Declan O'Rourke "Chronicles of the Great Irish Famine"
Warner, 2017
The recent movie drama, "Black '47," has reminded us of starvation, death, disease, eviction and emigration in 1840s Ireland.
An Gorta Mór (The Great Famine) might be considered the most important period in recent Irish history;
Ireland's population hasn't fully recovered since. It might well be a grey chapter in Irish history as well. When singer-songwriter
Declan O'Rourke[52]
learnt that his grandfather was born in a workhouse he didn’t really know what that meant.
He also realized that there are few songs about the event.
It took Declan 15 years to put a song cycle together to overcome the trauma and the silence
and write personal accounts that would be both historically accurate and emotionally true.
You can easily acknowledge his genuine rendition and relevance when thousands of refugees still try to run away from poverty and despotism.
Declan's song-writing alludes to traditional Irish music, his first love, being nurtured on a diet of Andy Irvine and Paul Brady.
The band that brings his songwriting to life includes the likes of former Dubliners fiddler John Sheahan,
Altan accordionist Dermot Byrne, For Men and A Dog bodhránist Gino Lupari,
piper Mike McGoldrick, harpist Floriane Blancke, and many more.
© Walkin' T:-)M
The Unwanted "Pay Day"
Whirling Discs, 2018
Almost ten years after their recording debut, "Music from the Atlantic Fringe,"[39]
Irish folk group The Unwanted has got back together for another collection of songs and instrumental dance music.
There are polkas from north-western Ireland and English Morris music. There is a song from the travelling community (a variant of Child ballad #2
which includes the well-known "Scarborough Fair") and forays into rock'n'roll with Rory Gallagher's "Don’t Know Where I’m Going" and Thin Lizzy's
"It’s Only Money." There is a great deal of American music in the first place: old-time music from the Appalachians,
a gospel hymn from the Ozark Mountains, country blues from Mississippi John Hurt, eventually a parting song of Virginian fishermen.
This is presented by a most unusual outfit, consisting of Californian Rick Epping (harmonica, concertina, jew's harp, 5-string banjo)
and Sligo's Cathy Jordan of Dervish fame (bodhran, bouzouki, baglama, accordion) and Seamie O’Dowd (guitars, fiddle, mandola).
It adds up to a sort of folk music exuding a retro-style sentiment without getting nostalgic but feeling comfortable.
Please listen, enjoy, it pays off!
© Walkin' T:-)M
Trail West "From the Sea to the City"
TW Records, 2018
Initially Scottish trad group Trail West had been a quartet (Ian Smith, Seonaidh MacIntyre, Andrew Findlater, Alain Campbell) promoting the music and culture of the
Hebrides.[52][61]
Their latest album "From the Sea to the City" sees them based in Glasgow and adding Jonathan Gillespie on keyboards and vocals and Allan Nairn on electric guitar.
The lads have moved away from their ceilidh band origins, but have retained their trademark accordion and whistle skirmishes. There is an excellent selection of dance tunes,
including "Ian Smith’s Jig" composed by Highland accordionist Fergie 'The Ceilidh King' MacDonald for the group's whistle player and a tasty "Tayvallich Turkey" by new member Allan Nairn.
It is swift, they only slow down on their rendition of Malcolm Jones' (of Runrig fame) "Mary K’s Waltz" and Hector Murray's (don't know him) "Mo Dhùthaich" (My Country).
With the new line-up, songs have become more important. Jonathan Gillespie's contributions are on an equal footing to Seonaidh MacIntyre's.
The album's title "From the Sea to the City" not only refers to their personal development, but also serves as a loose concept for people moving
from the hinterlands to the big city for whatever reasons there may be.
For example, the Irish ditty "McAlpine’s Fusiliers" pays homage to the migrant workers in the building trade;
the Gaelic "Óran An T-Saighdeir" (Soldier Song) relates the tale of a pressganged youth during the Napoleonic Wars.
Seonaidh MacIntyre has written "Take Me Home," and it is not quite clear if he is lamenting a lost love or the home country across the sea.
