I just saw this on the IRTRAD list and thougtht I’d list it here for anyone interested in checking out some new music. A few whistle-related CD’s. Interestingly, the first album listed has Geraldine Cotter, but on piano, not whistle.
Enjoy
Citizen Dazed
CLADDAGH RECORDS
Dame House
Dame Street
Dublin 2
Ireland
Telephone: 353 1 6778943
Fax: 353 1 6793664
e-mail: mailorder@crl.ie
http://www.claddaghrecords.com
August 2002
All of these items may be purchased online at the
above e-mail address.
TOUCH ME IF YOU DARE. Ronan Browne & Peter O’Loughlin. CCF35CD. Timeless
music on pipes, fiddle and flute, this is a worthy successor to their
acclaimed album of some years back, ‘The South West Wind’. There are
twenty-three tracks of old-fashioned Clare music, totalling over 74 minutes.
On two tracks they are joined by Maeve Donnelly on fiddle and Geraldine
Cotter on piano. This one will be remembered as one of the highlights of
2002, a year in which there were many great recordings.
THE LEGENDARY DELIA MURPHY. Delia Murphy. CDSTAL 1055. Delia was actually
Ronan Browne’s grandmother; until now there was none of her music available
except a very few tracks on compilations. This belied her place in the
affections of the Irish people; she has always been one of the most
requested singers in our shop. Now we have a re-release of 14 of her songs.
She is not a sean-nós singer, but she is one of the great popular singers of
traditional songs. Songs such as ‘The Boston Burglar’, ‘The Moonshiner’,
‘The Croppy Boy’ and ‘Down by the Glenside’ are included here, and it is
merely a small selection of a large body of music recorded by her.
THE WORLD OF PERCY FRENCH and THE IMMORTAL PERCY FRENCH. Brendan O’Dowda
CDSTAL 6026 and CDSTAL 1041. Probably the most popular songwriter in Ireland
has been Percy French, and he never had a better interpreter than the tenor
Brendan O’Dowda, who died recently. These are very definitely nineteenth
century songs, similar to those of Stephen Foster, but they are full of the
humour and pathos of Irish life, and they obviously have a modern relevance
as they are still sung all over the country. Songs such as ‘The Mountains of
Mourne’ and ‘Are You Right There Michael?’ are popular at home and abroad
and here they are sung with gorgeous orchestral arrangements by Philip
Green. These are re-releases of LPS that would have been originally made in
the 1950s.
THE WANDERING MAN. Seán McCarthy. ISRMCD 009. Seán McCarthy was a Listowel
man who wrote songs in a style which approximated to the traditional. His
songs were very popular among the ‘folky’ set in the 1960s and many of them
were very good. Many of his songs concerned emigration and others were
simply love songs. Some of the songs included here that are still sung are
‘John O’Halloran’, ‘Red Haired Mary’, ‘Shanagolden’ and ‘The Bold Fenian
Band’.
THE COBBLESTONE SESSIONS Various artists. COB 001. The Cobblestone is a pub
in Smithfield Market, Dublin which is owned by Tom Mulligan. Tom is the son
of Big Tom, a piper and fiddler from South Leitrim and he’s also brother of,
among others, Néillidh and Alphie, both pipers of distinction. Little wonder
then that the pub is a house of music - home to the best sessions in Dublin.
The album is a sample of the music that may be heard there, and includes
tunes from Finbarr and Colm Naughton, Oliver Farrelly and Vincent Harrison,
Michelle O’Brien, Malachy Bourke, Donncha Dwyer, Mick Kinsella and many,
many others. They may not all be the best-known musicians in the world, but
they are all top class musicians. It is a very good index of the state of
traditional music in Dublin, and is well worth a listen.
MAEVE DONNELLY. Maeve Donnelly. MDCD 001. Maeve is a fiddler from East
Galway and this is the first time she has made a complete album. Back in the
1970s she played on an album called Sailing Into Walpole’s Marsh and was
highly acclaimed for it. On this album she has as guests Dermot Byrne, Steve
Cooney, Geraldine Cotter, Adele O’Dwyer, Peadar O’Loughlin and her brothers
Aidan, Declan and Mal. This is great traditional Irish music with an
occasional foray to Scotland and Canada, and anybody with a fondness for
good fiddle music is bound to love it.
