Maybe you are in this situation: my parents are demanding a Christmas hint list and if I don’t give them one soon, I’ll get a tablecloth and new sheets from Santa.
I haven’t bought any whistle CDs in several years and my collection is seriously outdated. Any suggestions for traditional or folk music of any genre featuring whistles or their ethnic relatives (not r******* or low whistle) issued in the last few years?
What are your favorites and why? How would you describe the CD?
Feadoga Stain, Feadoga Stain 2 : Mary Bergin
A Whistle on the Wind, Song of the Irish Whistle, Song of the Irish Whistle 2: Joanie Madden
Tin Whistles : Paddy Moloney & Sean Potts
The Irish Low Whistle : Joe Mckenna
Will you accept flute? I find as much to interest me (and want to learn) in good flute music as in whistle-only recordings.
If you don’t have them, let me heartily recommend the “Wooden Flute Obsession” set. Cathal McConnell’s “Long Expectant Comes at Last” CD, and Catherine McEvoy’s “Traditional Flute Music in the Sligo-Roscommon Style”
I’m listening to the McEvoy CD as I type this; if I ever can play with half fluidity and feeling she brings out I’ll be thrilled.
Although I have picked up some really good finds at Music Wherehouse, just so they know that most of these suggestions are not going to be found sitting on the shelf at Best Buy…
I second the Spokes Mishiyane, probably the only classic kwela CD freely available at the moment—a very sad situation.
Best whistle heavy CD released recently would be Pipeline by Dermot Hyde and Tom Hake and now with a US distributer. Hake plays guitar and 'zouk while Hyde plays whistles (and pipes when he’s being Dr. Jekyll). This is a moving and beautiful CD a class above Lunasa and Flook and the like if you are looking just for beautiful, funny, haunting uncontrived whistle music.
Oh, if you don’t have them already, the Lunasa and Flook CDs are very good (if a bit overarranged for ITM purists) and Kate Rusby’s ‘Sleepless’ features some fine whistle playing but always secondary to her vocals. There is also a McSherry and McGoldrick CD whose name escapes me but is well worth getting.
Actually I already had something to tell my parents… The Paddy O’Brian Tune collection, but that is mostly for Box players.
I haven’t bought any whistle CDs in several years and my collection is seriously outdated. Any suggestions for traditional or folk music of any genre featuring whistles or their ethnic relatives (not r******* or low whistle) issued in the last few years?
You might want to check out www.celticgrooves.com… they have their CDs broken out by group and by instrument so all the albums that feature tin-whistle or tin-whistle and another insturment (an awful lot of flutes) are in their own category.
You might suggest “The Winding Road” by Martina Bree, a nice selection of tunes played on Generation D and C whistles. The best price I noticed was at Andy’s Front Hall.
Gavin Whelan’s - Traditional Irish Music
Mick O’Brien’s - The May Morning Dew (mostly piping, but great whistle)
Carmel Gunning - The Lakes of Sligo
Mike & Mary Rafferty - The Old Fireside Music (box, flute and whistle)
I second Flook and Lunasa. The McSherry/McGoldrick album’s name is “At First Light” and is indeed well worth getting (great whistling and piping). I also really like Fred Morrison’s “Up South”: again, primarily pipes but great low whistling as well.
“Noels Celtiques Celtic - Christmas music from Britttany.”
It is mostly traditional and contemporary vocal music, sung in French, but there is plenty of whistle playing throughout. (There is even a song with pipe organ and bagpipes.) I have had to watch myself, though, so that I don’t play it over and over so many times in a row that I get tired of it. So I only play it several times each year. I performed a cut from it for Clips 'n Snips. The song is called Descend from the heavens, and is found 4 from the bottom in Misc.
It is published by Green Linnet Records. 1998 CT 06810 USA
The Paddy O’Brian Tune collection, but that is mostly for Box players.