I just got an e-mail from claddagh records, the ITM record label and record shop with the newest releases.
Here it is:
CLADDAGH RECORDS
Dame House
Dame Street
Dublin 2
Ireland
New Irish and related releases April 2002
An illustrated version of this bulletin will be found in the 'New Releases'
section of our website at www.claddaghrecords.com
THE WIDE WORLD OVER. The Chieftains. A fortieth anniversary compilation,
this is in fact music from the later part of The Chieftains' career. It
features a large number of guest artists - The Corrs, Sinead O'Connor, Diana
Krall, Los Lobos, Ziggy Marley and Linda Ronstadt among them.
THE MAPLE LEAF. Jimmy Noonan & Chris McGrath. The musicians are from Boston
and play flute and fiddle. They're accomplished musicians and their choice
of tunes is excellent. They're accompanied on guitar and bouzouki, and on
one selection they're joined by Kevin Griffin of Doolin on banjo. This is a
really rip-roaring track. The whole album is as good as anything you're
likely to hear in Ireland.
Ó OÍCHE GO MAIDEAN (IT COULD BE A GOOD NIGHT YET). Breanndán Ó Beaglaoich.
Begley is a member of the group Beginish, and is a frequent guest with The
Boys of the Lough. He has sung and played the accordion since he was a
child, and lately has become very fond of the melodeon. He's a very proud
Kerry man and his music and songs are from that part of Ireland; they're as
lively and wild as he is himself, although he can sing a love song very
sensitively. The album is a true portrait of a great musician in his prime,
and it's worth everyone's while to have it.
MUSIC FOR THE SET. Johnny O'Leary. The master accordion player of Sliabh
Luachra learned his music from Padraig O'Keeffe, and is a contemporary of
Denis Murphy and Julia Clifford, of the Cronins and Gerry McCarthy. He has
played all his life for the local sets, and there is no end to the music he
knows. This is a re-issue of a 1977 Topic album, the first time Johnny was
introduced to a non-local audience on record. Previously it was only
available on LP and cassette. The tunes are arranged so that a complete
polka set can be danced to them - an unusual arrangement at the time. Great
music from one of the post-war masters, with informed and informative notes
on both the music and the dance.
ALONG BLACKWATER'S BANKS. Sliabh Notes. More Sliabh Luachra music, this time
on fiddle, accordion and guitar by Matt Cranitch, Donal Murphy and Tommy O'
Sullivan, and they're assisted on some tracks by Kevin Burke, Matt Molloy
and others.
SOUNDS FROM THE NORTH. Desi Wilkinson, Cathal Hayden, Jim McGrath. Excellent
songs and tunes on flute, fiddle/banjo and accordion by three seasoned
northern musicians. The tunes are not the played-out warhorses that appear
on so many albums, but are strongly local tunes played with a lovely swing.
All of the musicians are well known throughout Ireland and further afield,
but each know the others well and it shows in their playing. Very
refreshing.
THE GYPSY PRINCESS. Amergin. Amergin is a group from the Kerry town of
Kenmare. Two of them in particular, fiddler Joe Thoma and box player Dave O'
Sullivan are veterans of the great sessions that used take place in Mrs.
Crowley's bar there. The music is Kerry music and there is really excellent
harmonica playing by Andy O'Sullivan. It's all very accomplished.
THE TOCANE CONCERTS. Various artists. Every year there is a festival of
Irish music in the Dordogne. Locally organised, it is based on the Willie
Clancy summer school, and the best of Irish musicians go there. This CD is a
compilation of tracks from two of the concerts there and features artists
such as Mary MacNamara, The Four Star Trio, Conor Byrne, Éamonnn Ó Bróithe,
Catherine McEvoy and others. It's fine, uplifting music.
THE BEE'S WING. The Turloughmore Ceili Band. Typical ceili band stuff, with
Brian O'Dea (accordion), Karol Lynch (banjo), Mary Liddy (concertina),
Patrick Costello (drums) Caitriona Rouine, Denis Liddy, David Sanders
(fiddles), Brid O'Gorman & David O'Brien (flutes), John Blake (piano). With
typical ceili band humility, they tell us nothing about themselves. I
imagine they're from the Turloughmore area.
PROSPECT. Cúig. This is a puzzling one - the group's name is Irish and the
sleeve notes mention Northumberland's long Irish tradition, but the music
seems very un-Irish. It seems to have been made for an audience that expects
something else. The music is well enough played, but is strange to Irish
ears, and the singer is one of these people who nearly hits all the notes
all the time.