THE FAMILY ALBUM. The McCarthys. MMCCD 54. Tommy McCarthy, a piper, whistle
player and concertina player from West Clare, reared his family mostly in
London, with annual visits home. In London his home was a centre of musical
activity, with visits from people such as Paddy Taylor, PJ Crotty, and
particularly Bobby Casey. Jacqueline plays concertina, Marion plays uilleann
pipes and fiddle, Bernadette plays fiddle and young Tommy plays fiddle. They
are joined on this recording by their spouses Tommy Keane (pipes), Louise
Costello (accordion), Johnny Giles (whistle) and Henry Benagh (fiddle). This
is great music, played in different combinations, and there are a few tracks
from Tommy Senior, who sadly died some years ago.
FIDDLE FAIR. Various artists. In the town of Baltimore in West Cork, there’s
a pub called Declan McCarthy’s, which is famous as an entertainment venue.
Every year they have their ‘fiddle fair’, which lasts for a week. This year’
s one included such players as Dezi Donnelly, Cathal Hayden, Matt Cranitch,
Liz Kane, At the Racket, Dermot McLaughlin and more. It’s a wide selection
of music which covers a large spectrum of styles, from Donegal to Sliabh
Luachra, to East Galway. Well worth a listen.
LIVE IN LISDOONVARNA. The Kilfenora Céilí Band. TOLCD 15. This is the first
live recording by the great Clare band - live in The Spa Hotel in
Lisdoonvarna with a full crowd of experienced dancers. The music is great
and the excitement is palpable. The first six tracks are arranged for a
Caledonian Set. There is an excellent potted history of the band and the
notes (by an anonymous author) are very well written. The crowd reaction is
part of the whole effect, but is not allowed to intrude.
HAPPY TO MEET. PJ Crotty, Carol Cullinan, James Cullinan. AILLE 001. A
beautiful album, both in its pace and its choice of tunes. All three
musicians are from Clare; PJ plays flute, Carol plays piano and James is a
fiddler. There are a couple of beautiful barndances here, and an old Clare
waltz, but most of the tunes are jigs, reels and hornpipes. Some of the
jigs, such as ‘Scattery Island’ and ‘Farewell to Lissycasey’ have a very old
feel to them, and overall it is an absolutely satisfactory listening
experience.
LATE NIGHTS AND SUNDAY AFTERNOONS. LOUGHBEG COMHALTAS. Loughbeg is a place
in County Antrim. The local Comhaltas branch meets in the Crosskeys pub, and
this is their first album. The assembled musicians play jigs, reels and
hornpipes, and some of the members throw in a few songs.
AN RAICÍN ÁLAINN. Lasairfhíona Ní Chonaola. This is the first solo album by
a great singer. Lasairfhíona is from Inis Oirr, the smallest of the Aran
Islands, and does not confine herself to the old songs;quite a bit of her
repertoire is from the writing of her father. However, she does sing the old
songs, and she sings them most beautifully. This debut solo album contains
both modern and traditional songs. Even the new ones have a very traditional
feel. The production and accompaniment is restrained and simple. It is very
rarely that we see young talent as great as this; she has a beautiful voice
which she uses with great intelligence. There are thirteen examples of her
singing, all of them in Gaelic, and every one is a jewel.
LIVE AT VICAR STREET. Christy Moore. COL 508635.2. Christy has retired from
the crushing touring schedule he used to inflict on himself, but every so
often he feels like performing in a small venue. These gigs are never
advertised, but they’re always sold out within ten minutes of the word
hitting the street. The music on this album is typical of such a
performance - it was recorded in Vicar Street, the best music venue in
Dublin. He’s joined by Donal Lunny on vocals, guitar, keyboards and bodhrán,
and Declan Sinnott on vocals and guitars. The recording manages to retain
the strong sense of intimacy that prevails at these gigs, where most of the
audience are known to Christy personally.