Peter Laban mentioned Martin Rochford as an unsurpassed master and inspiration to both Kevin Burke and Martin Hayes. I have not been able to find a recording in an on-line catalog.
Does anybody know if there are recordings of Rochford? Where they might be available
Thanks.
On a side note, looking around on amazon I came across this CD called Milestone At The Garden: Irish Fiddle Masters From The 78 RPM
Era. It sounds pretty interesting and has some fiddle players I have never heard of, such as Fireman Barney Conlon, Kathleen Harringtion, Michael Hanafin, Frank Quinn and Louis E. Quinn. Does anybody have this record?
On 2002-01-11 14:52, Bloomfield wrote:
On a side note, looking around on amazon I came across this CD called Milestone At The Garden: Irish Fiddle Masters From The 78 RPM Era. It sounds pretty interesting and has some fiddle players I have never heard of, such as Fireman Barney Conlon, Kathleen Harringtion, Michael Hanafin, Frank Quinn and Louis E. Quinn. Does anybody have this record?
Yes I have it. It’s flippin outstanding. I search out a lot of those 78 RPM era recordings. The liner notes are a treasure, as well. It will help you understand some of the regional fiddle styles by listening to them. I would say that content in the liner notes and the CD would be equivalent (in both quality and detail) to a couple of lectures in a university level survey of IrTrad music course (if one existed). Track 13 is my favorite. Ed Reavy, Sr. is also on a track or two. Most of the Quinn/O’Beirne tracks are recorded Reavy compositions. Don’t let your lack of familiarity with Quinn throw you. Lad O’Beirne worked for him, and I would think of him as a commercial heavyweight (Cruiser weight at least) from that time; even though his name is not mentioned with legends such as Coleman, Morrison, or Murphy.
I must have listened to the disc more than 40 times in the last two years.
Martin Rochford was never commercially recorded. I recorded him fairly extensively and there are a number of private recordings in circulation, I have one from Micho Russell who recorded himself and Martin, on the tape Micho introduces the tunes and gives little comments. Martin was, by the way piper, fiddler, and whistleplayer. I remember asking him at some point how long he had been playing the fiddle, ‘Ah seventy years now’ he replied. Nothing can touch his fiddle version of the Mist Covered Mountain, music that never fails to move me.
Possibly the RTE radio broadcast after Martin’s death is accessible through Ceolnet, there used to be a link fro mPat D’Arcy’s site but that is gone.
A photograph of the man himself, listening to Kevin Rowsome is at:
Bloomfield I just transfered one Rochford track from CD to MP3, send me your e-mail and I 'll post it.
It’s the Greengowned Lass. It will surprise you how little Martin Hayes has departed from that version, to say the least.
Some additional information can be found at:
an article about Martin R. appeared in the journal Dal gCais in 1975 and an informative entry on Rochford can be found in the Companion to Irish Traditional Music by Fintan Vallely (ed).
[ This Message was edited by: Peter Laban on 2002-01-13 12:03 ]