BOHOLA. Bohola. Bohola is a trio based in Chicago, consisting of Jimmy Keane
(piano-accordion), Sean Cleland (fiddle) and Pat Broaders (bouzouki). They
play lively dance music and songs and are rather like a superior ballad
group. The music is very arranged, with songs often progressing into dance
tunes, and some of the sets are quite long. It's a very professional
production, and one can see that they would provide a good night out.
CELTIC WAVES. Various artists. This is a compilation of tracks by the
various artists who make up the catalogue of the German label Magnetic
Music. They include Geraldine MacGowan, North Cregg, Damp in the Attic, Joe
Burke & Anne Conroy, Flook, At the Racket and others. It has a 28 page
booklet and there are two CDs for the price of one.
THE PIPER'S REST. Jimmy Morrison. There was a time when it was possible for
one person to say that they knew all the pipers in Ireland. Such has been
the growth in the art that it would probably be impossible nowadays. Jimmy
is from Cork and this is a pleasant album of excellent piping, with a small
amount of music on the low whistle. Other musicians join in tastefully on
occasion, and there are a few of Jimmy's own compositions and a few songs -
it's really very good.
NO COMPROMISE. Andrew MacNamara. Andrew is from Tulla in East Clare, and is
one of a family that has included musicians in several generations. He is a
very experienced professional accordion player, and has made a new album
with Brendan Hearty, James Delaney, Jimmy Higgins, Tommy Hayes and Martin O'
Malley . It's excellent Clare music, perfect for dancing.
LIVE AT LENA'S. The Lahawns. The Lahawns is a Clare band that includes
Andrew MacNamara, and this is their second live album. Both albums were
recorded in pubs with live audiences of experienced dancers. A Clare ceili,
in a county where everybody can dance from childhood, is a sight to behold.
The new album was recorded in Lena's bar in Feakle, and while the music is
excellent, one of its most appealing aspects is the obvious enjoyment of the
audience.
LIVE IN DUBLIN. James Keane. This album was recorded in Whelan's in Dublin
on the occasion of the triumphant return of one of Drimnagh's favourite sons
who was there to play with Garry O Briain. James went to the US many years
ago, but has never stopped playing music. On the night of the concert the
bar was full of his old friends, but most of them had come without their
instruments. However, instruments were procured for Mick O'Connor, Kevin
Conneff and of course James's brother Sean Keane. A tremendous concert
ensued, played by the people who kept the flame of music alive in Dublin
from the 1960s through to the new century.
RABHARTA. Feenish. Feenish is a group consisting of PJ Hernon (accordion),
Marcus Hernon (flute) and Don Stiffe. (guitar and vocals). The Hernons are
veteran recording artists and have several albums to their credit. The music
is pure Connemara, old-fashioned and lively, solo and in duet. The songs are
both traditional and contemporary. Marcus plays one of his own compositions,
compositions for which he is, properly, highly regarded.
WHERE I AM. Brendan Callahan. Brendan Callahan is a fiddle player from
Philadelphia, a pupil of Brendan Mulvihill, and this is about as much as the
sleeve notes tell us about him. He certainly seems to be one of the school
of Irish-American musicians, mostly from Philadelphia and New York, who have
learned their music as part of a continuing tradition. He's a skilful
musician and a credit to his teacher. It's actually a very good album.
CASTLES OF GOLD. Various. This is the story of Irish emigration to America,
but as it's an American production it's called 'immigration'. The narrative
is by Frank McCourt and Roma Downey. Singing is by Pan Morigan. The
narrative is mildly interesting, in a stage-Irish accent, but the songs are
sung in a semi-classical style, with very little feeling for the traditional
style. It's a 2-CD set.
MAD FOR TRAD have produced instructional CD ROMs for various instruments.
Top musicians give detailed instructions suitable for learner and advanced
musicians. It would take weeks to go through them individually, but they
come highly praised. The instructors are; Sean Og Potts - uilleann pipes,
Gerry O'Connor - banjo, Brian Finnegan - tin whistle, Seamus Egan - flute,
Derek Hickey - button accordion, Frank Torpey - bodhran, and Cathal Hayden -
fiddle.