These melancholic and nostalgic lyrics are overcome by the group's powerful sound. The future looks bright, no doubt about it.
© Walkin' T:-)M
Fara "Times From Times Fall"
CPL Music, 2018
Orkney quartet Fara[62]
once again showcase their love for their native home off the Scottish North Coast.
Fiddlers Kristan Harvey, Jeana Leslie and Catriona Price and pianist Jennifer Austin grew up together,
went separate ways artistically (Blazin’ Fiddles, Cara, Twelfth Day), and eventually formed a new relationship.
First of all, they celebrate with self-composed instrumental music which is vivid and muscular.
The fiddles are resolute and spirited, the harmonies are rich and full.
There are tunes from all four and several co-writes, including the wittily titled "7, 8, Nein".
Let me explain, as a kid Catriona got always confused when her German-born mother uttered the number Nine whenever she was off-hand!
At the other end of the velocity spectrum, Jeana's surging "At the Ebb" paints Orkney’s breathtaking coastline.
Jennifer composed the lucid "Maxwell's Light," honouring the discovery of the nature of light by 19th century Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell,
and takes up a fiddle herself. Secondly, Fara put music to the words of several Orcadian poets (Christina Costie, Edwin Muir, George Mackay Brown).
Jeana is the group's sublime vocalist, and she brings the album to a satisying conclusion with her thoughtful ballad "See It All".
© Walkin' T:-)M
Childsplay "The Bloom of Youth"
Own label, 2018
The common denominator of this group is that all the fiddlers play on violins made by Bob Childs. It is a who's who of US American artists playing traditional Irish music,
namely Hanneke Cassel,[63]
Shannon Heaton,[56]
Sheila Falls, Katie McNally,[61]
and Keith Murphy, to mention just those who've contributed original music.
There are traditional melodies, tunes from the likes of Alasdair Fraser, Brendan McGlinchey, Charlie Lennon and Liz Carroll,
and a dodgy gyspy swing piece from Russian violinist Oleg Ponomarev.
Childsplay has been performing for 30 years,[41][52]
taking no prisoners with their multi-layered fiddle music at breakneck speed.
They are able to mimic a ceili band to get everybody on their feet, but also a string orchestra and its cinematic soundscape.
The altogether seventh Childsplay album features the gorgeous singing of Karan Casey[43]
(formerly of Solas).[32]
"Cuckanandy" is a haunting ghost story from West Cork, whereas the jaunty emigration song "Sailing off to Yankeeland" thematically fits like a glove on an Irish-American music record.
Scotsman Andy M. Stewart of Silly Wizard fame wrote "Where Are You Tonight I Wonder" and Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell the anti-war song "The Fiddle and the Drum".
Karan eventually composed a lovely compliment for her late mother. But that didn't make a good ending, it had to be the soulful
"One to One Waltz" from accordionist Tommie Cunniffe.
© Walkin' T:-)M
The Here & Now "The Winding Stair"
Own label, 2018
The Here & Now got together in Austin, Texas, playing traditional Irish music.
Fiddler Niamh Fahy is from the homeland, namely Tara in Co. Meath; she took lessons with
Antóin McGabhann[59]
before touring with the Riverdance show, Project West[61]
and The Dhol Foundation.[65]
Fiddler Chris Buckley, guitarist Joseph Carmichael and bodhrán player
Rob Forkner are American born but have fallen in love with Irish music;
the latter making his first bodhrán himself from birchwood and salmon skin (sic!)
because he couldn't find such an instrument in Alaska.
The two driving and duelling fiddles are responsible for their particular sound.
They often change pace to make things more interesting. It is a diet of traditional tunes
and compositions from Phil Cunningham, Maire Breathnach and Brendan McGlinchy.
Niamh has written the poignant title track, Chris another two tunes.
For good measure, The Here & Now ramble all over the place and pay a visit to Quebec, Sweden and Bulgaria.
