew with a female voice. Barry Kerr, John Spillane, Joe Dolan provide the contemporary material and Dick Gaughan’s setting of Joe South’s Games People Play adds a fitting climax.
Musically the backings are rich and careful never upsetting the vocal authority but throwing some delicious side roads into Americana and Ambient routes as well.
Portraits finds Niamh Dunne treading the without a net syndrome admirably gaining a stylistic footing that satisfies her talents. John O’Regan
NIAMH DUNNE
Portraits
Private Label ND001
Limerick’s Niamh Dunne is already renowned for her accomplishments on fiddle; a classically trained violinist, she’s also, for the past eight years, been a key member of the award-winning band Beoga, with whom she’s recorded three CDs. Prior to which, Niamh’s only available recording had been Legacy, a joint album with her father Mickey (the famed Limerick piper) and her sister Brid.
Now, at last, Niamh has finally got around to releasing a proper solo album that fully capitalises on her deep love of song (although she does get to play the fiddle too). It’s a beguiling mix of traditional and contemporary material which seems to get that tricky balance just right and very naturally too. The depth of her feeling for her native region and its heritage is apparent right from the outset on Ballyneety’s Walls, which tells of Limerick’s victory during the Siege Of Limerick in 1690, which is aptly followed by the yearning ballad Beauty Of Limerick; later on the album we find another Limerick standout, Cáilín Rua.
Niamh’s wonderful, warm singing voice is ideally focused by the excellent recording and receives a perfectly judged degree of instrumental support from a small pool of musicians that includes Seán Óg Graham (guitars), father Mickey (Uilleann pipes), Trevor Hutchinson (bass), Kate Ellis (cello), Barry Kerr (low whistles) and Ramon Murray (bodhrán, percussion), while backing vocals come courtesy of Noelie McDonnell and Nicola Joyce. Other musicians put in isolated appearances to great effect: there’s Richard Nelson’s dobro adding poignancy to Joe Dolan’s Foxy Devil, Cathal Hayden’s sensitive fiddle on The Games People Play (a song which Niamh makes her own by taking a more reflective stance than most), Catriona McKay’s harp on Cáilín Rua and Damien O’Kane’s banjo on the spirited opener.
But this is so much Niamh’s own personal collection, unerringly conveying the essence of her interpretive flair and her gorgeous singing. Every single track is a highlight in its own right, and the listener feels privileged to be in Niamh’s intimate company for this all-too-brief timespan. While her version of Richard Thompson’s Strange Affair can hold up well to competition, it’s also been a revelation to discover new songs through Niamh’s advocacy — here I’m thinking especially of Seán McCarthy’s Shanagolden (another song with a Limerick connection, incidentally) and the beautiful traditional song Jimmy Mo Mhíle Stór (Niamh’s treatment of which is crowned by Seán Óg Graham’s impeccable flowing guitar solo). All told, this is a quite sublime record, one that’s been worth the wait. David Kidman
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Niamh Ni Charra – From Both Sides
Niamh Ní Charra hails from Killarney, County Kerry in the south west of Ireland. Strongly influenced by the wealth of local Sliabh Luachra musicians, she started playing music at the early age of 4, under the tutelage of well known local musician Nicky McAuliffe. Equally talented on fiddle and concertina, she has won numerous awards, including Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, Oireachtas, and Slógadh Náisiúnta and has represented Ireland at folk festivals in Britain and France. Somewhat of a child prodigy, she had support gigs for The Chieftains, and Noel Hill under her belt before she reached her teens.
Despite this rich background, she put aside her music to persue a career in Electronic Engineering. After graduating with honours, Niamh was employed by an Irish software company who regularly sent her on business trips to Boston. Here she was exposed to a continuous flow of Irish musicians (Arcady, Sharon Shannon, Nomos) as well as locally based musicians (Paddy Keenan , Seamus Connolly, Tommy McCarthy).
The draw of the music proved too strong, and Niamh decided to resign from work to persue a career in music. She moved to Cork to take a year-long course in ‘Music, Management, and Sound’ at Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa, where she graduated with distinctions in every subject – the only student ever to have achieved this feat. The college subsequently awarded her “Musician of the Year”. She swiftly followed this with recordings for Irish radio and television, and performances with Riverdance ‘s european troupe in Europe, Asia and on board the QE2, before joining the U.S. troupe in 1998. Niamh performed with Riverdance from that date until December 2005, touring with them in North America. From Mexico to Vancouver, and Los Angeles to Broadway, New York, Niamh has delighted audiences with her fiery fiddling, fancy footwork and dazzling smiles. More recently she shared her talents in Riverdance’s Irish and Far East productions performing in her native capital as well as the more exotic locations of Tokyo and Taipei among others.