A SONG IN TURN. Deirdre Connolly. Songs and tunes from a leading member of
Cherish the Ladies. The songs are well-chosen and pleasantly sung, and the
tunes are well played on whistle. This is another example of the current
resurgence of interest in Irish music in Irish America.
LATE. IN THE NIGHT. Christy Barry, Conor McCarthy & Cyril O'Donoghue. CARCD
001. Christy Barry is a flute player (and very fine stepdancer) well known
in Clare and the US. Conor McCarthy plays accordion in The Kilfenora Céilí
Band, and Cyril O'Donoghue is a guitarist and singer. They recorded this
album live in O'Connor's pub in Doolin, and it contains a good selection of
dance tunes and some slow airs plus a song.
DONEGAL & BACK. Packie Manus Byrne. VT132CD. Packie Byrne is a singer and
whistle player of renown, from Ardara in County Donegal. He has a wide and
varied repertoire, many of his songs learned at home and some learned during
the course of a long time spent in England. He has one of the most musical
voices you are likely to hear and sings everything from comic songs to music
hall sentiment to tragic ballads. Likewise his whistle playing is excellent,
and on the recording he confines himself to the local instrumental
repertoire. (The untitled one is Bony on the Isle of St. Helena). This is
really good stuff, and is an expansion on a previous cassette on the same
Veteran Tapes label.
SOLO RUN. Johnny McCarthy. TRICD 003. In a hurling county like Clare there
is no greater honour in life than to earn a place on the county team, and
Johnny McCarthy has achieved that honour. He is also an excellent accordion
player (the music and the hurling are usually followed by the same people).
He is also the father of Conor McCarthy, and this CD features one of Conor's
compositions. There are lots of slow airs, jigs, set-dances and hornpipes,
and generally the tunes played are of a slow nature.
RUBAI. Flook. FLATFISH 004CD. Flook is a band with much of the sound based
on flutes. They play a music mostly of their own composition, with the
occasional traditional tune and some modern pieces by other composers. This
is their fourth album and all of them have been big sellers.
SHADOWS OF YOU. Kate Purcell. DRCD 005. Kate Purcell is a contemporary
singer from County Clare, occupying much the same territory as Mary Black.
Here she sings 13 songs, some of them traditional and some by contemporary
writers such as Don Stiffe and Mary Greene.
THE WELL TEMPERED BOW. Liz & Yvonne Keane. DM 001. A breath of fresh air!
This is lovely fiddle music from two Galway sisters. Although from
Connemara, their music tends towards the East of the County, with a strong
leaning towards the music of Paddy Fahey. Indeed more than a quarter of the
tunes on the album are compositions of Paddy's. There is also a lovely waltz
from the playing of the Rainey brothers, a well-known song air (The Valley
of Knockanure), played beautifully and gracefully so that one wants to hear
more of the Raineys' music. And when the CD ends, one wants to hear more of
the Keanes' music.
THE ELM WOOD. Briege Murphy. NAMAC 001. Briege is a singer-songwriter from
Forkhill, and a member of a well-known South Armagh musical family. This is
her third album, and is by far her strongest. She's a good singer, ably
assisted by some particularly effective guitar work from Johnny Scott. Some
of the songs are inspired by the beautiful area she comes from, some of them
are hilarious, and some of them are deadly serious. One of them is filled
with the same trepidation that everybody on the East Coast of Ireland feels
when they think of the Sellafield nuclear processing plant. These are classy
songs, well-sung and you'll be hearing more of them.
SORCHA. Sorcha Ní Ghuairim. CEFCD 182. Sorcha Ní Ghuairim is one of the
best-known names in the canon of sean-nós singers. However, until now, her
reputation rests on a little-known recording on the Folkways label, for long
only available on cassette. This new CD presents 2 of the Folkways
recordings, with additional songs from the collection of the Irish Folklore
Commission, and some home recordings made by a folklore scholar. There are
30 recordings in all, with texts and short synopses in English. The full
translated texts will later be available on the internet. There is also a
sympathetic and well-researched biography by the album's editor, Ríonach uí
Ógáin. It's a beautiful production, with plenty of photographs, and is a
full endorsement of all we've ever heard about this great singer.