There are songs as well. "I'll Weave My Love A Garland" is an old song from western England;
"May You Never" is one of the best-known pieces of singer-songwriter John Martyn, made popular by Eric Clapton on his Slowhand album.
© Walkin' T:-)M
Alistair Anderson & Northlands "Alistair Anderson & Northlands"
White Meadow Records, 2016
I learned about Alistair Anderson when he did a recording with banjoman Dan Walsh recently.[64]
He is renowned as a skilled performer on the English concertina and the Northumbrian pipes, having performed
with the High Level Ranters. I didn't know that he had also helped founding the Folkworks organisation operating workshops and summer schools and
had developed a degree course in folk and traditional music at Newcastle University.
Alistair's latest project "Northlands" features three magnificent musicians of the younger generation, namely
singer Sarah Hayes (Admiral Fallow, Wildings),
guitarist Ian Stephenson (Kathryn Tickell Band, Kan, Baltic Crossing, Andy May Trio)
and fiddler Sophy Ball (Bottle Bank Band, Andy May Trio). The album's title points the quartet's musical focus to the North of England,
including some particular triple time hornpipes. They are crossing the border to Scotland for a change and are taking a detour to Canada.
They take to the road capable of showcasing all the beauty that lies left, right and centre.
Sarah Hayes turns out to be a captivating
singer. "The Snow it Melts the Soonest" is well known all over the place, whereas the other three have Northumbrian connections.
Durham singer-songwriter Jez Lowe lamented the "Taking on Men" from the 2006's BBC Radio Ballads,[33]
Mike Tickell wrote the mining song "Last Shift" set to music by Ian Stephenson.
The night-visiting song "I Drew My Ship Into a Harbour" (recorded by the High Level Ranters in the early 1970s) had Sarah combining the Northumbrian and Shirley Collins' southern English
versions.[67]
© Walkin' T:-)M
Tommy Mellett & Neansaí Ní Choisdealbha
"An Tower: Traditional Irish Music on Accordion and Flute"
Cló Iar-Chonnacht, 2018
Besides her work for RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, Neansaí Ní Choisdealbha is renowned for her lovely flute-playing.[55]
Lately she was able to pull accordionist Tommy Mellett (Tom Sheáinín Ó Méalóid) from Camus in the Connemara Gaeltacht of County Galway
with his flawless playing and interesting repertoire into the recording studio.
If There Weren't Any Women in the World, I say. This is the title of one of the featured barndances, and Tommy has a lot of tunes beyond the jigs and reels.
There is also a pleasant slow air, "Peaceful Claddaghduff," written by Co. Clare flutist Michael Hynes, and a pair of vibrant waltzes.
The latter have been composed by Neansaí for melodeon king Johnny Phádraig Pheter Connolly (father of Johnny Óg Connolly), which is very special, because she never did this kind of thing before or since.
But why not, it seems she has a talent for composing too. Their performance is relaxed, it is not about pyrotechnics but the joy of playing together.
Tommy Mellett and Neansaí Ní Choisdealbha are joined by son Tommy Jr (flute) and granddaughter Jennifer (concertina), as well as
Neansaí's husband Paddy (bodhrán) and John Blake (piano, guitar).
© Walkin' T:-)M
Miller | MacDonald | Cormier "South Haven"
Own label, 2018
Ben Miller (border pipes) and Anita MacDonald (fiddle, vocals) have been playing together since five years, making a name
for their spirited dance music. It is the particular brand of Cape Breton music, rooted in the Scottish Highlands but
absorbing anything found along the way across the great western ocean. The two had teamed up with various accompanists,
and eventually found Zakk Cormier as their steady partner. He is not only a reliable guitarist but, hailing from the
Acadian tradition of the Evangeline region of Prince Edward Island, adds another dimension with his foot-percussion
which is a popular traditional treat in French Canada. The threesome finds its own voice by weaving together the diverse threads of the Celtic traditions.
"South Haven" has been recorded in a live setting in the Ephraim Scott Memorial Church in South Haven on Cape Breton Island, using its great acoustics
and capturing the vigour of musicians listen and immediately react to each other.