Niamh has returned to Dublin, Ireland where she is working as a freelance musician, regularly gigging accross the city. She also teaches both fiddle and concertina at Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann’s national headquaters, An Cultúrlann in Monkstown, and will shortly be releasing her debut album “Ón Dá Thaobh / From Both Sides”.
It may appear to be a long journey from sessions in Buckley’s bar with the old Kerry greats to world wide spotlight in Riverdance.Niamh Ni Charra makes it seem like a short step across the road.
Real music knows no boundaries, after all, and Niamh demonstrates as uncommonly broad range of musical expression. She is equally at homein the sparse but beautiful An Raibh Tu ag an gCarraig and in full-throttle ensemble pieces such as The Broken Pledge. This breath of musical vision is also evident in her choice ot repertoire. Regondi’s Allegretto No 4 – an extraordinary piece of concertina whimsy – rubs shoulder with Micho Russell’s Jig. The Hungarian tune Dunantuli Friss Csardasok finds a ready partner in The Gravel Walks.)
While most musicians struggle to master one instrument, Niamh possesses as effortless fluency on fiddle and concertina, allowing her to communicate both sides of her musical personality. Scattered throughout this collection are several tunes from her fertile musical imagination. This can be a hazardous strategy inviting comparison with well-established favourites. Niamh carries it off with style; each tune sits comfortably with its neighbours while retaining its individuality.
On Da Thaobh / From Both Sides is a contemporary album with its feet firmly planted in the tradition. The old Kerry masters would be well pleased.
Pat Herring Ahern Jan 2007
Copperplate is very proud to have this title on our roster and to help it achieve its full potential will be supporting this release with a full-scale promotional mail out to media and retail.
Press Reviews
The Irish World
“From Both Sides is a wonderful musical experiment, and the results are more explosive than you could imagine. Just watch this blonde bombshell go…”
Folk Radio UK ” This is master-class musicianship, and legend in the making”…Alex Gallagher
‘There is spectacular work from Niamh Ní Charra, a gorgeous blonde who does things on the fiddle and the concertina, that must be seen and heard to be believed.’ Slidell Sentry, New Orleans 05/2005
‘Charming fiddler Niamh Ní Charra, who seemed to dance a jig while playing one, easily could have been a one-woman show.’
South Bend Tribune, South Bend 05/2005
‘Of special note (was the ) beguiling fiddler / concertinist Niamh Ní Charra, who roamed and skipped the stage as she played.’
Times – Picayune, New Orleans 05/2005
‘Niamh Ní Charra, the sassy electric fiddle and concertina player, was a crowd pleaser.’ Charleston Daily Mail, Charleston 06/2005
‘Kudos were in order for Niamh Ní Charra for her fancy fiddle work.’ Arkansas Times, Little Rock 01/2005
‘Fiddler Niamh Ní Charra, a striking blonde plays while skipping backward.’ Star-Telegram, Grand Prairie 06/2005
‘Blond fiddler phenom!’ Charleston Gazette, Charleston 06/2005
“The company’s indefatigable violinist, Niamh Ni Charra provides some fancy fiddling for the solo passages of this number, (America Wake) as well as for many other exciting moments in the show.” United Press International New York 03/05
‘jaunty fiddle playing’ New York Times 03/05
“The jovial violinist snapped a few of her bow’s strands as she rocked her space-age Stradivarius.” Erie Times 03/05
The Folk Diary
The former child prodigy from Killarney has grown into an outstanding performer on fiddle and concertina, and she is now currently becoming a world-touring superstar. After eight years globe-trotting with the “Riverdance” company, she is currently touring widely with Carlos Nunez.
There is an amazing facility with the wide range of Irish musical styles and rhythms that she tackles on this, her overdue debut album, but you don’t have to listen too hard to hear that she was introduced at a very early age to her wonderful local polka and slide music of Sliabh Luachra.
The album is full of exciting moments but it reaches its zenith in the last track where she plays music from her own county in the company of fellow-Kerryman Brendan Begley. Vic Smith.
TAPLAS The Welsh Folk Magazine 22.11.07 Adolygiadau
£14.99
