Cnoc Buí­, by Conal Ó Gráda

Some people remember where they were the precise moment when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon. Others, their first kiss. Me, I remember the precise time and location when I first heard Conal Ó Gráda's first album, The Top of Coom. Some very good musical recordings express their genius in a subtlety which takes repeated listening and a deep knowledge of the musical context of the album to truly comprehend. Not so with The Top of Coom; it grabbed my ears the second I first heard it, and immediately changed my mind about the kind of sounds and rhythm that it was possible to produce on a wooden flute.

Ó Gráda plays with a precise rhythm and a wide range of timbre. His use of fingered ornamentation is not excessive; most of what sets his style apart from others comes from his rhythm and versatile breath control. He can play as gently as anybody, but he can also drive the flute to a resonant, coarse tone which begins to push the boundaries of what we would think of as the sound of a wind instrument. As well anything in between; his playing is not random bursts of noise, but rather a controlled exploration of the range of the instrument. Gary Hastings described Conal as "half man, half steam-engine." When he plays dance music, it actually makes you want to dance.

Now, nearly 20 years later, Ó Gráda has released a new album, called Cnoc Buí­. How does it compare to The Top of Coom? Well, his style is recognizable from the first album; there hasn't been a day and night change in the intervening years. But the album itself is somewhat different. Save for Colm Murphy's bodhrán on a couple of tracks, the CD is entirely unaccompanied. Now, the accompanists on Ó Gráda's first album were no slouches (e.g., Arty McGlynn), but unaccompanied recordings are all too rare these days, and always pleasant to hear. Also, a notable omission from the first album, namely, polkas, has been corrected. Ó Gráda's style fits the polka rhythm very well, and Cnoc Buí­ includes three tracks of polkas.

With only two exceptions, all of the tunes on the CD are traditional. There is a good mix of common and less common tunes. The audio quality is good, and the sound hasn't been drowned in reverb. All of the tunes on this recording are played on the concert flute (The Top of Coom featured a couple of tracks played on the fife).

My only complaint about the CD is that there are no liner notes. It's a small thing, but I always like to read artists' comments about the tunes. But overall this is a great CD, one of my favorite this year. I've been listening to it for about two months now, and it sounds fresh every time.

You can buy the CD (or download) at CDBaby or via Ó Gráda's own site. Both sites have audio previews of the tracks. It's also available from Celtic Grooves.

Killashandra

 

Well, the highly coveted award for "Craig's favorite performance at the Dublin Irish Festival this year" goes to Killashandra. Killashandra, otherwise known as "Ted and Debbie," play their music in a way which is thoughtful and speaks volumes about the musicians. I think it is really music which could not be made by two people who had just met for the first time. At the same time, they have not allowed their years of making music together to make their music stale, either. It reminded me, in that way, of hearing Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill, or June McCormack and Michael Rooney. Not so much in the musical style, but in the way that they worked together as partners.

Ted and Debbie play tunes slowly when it fits the tune and their own style, and they play less common(-ly performed today) rhythms, like barndances. They improvised and experimented with tunes in a way which seemed to surprise even themselves. Their performance was punctuated by occasional anecdotes about some of the tunes and where they learned them.

Unfortunately, they have no recordings released that I'm aware of. I'm hoping that will change. In the meantime, you'll probably be able to hear them at the Dublin Irish Festival next year, and they occasionally lead the session at Claddagh downtown. Regretfully, however, I've seen very few sessions in the Columbus area which made room for even occasional solo performances, and a lot of what is really special about Killashandra's music would be lost in the din of a local session.

Where I'll Be At the Dublin Irish Festival

Click the title to see where I'm planning to be this weekend.

Dympna O’Sullivan and Joan Hanrahan

Since I haven't posted anything in forever and a day, here's a nice video of Dympna O’Sullivan and Joan Hanrahan playing a couple of jigs.

Journal of Music in Ireland Unlocks Its Archive

Really, really cool:

JMI: Journal of Music in Ireland today announced that it is unlocking its entire online archive.