AN DEALG ÓIR. Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin. CEFCD 183. Pádraigín has completed a
study of the Gaelic songs of her native southeast Ulster (North Louth and
South Armagh). 54 of them will be published in unaccompanied form on two CDs
later in the year along with her book on the subject. This CD contains 14 of
them which have been recorded with instrumental accompaniment. As well as
being good to listen to, it's an important event; because of the loss of the
language in the area in the 1940s and 1950s, these songs had fallen into
disuse. Recordings existed in collections of old cylinders, and in
transcriptions that Séamus Ennis had made of the cylinders. While many are
versions of songs common in other parts of Ireland, what we have here are
beautiful variants, both in the music and the words. At long last, songs
which had existed for many generations, and which had been stilled for only
a few, have escaped back to the real world.
ENDEAVOUR. Gráda. Gráda is a young group of excellent musicians who have
been working and studying together for a number of years. They are ambitious
and obviously spend quite a lot of time working on their music. Much of what
appears on this, their first album, has been written by themselves, with
some traditional material, though played in a very jazzy style, rather like
Solas.
SONGS OF IRISH REBELLION. Georges Denis Zimmerman. First published in the
late 1960s, this book was one of the pioneering works in Irish ballad
studies. Although written as an academic work it had quite a popular appeal,
and it influenced a generation of traditional singers, to the extent that
some of the songs included, which had been out of circulation, are now once
again popularly sung. It covers the period from the end of the eighteenth
century to the beginning of the twentieth, and includes the texts of 100
songs, often with variants and tunes, and he deals with the creators of the
songs, their methods of distribution and the reactions of audiences. It's an
essential part of any serious song student's library.
FAR FROM THE SHAMROCK SHORE. Mick Moloney. Mick Moloney holds a Ph.D. in
folklore from the University of Pennsylvania, and has been awarded the
National Heritage Award in the USA. He is also a well known traditional
musician and singer, and was at one time a member of The Johnstons. Having
lived in the US for many years he has always had a feeling for the
generations of Irish people who emigrated there. This book is his study of
the emigrants' story as it is told in their songs. There is also an
accompanying CD which includes the songs from the book. The songs are about
the experiences of generations who were forced from their Irish homes to the
industrialised ghettoes of the big cities, about their work on railroads and
canals, their fight for political equality and their eventual achievement,
in many cases, of wealth and political success.
New ITM releases
New ITM releases
Hi there,
I just got an e-mail from claddagh records, the ITM record label and record shop with the newest releases.
Here it is:
CLADDAGH RECORDS
Dame House
Dame Street
Dublin 2
Ireland
New Irish and related releases April 2002
An illustrated version of this bulletin will be found in the 'New Releases'
section of our website at www.claddaghrecords.com
THE WIDE WORLD OVER. The Chieftains. A fortieth anniversary compilation,
this is in fact music from the later part of The Chieftains' career. It
features a large number of guest artists - The Corrs, Sinead O'Connor, Diana
Krall, Los Lobos, Ziggy Marley and Linda Ronstadt among them.
THE MAPLE LEAF. Jimmy Noonan & Chris McGrath. The musicians are from Boston
and play flute and fiddle. They're accomplished musicians and their choice
of tunes is excellent. They're accompanied on guitar and bouzouki, and on
one selection they're joined by Kevin Griffin of Doolin on banjo. This is a
really rip-roaring track. The whole album is as good as anything you're
likely to hear in Ireland.
Ó OÍCHE GO MAIDEAN (IT COULD BE A GOOD NIGHT YET). Breanndán Ó Beaglaoich.
Begley is a member of the group Beginish, and is a frequent guest with The
Boys of the Lough. He has sung and played the accordion since he was a
child, and lately has become very fond of the melodeon. He's a very proud
Kerry man and his music and songs are from that part of Ireland; they're as
lively and wild as he is himself, although he can sing a love song very
sensitively. The album is a true portrait of a great musician in his prime,
and it's worth everyone's while to have it.
MUSIC FOR THE SET. Johnny O'Leary. The master accordion player of Sliabh
Luachra learned his music from Padraig O'Keeffe, and is a contemporary of
Denis Murphy and Julia Clifford, of the Cronins and Gerry McCarthy. He has
played all his life for the local sets, and there is no end to the music he
knows. This is a re-issue of a 1977 Topic album, the first time Johnny was
introduced to a non-local audience on record. Previously it was only
available on LP and cassette. The tunes are arranged so that a complete
polka set can be danced to them - an unusual arrangement at the time. Great
music from one of the post-war masters, with informed and informative notes
on both the music and the dance.