With the one exception of the Gaelic song "Alasdair nan Stòp", South Haven is entirely instrumental, including
marches, jigs, strathspeys, reels, and even a gentle air and a jovial waltz. Their performance is subtle.
Besides, Anita chose to record everything in two alternate tunings, AEAE and ADAE, respectively,
which had once been quite common in the Cape Breton fiddle tradition. You can hear how it perfectly suits the drones of the pipes.
The first set of six consecutive tunes is thus called "The High Bass Set," referring to this tuning up of the low strings.
© Walkin' T:-)M
Fásta "Rewind"
Own label, 2014
Fásta "Un Canadien errant"
Own label, 2016
Sophie & Fiachra + André Marchand "Portraits"
Own label, 2018
Irish uilleann piper Fiachra O'Regan and Québecoise fiddler/singer Sophie Lavoie have played together as a duo since 2008.[44]
They expanded, first with guitarist Michael McCague and bodhrán player Jim Higgins, lately with La Bottine Souriante co-founder André Marchand on guitar.
They perform dance music from both the Irish and the French Canadian traditions.
It turns out that Sophie Lavoie is also a sublime composer on Celtic/French terrain.
The ensemble's performance is resting in itself and perfectly balanced.
Subtlety is never overpowered by their passionate execution.
Playing along they find unexpected affinities in the music of maritime Canada and south west Ireland,
so the casual listener never gets irritated by any breaks or jumps.
Their vocal selection also ranges from the Irish song/jig "Páidín Ó Raifeartaigh" to the French "Le marchand de velours".
Again, Sophie Lavoie made an original contribution, "Fille du lac," and that's much appreciated.
© Walkin' T:-)M
Enda Seery "Raining Notes"
Own label, 2018
Enda Seery from Streamstown, Co. Westmeath, is one of Ireland's hottest flutists and whistle players these
days.[46][51]
He composed one third of tunes himself, part of it comes from a suite he was commissioned to write in commemoration
of the 1916 Easter Rising,[59]
the catchy part of the suite that is. There are also tunes by the likes of Paddy O'Brien and Maurice Lennon (of Stockton's Wing fame).
Enda is capable of blowing off dust from familiar stuff, thus
there is a great rendition of the old set dance "The Hunt," here transposed to the unusual key of A.
Throughout the album, Enda is backed up by guitar and double bass, and Enda himself plays a bit of piano.
He has much respect for the roots of traditional Irish music, but he's also aware of its evolution thoughout the ages.
Thus his notes are sometimes not only drizzling but raining hard. However,
Enda Seery can be a gentle man too, evidenced by the plaintive "Éibhlí Gheal Chiúin Ní Chearbhaill" (Fair, Quiet Eily O'Carroll) from Bunting's tune collections.
© Walkin' T:-)M
Seán Heely "Edge of the Bow"
Own label, 2018
US National Scottish Fiddle Champion Seán Heely is currently based in Washington DC and performs with local Celtic band Skylark,
featuring Zan McLeod on guitar and Elise Kress on flute. He is only in his mid twenties and "Edge of the Bow" is his debut solo album.
The edge and the bow are meant to embody his concurrent interest in both Scottish and Irish music
(he is equally at home with classical music, bluegrass and gypsy swing which partially informs his treatment of traditional music).
Thus everything kicks off with the traditional Scottish song air "Òran an Ròin" (The Seal's Song),
followed by original tunes which could have come from the shores of Donegal and the Scottish Highlands, respectively.
He has composed six catchy tunes altogether; being the winner of the 2016 Scottish Fiddling Revival's Tune writing competition.
Seán's selection is a mix of the old and the new, including Niel Gow's slow strathspey "Loch Errochside",
Scottish pipe tunes and Cape Breton reels, Irish slip jigs and polkas, and Ed Reavy tunes (the Cavanman who made it to Philadelphia).
He provides a fresh breeze, regardless if playing a graceful air or a groovy barnstomper.
