I buried a reference to this recording on a thread about piccolos, but since there has been at least two piccolo threads of late, I thought I’d give this album one of its own. This old recording has been released digitally and is available on Amazon music.
I you are at all curious about the instrument being played in traditional Irish music, You can sample each track. And if you like what you hear, the whole album is less than $10 US.
The album title is At the Feis but you will need to search it with John Doonan to get to it efficiently.
Truly masterful playing of a difficult instrument.
There are a few recordings, solo and with others, at http://www.farnearchive.com/index.asp Put John Doonan in the simple search box rather than using “search for person” which just brings up a couple of photos.
“Flute for the Feis” was an LP I commandeered as a kid and basically wore it out (I still have it) by constant play on my red “Dansette” record player. It wasn’t an actual Dansette but a similar record player player in a box.
Anyway, his playing was clear, precise and with a wonderful tempo for dancing. Not at all “mechanical”, but with life and lift that motivates dancers. I fell in love with his playing then and it still resonates with me today. I got the chance to hear him playing many times with the Doonan Family Band years later and that was a real treat.