The resource, which can be accessed free at http://thejmi.com/archive, comprises the complete back-catalogue of the magazine and contains hundreds of articles, interviews, reviews and listings.

The publishers of JMI believe the move will stimulate international interest in Irish musical life and provide valuable exposure to Irish musicians and composers.

What can you find in there? Post the most interesting links in comments. I notice:

• The Myth of Traditional Music's Popularity, by Hammy Hamilton
• ‘…what happens when you stop playing tunes…’:an interview with Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh
• The National Ear: Part 1, by Richard Pine
• Have Traditional Musicians No Ambition Beyond the Session?, by Rossa Ó Snodaigh
• The Price of Happiness?, by Barra Ó Séaghdha
• A First for Roscommon, by Emer Mayock
• ‘Because it's our own’: Breandán Breathnach 1912-85, by Nicholas Carolan
• A Job with No Clock: Séamus Ennis and the Irish Folklore Commission, by Ríonach uí Ógáin
• Real reviewsfrom thoughtful critics

I'm going to be busy with this for quite a while.

Kitty Hayes

I am saddened to learn that concertina player, and widow of flute and whistle player Josie Hayes, Kitty Hayes died at home in Shanaway Miltown Malbay this past Saturday. Her friend, Peter Laban, has posted a heartfelt obituary. Here are some wonderful videos of Kitty and Peter playing together. They also recorded a well-reviewed CD together, and Kitty recorded a solo CD, as well.

Breathe Often

My teacher gave me a great tip about how to learn where to breathe: Learn the tune with a breath in every measure. Then you'll be able to take a breath whenever you need one, and you won't always do it in the same places, which makes the tune sound repetitive.

Téada

I've decided that I had better post more photos from the 2007 Dublin Irish Festival before the 2008 Festival rolls around! So here are some photos of Téada.

It was raining cats and dogs when I pulled into the festival on Sunday afternoon. The police had shut the festival down because of the danger of lightning. They told me at the entrance that only "participants" (entertainers) were being allowed in. When I produced a participants' ticket, they told me that I still couldn't go in. Go figure.

Eventually, the gates were opened. When I got to the tent in which Téada would be performing, it was almost empty, although it filled up quickly as people came back into the festival. The band came in and started setting up their instruments and doing sound checks.

Here's a photo of flute player Damien Stenson during the sound check.

 

Yes, that is a B♭ flute on his lap. No, he didn't play it during the show. Before the show started, an audience member (not me!) walked up and asked to try his flute. He handed it over to her, seemingly without a second thought.

The band also includes bodhrán player Tristan Rosenstock:

 

...fiddler Oisín Mac Diarmada, Paul Finn, playing button box:

 

Seán Mc Elwain plays guitar and bouzouki.

 

Readers familiar with Téada's earlier incarnations will notice that this is a substantial change in lineup from the performers featured on Téada's first couple of albums. To my ear, their sound is different as well. No matter how you felt about their previous work, I think that their most recent album, Inné Amárach, deserves a listen with a fresh ear. There's a wide variety of tunes, mostly dance music, but not just jigs and reels. There are no songs; the album is strictly instrumental. It really is a "new band." The title is Irish for "Yesterday Tomorrow," and I think it perfectly captures the spirit of the album — an obvious knowledge and respect for the sources of traditional music inside of a contemporary sound. The US version of the album includes a promotional DVD about the band which is in much the same spirit. Besides featuring Téada, it also includes (short) interviews with Peter Horan, Sean Ryan, and Verona Ryan. The DVD is interesting, but unfortunately doesn't focus on performances of complete tunes. The CD, however, is first-rate playing from start to finish. I really like Inné Amárach.

Micho Russell Video

I'm Not Dead

In case you wondered. But my home computer is.

Lucky I can make music without a computer these days.

Here are some folks who've linked to me recently:

• Mi amigo, Sergio Gonzalez, who plays flute and bouzouki on the Kells CD which I reviewed ages ago, has a new radio show, and a blog to go with it. If you're ever in Patagonia, check it out, or listen in online.
• Joel has a new flute/whistle blog.
• Thanks for kind words from Beniy.