ALONG BLACKWATER'S BANKS. Sliabh Notes. More Sliabh Luachra music, this time
on fiddle, accordion and guitar by Matt Cranitch, Donal Murphy and Tommy O'
Sullivan, and they're assisted on some tracks by Kevin Burke, Matt Molloy
and others.
SOUNDS FROM THE NORTH. Desi Wilkinson, Cathal Hayden, Jim McGrath. Excellent
songs and tunes on flute, fiddle/banjo and accordion by three seasoned
northern musicians. The tunes are not the played-out warhorses that appear
on so many albums, but are strongly local tunes played with a lovely swing.
All of the musicians are well known throughout Ireland and further afield,
but each know the others well and it shows in their playing. Very
refreshing.
THE GYPSY PRINCESS. Amergin. Amergin is a group from the Kerry town of
Kenmare. Two of them in particular, fiddler Joe Thoma and box player Dave O'
Sullivan are veterans of the great sessions that used take place in Mrs.
Crowley's bar there. The music is Kerry music and there is really excellent
harmonica playing by Andy O'Sullivan. It's all very accomplished.
THE TOCANE CONCERTS. Various artists. Every year there is a festival of
Irish music in the Dordogne. Locally organised, it is based on the Willie
Clancy summer school, and the best of Irish musicians go there. This CD is a
compilation of tracks from two of the concerts there and features artists
such as Mary MacNamara, The Four Star Trio, Conor Byrne, Éamonnn Ó Bróithe,
Catherine McEvoy and others. It's fine, uplifting music.
THE BEE'S WING. The Turloughmore Ceili Band. Typical ceili band stuff, with
Brian O'Dea (accordion), Karol Lynch (banjo), Mary Liddy (concertina),
Patrick Costello (drums) Caitriona Rouine, Denis Liddy, David Sanders
(fiddles), Brid O'Gorman & David O'Brien (flutes), John Blake (piano). With
typical ceili band humility, they tell us nothing about themselves. I
imagine they're from the Turloughmore area.
PROSPECT. Cúig. This is a puzzling one - the group's name is Irish and the
sleeve notes mention Northumberland's long Irish tradition, but the music
seems very un-Irish. It seems to have been made for an audience that expects
something else. The music is well enough played, but is strange to Irish
ears, and the singer is one of these people who nearly hits all the notes
all the time.
BOHOLA. Bohola. Bohola is a trio based in Chicago, consisting of Jimmy Keane
(piano-accordion), Sean Cleland (fiddle) and Pat Broaders (bouzouki). They
play lively dance music and songs and are rather like a superior ballad
group. The music is very arranged, with songs often progressing into dance
tunes, and some of the sets are quite long. It's a very professional
production, and one can see that they would provide a good night out.
CELTIC WAVES. Various artists. This is a compilation of tracks by the
various artists who make up the catalogue of the German label Magnetic
Music. They include Geraldine MacGowan, North Cregg, Damp in the Attic, Joe
Burke & Anne Conroy, Flook, At the Racket and others. It has a 28 page
booklet and there are two CDs for the price of one.
THE PIPER'S REST. Jimmy Morrison. There was a time when it was possible for
one person to say that they knew all the pipers in Ireland. Such has been
the growth in the art that it would probably be impossible nowadays. Jimmy
is from Cork and this is a pleasant album of excellent piping, with a small
amount of music on the low whistle. Other musicians join in tastefully on
occasion, and there are a few of Jimmy's own compositions and a few songs -
it's really very good.
NO COMPROMISE. Andrew MacNamara. Andrew is from Tulla in East Clare, and is
one of a family that has included musicians in several generations. He is a
very experienced professional accordion player, and has made a new album
with Brendan Hearty, James Delaney, Jimmy Higgins, Tommy Hayes and Martin O'
Malley . It's excellent Clare music, perfect for dancing.
LIVE AT LENA'S. The Lahawns. The Lahawns is a Clare band that includes
Andrew MacNamara, and this is their second live album. Both albums were
recorded in pubs with live audiences of experienced dancers. A Clare ceili,
in a county where everybody can dance from childhood, is a sight to behold.
The new album was recorded in Lena's bar in Feakle, and while the music is
excellent, one of its most appealing aspects is the obvious enjoyment of the
audience.