Seán employed several guest musicians on tenor banjo, whistles, border pipes, harp, cello and percussion;
Zan McLeod is his unobtrusive companion on guitar and bouzouki.
© Walkin' T:-)M
Gillian Head "tidal"
Own label, 2018
Fiddler Gillian Head hails from New Waterford on Cape Breton Island, and got the opportunity of lessons from the late legendary Jerry Holland.
Her 2014 debut album almost became Music Nova Scotia's Traditional/Roots Album of the Year.[57]
Narrowly beaten, she tries once more with the sophomore album, and we keep pur fingers crossed because it's very promising and pushing the boundaries.
Gillian features a couple of traditional Cape Breton tunes, plus compositions by the likes of
Jerry Holland, Liz Carroll, Phil Cunningham and Michael McGoldrick. With the latter we are back in the Old World;
Fittingly she recorded Niel Gow's "...Happy Return to Scotland" :-)
She wrote a couple of airy tunes herself; her execution on the fiddle is earthy though.
Gillian is joined by pianist Jason Roach of Còig (who also composed the jazzy "Gamma Ray")
and guitar player Mary Beth Carty (better known as a singer and accordionist).
© Walkin' T:-)M
Seamus Sands "A Deep Pool"
Own label, 2018
Fiddler Seamus Sands was brought up in Co. Down in Northern Ireland, but is now living in the South.
His 2015 debut album was crossing bridges to other folk traditions,[59]
this time Seamus is diving into the "Deep Pool" of traditional music from Down and the neighbouring counties Armagh and Louth.
Is it a remedy against homesickness?
Except from the air of the well-known Co. Down song "The Flower Of Magherally," Seamus reckons that most of these
long-forgotten tunes and unusual versions have never been recorded before.
He has sourced them from Irish and Scottish collections of the 18th and 19th centuries, added two compositions from South Armagh fiddler
and pianist Josephine Keegan (the "Elusive Pimpernel" polka features five parts in three different keys) and a barndance and reel of his own.
He has included mazurkas and flings besides the jigs and reels. Song airs play an important part: the lyrical
"Maebh Gheal" is a rather unsung selection from the Bunting manuscripts; "The Bard's Legacy" had been passed on without any lyrics until
Thomas Moore put new words to it.
Most of what comes out of this Deep Pool is pure unaccompanied fiddle music.
His execution then is straightforward with great rhythmic drive.
Josephine Keegan backs her own tunes on the piano,
and Seamus's fiddle-playing daughters Clare, Tiarna and Lainey add their talents on a couple of sets.
© Walkin' T:-)M
Eimear Arkins "What’s Next?"
Own label, 2018
Irish singer and fiddler Eimear Arkins is from Ruan in County Clare, but living in St. Louis, Missouri since 2014.
She is currently touring with The Paul Brock Band,[34]
and regularly playing with harpist Eileen Gannon and guitarist Kevin Buckley, who both contribute to her solo debut album. "What’s Next?"
is a mixture of vocal and instrumental music from County Clare.
Eimear is an expressive and disarming vocalist, trained on the Fleadh Cheoil competition circuit.
So she did win titles in English singing, Irish singing and lilting.
There are old ballads such as "Slán le Máigh" from 18th century poet Andrias Mac Craith,
a sean-nós love song such as "Úna Dheas Ní Niadh," and crowd pleasers such as "An Spailpín Fánach" and "May Morning Dew".
She is deeply in love with her Irish home county, obvious when praising the big Fair in the small town of Sixmilebridge.
This affection extends to her selection of dance music featuring compositions by renowned Clare fiddlers Junior Crehan and Bobby Casey.
Her gentle execution also owes a lot to these great traditional musicians.
Eimear's spirited jig provides the album's title; she actually composed it when having finished her university studies.
Altogether it's a fine debut. So - what’s next?
