The Peter Horan/Fred Finn thread leads me to ask what are some favorite/must-have duet recordings with flute?
A couple I like, off the top of my head, the CD collection being inaccessible at the moment:
Jack and Charlie Coen, The Branch Line
Allan and John Kelly, Fourmilehouse
Mike and Mary Rafferty, any album
I can’t remember any names off the top of my head, but there are a few good ones on “The Flute Players of Roscommon” CD.
Assuming you’ll allow an accompanist and still consider it a duet, may I submit the following for your consideration:
Catherine (flute) and John (fiddle) McEvoy, with Felix Dolan on piano: The Kilmore Fancy
Maeve Donnelly (fiddle) and Peadar O’Loughlin (flute), with piano accompaniment, although I forget who at the moment: The Thing Itself
Paul McGrattan (flute) and Paul O’Shaughnessy (fiddle), with some guitar accompaniment IIRC: Within a Mile of Dublin (aka “the Paul album”)
Seamus McGuire (fiddle) and John Lee (flute), with Arty McGlynn (IIRC) on guitar: The Missing Reel
Harry Bradley (flute) and Jesse Smith (fiddle), with John Blake on guitar: The Tap Room Trio (okay, I guess if they choose to call themselves a trio I can’t really claim them as a duet - but it’s still damn good music!)
So, have you guessed by now that flute and fiddle is my favorite combination of all?
John Skelton and Kieran O’Hare: Double-barrelled
John Lee - Seamus McGuire: The Missing Reel/An Ril Ar Lar
Pierre
Paddy Carty’s traditional music of Ireland is a duet with a banjo player. It’s a great recording, but not because it’s a duet. The accompaniment is rather mechanical and grating IMO. Still worth getting though.
“Memories of Sligo”: Tommy Healy (flute) & Johnny Duffy (fiddle)
“Music From County Leitrim”: Packie Duignan(flute) & Seamus Horan (fiddle)
Kevin Krell
A really good flute-fiddle album is Ceol Aduaidh by Frankie Kennedy and Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh.
You can listen to it here: http://www.greenlinnet.com/listen/ra/3090.ram
Max
I just got The Flute Players of Roscommon–yeah, there are some nice duets there. Calling Carty’s Trad. Music of Ireland a duet is rather a stretch. The flute playing is brilliant and makes the album a must have, but it can also be seen as an argument against the tenor banjo as a rhythm instrument in Irish music…
Surprised nobody has mentioned these yet, so maybe I’m stating the obvious, but two classics-
Matt Molloy and Tommy Peoples with Paul Brady on guitar
Matt Molloy and Sean Keane with Arty McGlynn
here’s a few others
Christy Barry and Conor McCarthy with Cyril O’Donoghue
Jimmy Noonan and Chris McGrath on the Maple Leaf
Michael Hynes and Denis Liddy on Waifs and Strays
Anthony Quigley and Aidan McMahon on Clare Conscience
There are a fair amount of flute duets on that Mountain Road/Music of Sligo CD, plus some flute/fiddle stuff, etc.
Oooh, I really want that one, it looks awesome! Too bad I can’t find sound clips on the web anywhere.
Max
some awesome music yuz guyz mentioned! a few more…
kevin crawford’s ‘in good company’ – all duets w/ various fiddlers
hammy hamilton and paul mcgratten on hammy’s cd ‘moneymusk’
marcus hernon with his bro on the box - i can’t think of the name of cd
from the archives –
mcgreevy and cooley ‘traditional irish music played on fiddle and flute’
joe heaney and gabe osullivan ‘joe and the gabe’ not exactly duet music but a tasty tape
‘The Thing itself’ by Maeve Donnelly and Peadar O’Laughlin.
Simply superb music in the Clare style (also featuring Geraldine Cotter on piano, and Ronan Browne on Whistle on one track).
This album is, IMHO,a contemporary ‘classic’-highly recommended.
Which reminds me: Does anyone Jimmy’s first CD? I’d like a copy, and he has no more.
Kevin Krell
Shame on you all for not mentioning PJ Crotty and James Cullinan’s Happy to Meet
There is any amount of single tracks and archal stuff floating about, JC Talty and Michael Murphy on the Tulla ceiliband’s 40 th anniversary album, There are tracks of Paddy Killoran with his band, some duets of him and fluteplayer mick flynn. there is a great collection of acetate discs in Cecil Sharp house in London which has duets of Michael Gorman and another fluteplayer named Mick Flynn.
There’s Siobhan Peoples and Kevin crawford, Brid DOnoghue with various fiddlers, including Michael Kelleher and Joe Rynne, Bernadette McCarthy all great stuff if you can find it (or get to hear them), I recently sat in with Geraldine Cotter and Peter O Loughlin playing fiddles with Eamonn Cotter on flute, there are tapes of Bobby Casey and Paddy Breen, Casey and Sherlock (not that ideal a combination by the way), PJ Crotty and teen-aged Kevin Burke, Paddy Donohue and Vincent Griffin. Any amount of it out there.
Could also add : [ and these are all flute/fiddle duets ]
Desi Wilkinson and Gerry O’Connor – “ Cosa Gan Bhroga”
Peg McGrath, Kathleen Smith & Mary Mulholland – “Cherish The Ladies”
Seamus Tansey & Jim McKillop – “To Hell With The Begrudgers”
Billy & Julia Clifford – “Ceol As Sliabh Luachra”
Roger Sherlock & Sean Maguire
Michael McGoldrick & Dezi Donnelly
Gary Hastings & Seamus Quinn – “Slan Le Lough Erne”
and a recording which has recently been the subject of discussion –
the elusive Paddy Carty & Conor Tully.
Uh-oh, there goes the budget again.
But thanks for the tips!