LIVE IN DUBLIN. James Keane. This album was recorded in Whelan's in Dublin
on the occasion of the triumphant return of one of Drimnagh's favourite sons
who was there to play with Garry O Briain. James went to the US many years
ago, but has never stopped playing music. On the night of the concert the
bar was full of his old friends, but most of them had come without their
instruments. However, instruments were procured for Mick O'Connor, Kevin
Conneff and of course James's brother Sean Keane. A tremendous concert
ensued, played by the people who kept the flame of music alive in Dublin
from the 1960s through to the new century.
RABHARTA. Feenish. Feenish is a group consisting of PJ Hernon (accordion),
Marcus Hernon (flute) and Don Stiffe. (guitar and vocals). The Hernons are
veteran recording artists and have several albums to their credit. The music
is pure Connemara, old-fashioned and lively, solo and in duet. The songs are
both traditional and contemporary. Marcus plays one of his own compositions,
compositions for which he is, properly, highly regarded.
WHERE I AM. Brendan Callahan. Brendan Callahan is a fiddle player from
Philadelphia, a pupil of Brendan Mulvihill, and this is about as much as the
sleeve notes tell us about him. He certainly seems to be one of the school
of Irish-American musicians, mostly from Philadelphia and New York, who have
learned their music as part of a continuing tradition. He's a skilful
musician and a credit to his teacher. It's actually a very good album.
CASTLES OF GOLD. Various. This is the story of Irish emigration to America,
but as it's an American production it's called 'immigration'. The narrative
is by Frank McCourt and Roma Downey. Singing is by Pan Morigan. The
narrative is mildly interesting, in a stage-Irish accent, but the songs are
sung in a semi-classical style, with very little feeling for the traditional
style. It's a 2-CD set.
MAD FOR TRAD have produced instructional CD ROMs for various instruments.
Top musicians give detailed instructions suitable for learner and advanced
musicians. It would take weeks to go through them individually, but they
come highly praised. The instructors are; Sean Og Potts - uilleann pipes,
Gerry O'Connor - banjo, Brian Finnegan - tin whistle, Seamus Egan - flute,
Derek Hickey - button accordion, Frank Torpey - bodhran, and Cathal Hayden -
fiddle.
A SONG IN TURN. Deirdre Connolly. Songs and tunes from a leading member of
Cherish the Ladies. The songs are well-chosen and pleasantly sung, and the
tunes are well played on whistle. This is another example of the current
resurgence of interest in Irish music in Irish America.
# Posted on April 16th 2002 by Toni Ribas
Re: New ITM releases
Update: June releases
LATE. IN THE NIGHT. Christy Barry, Conor McCarthy & Cyril O'Donoghue. CARCD
001. Christy Barry is a flute player (and very fine stepdancer) well known
in Clare and the US. Conor McCarthy plays accordion in The Kilfenora Céilí
Band, and Cyril O'Donoghue is a guitarist and singer. They recorded this
album live in O'Connor's pub in Doolin, and it contains a good selection of
dance tunes and some slow airs plus a song.
DONEGAL & BACK. Packie Manus Byrne. VT132CD. Packie Byrne is a singer and
whistle player of renown, from Ardara in County Donegal. He has a wide and
varied repertoire, many of his songs learned at home and some learned during
the course of a long time spent in England. He has one of the most musical
voices you are likely to hear and sings everything from comic songs to music
hall sentiment to tragic ballads. Likewise his whistle playing is excellent,
and on the recording he confines himself to the local instrumental
repertoire. (The untitled one is Bony on the Isle of St. Helena). This is
really good stuff, and is an expansion on a previous cassette on the same
Veteran Tapes label.
SOLO RUN. Johnny McCarthy. TRICD 003. In a hurling county like Clare there
is no greater honour in life than to earn a place on the county team, and
Johnny McCarthy has achieved that honour. He is also an excellent accordion
player (the music and the hurling are usually followed by the same people).
He is also the father of Conor McCarthy, and this CD features one of Conor's
compositions. There are lots of slow airs, jigs, set-dances and hornpipes,
and generally the tunes played are of a slow nature.
RUBAI. Flook. FLATFISH 004CD. Flook is a band with much of the sound based
on flutes. They play a music mostly of their own composition, with the
occasional traditional tune and some modern pieces by other composers. This
is their fourth album and all of them have been big sellers.
SHADOWS OF YOU. Kate Purcell. DRCD 005. Kate Purcell is a contemporary
singer from County Clare, occupying much the same territory as Mary Black.
Here she sings 13 songs, some of them traditional and some by contemporary
writers such as Don Stiffe and Mary Greene.
THE WELL TEMPERED BOW. Liz & Yvonne Keane. DM 001. A breath of fresh air!
This is lovely fiddle music from two Galway sisters. Although from
Connemara, their music tends towards the East of the County, with a strong
leaning towards the music of Paddy Fahey. Indeed more than a quarter of the
tunes on the album are compositions of Paddy's. There is also a lovely waltz
from the playing of the Rainey brothers, a well-known song air (The Valley
of Knockanure), played beautifully and gracefully so that one wants to hear
more of the Raineys' music. And when the CD ends, one wants to hear more of
the Keanes' music.
THE ELM WOOD. Briege Murphy. NAMAC 001. Briege is a singer-songwriter from
Forkhill, and a member of a well-known South Armagh musical family. This is
her third album, and is by far her strongest. She's a good singer, ably
assisted by some particularly effective guitar work from Johnny Scott. Some
of the songs are inspired by the beautiful area she comes from, some of them
are hilarious, and some of them are deadly serious. One of them is filled
with the same trepidation that everybody on the East Coast of Ireland feels
when they think of the Sellafield nuclear processing plant. These are classy
songs, well-sung and you'll be hearing more of them.
SORCHA. Sorcha Ní Ghuairim. CEFCD 182. Sorcha Ní Ghuairim is one of the
best-known names in the canon of sean-nós singers. However, until now, her
reputation rests on a little-known recording on the Folkways label, for long
only available on cassette. This new CD presents 2 of the Folkways
recordings, with additional songs from the collection of the Irish Folklore
Commission, and some home recordings made by a folklore scholar. There are
30 recordings in all, with texts and short synopses in English. The full
translated texts will later be available on the internet. There is also a
sympathetic and well-researched biography by the album's editor, Ríonach uí
Ógáin. It's a beautiful production, with plenty of photographs, and is a
full endorsement of all we've ever heard about this great singer.
AN DEALG ÓIR. Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin. CEFCD 183. Pádraigín has completed a
study of the Gaelic songs of her native southeast Ulster (North Louth and
South Armagh). 54 of them will be published in unaccompanied form on two CDs
later in the year along with her book on the subject. This CD contains 14 of
them which have been recorded with instrumental accompaniment. As well as
being good to listen to, it's an important event; because of the loss of the
language in the area in the 1940s and 1950s, these songs had fallen into
disuse. Recordings existed in collections of old cylinders, and in
transcriptions that Séamus Ennis had made of the cylinders. While many are
versions of songs common in other parts of Ireland, what we have here are
beautiful variants, both in the music and the words. At long last, songs
which had existed for many generations, and which had been stilled for only
a few, have escaped back to the real world.
ENDEAVOUR. Gráda. Gráda is a young group of excellent musicians who have
been working and studying together for a number of years. They are ambitious
and obviously spend quite a lot of time working on their music. Much of what
appears on this, their first album, has been written by themselves, with
some traditional material, though played in a very jazzy style, rather like
Solas.
SONGS OF IRISH REBELLION. Georges Denis Zimmerman. First published in the
late 1960s, this book was one of the pioneering works in Irish ballad
studies. Although written as an academic work it had quite a popular appeal,
and it influenced a generation of traditional singers, to the extent that
some of the songs included, which had been out of circulation, are now once
again popularly sung. It covers the period from the end of the eighteenth
century to the beginning of the twentieth, and includes the texts of 100
songs, often with variants and tunes, and he deals with the creators of the
songs, their methods of distribution and the reactions of audiences. It's an
essential part of any serious song student's library.
FAR FROM THE SHAMROCK SHORE. Mick Moloney. Mick Moloney holds a Ph.D. in
folklore from the University of Pennsylvania, and has been awarded the
National Heritage Award in the USA. He is also a well known traditional
musician and singer, and was at one time a member of The Johnstons. Having
lived in the US for many years he has always had a feeling for the
generations of Irish people who emigrated there. This book is his study of
the emigrants' story as it is told in their songs. There is also an
accompanying CD which includes the songs from the book. The songs are about
the experiences of generations who were forced from their Irish homes to the
industrialised ghettoes of the big cities, about their work on railroads and
canals, their fight for political equality and their eventual achievement,
in many cases, of wealth and political success.
# Posted on June 10th 2002 by Toni Ribas