© Walkin' T:-)M
Iona Fyfe "Away From My Window"
CPL Music, 2018
Aberdeenshire singer Iona Fyfe had been a finalist in the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician Awards in 2017, and is about becoming the next big thing on the Scottish folk ballad circuit. She had already released an EP to whet one's appetite,[64] and now a hearty main course with her full-length album "Away From My Window". Iona sings in her ain tongue. There are ancient Child ballads such as "The Swan Swims" (aka "Twa Sisters" or "Wind and Rain") and "Glenlogie," the latter using a tune that is actuakky associated with the ballad "Annachie Gordon". There are old bothy songs from her native North East Scotland such as "Guise of Tough" and "Pit Gair" laid down in a contemporary way, and novelties from Scots songwriters (Michael Marra's "Take Me Out Drinking" from the late 1970s and Aidan Moffat's recent lullaby "And So Must We Rest") in a traditional vein. Iona herself explores the "Banks of the Tigris," throwing in some disturbing electronic sounds and echoing the never-ending quarrel in the Middle East. Her singing is firm and fascinating, taken to another level by a fine back-up band including Luc McNally, Tim Edey, Charlie Stewart, and many more.
Noo ma sang is ended, I won't sing any more, If ony be offended ye can walk ouside the door, Come a hi come a doo, hi come a day, Hi come a diddle come a dandy o© Walkin' T:-)M
MacArdle Quinn Dunne "Madam, I'd Like To Be Tossin' Your Hay"
Own label, 2010
MacArdle Black Quinn Murphy "Much Blindin’ Down the Marsh"
Own label, 2018
For fifty years, Jim MacArdle (guitar, concertina, harmonica, dulcimer, autoharp) has been a fixture
at the Sunday morning sessions at Carberry's Pub on the North Strand in Drogheda, Co. Louth, Ireland.
He found a reliable muscial partner in accordionist Eilis Quinn; he formerly played with
Mick Dunne (mandolin, tenor banjo), and lately with Donal Black (banjo, guitar, mandolin) and Wally Murphy (banjo).
Jim has assembled a particular repertoire of local tunes, especially many unusual tune types such as quadrilles and flings,
executed for set dancing. One of his big influences has been the late Mary Ann Carolan who apparently didn't play in public.
She had been a champion of the German concertina, and thus many tunes are in the peculiar key of C.
It is spritely music, and Jim adds his own compositions to the tradition
(for example, "Fabio’s Reel" is dedicated to footballer Declan 'Fabio' O'Brien).
At times, he also takes on Swedish and Danish music. Fair enough, I say, Louth must have been visited many times by the Vikings,
and who knows why this music is different to traditional music in counties Kerry, Clare or Donegal!?
At the core of both albums is the rakish song delivery:
"Much-Blindin’ Down the Marsh" is a Drogheda song par excellence, written by Wally Murphy's father about post-war unemployment in the area.
"Love is Teasing" is a popular ditty, though rarely heard recently.
"Georgie" is of course the well-known Child ballad, adopted here from Martin Carthy.
There is a black-face minstrel tune from the 19th century as well as a recent Richard Thompson piece.
So it's quite a comprehensive survey of what is going on musically in Louth.
© Walkin' T:-)M
Sharon Carroll "The Irish Harp - A Journey in Time"
Own label, 2017
»Growing up in Ireland I was surrounded by images of the harp but my passion for the musical instrument began on seeing a real one for the first time in the music room of my school. I can't explain why seeing it stopped me totally in my tracks and how the shape of the wood moved me. I knew immediately I had to take a closer look I had to touch the wood and I most definitely had to hear the strings play. I was enchanted!« (Sharon Carroll)
Sharon Carroll is a wedding harpist, who runs a genuine harp school in Newry in Northern Ireland. She is also passionate about
history, and "The Irish Harp - A Journey in Time" covers a millennium of Irish harp music in 15 quintessential tunes presented
in chronological order. Sharon's selection starts with the first tune she ever learned, Brian Boru's March,
named for the famous High King who defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014.
That was an age when every Irish chieftain had a harper. The March of the King of Laois and the Lament of Limerick
evoke the 16th and 17th centuries when Queen Elizabeth ordered to hang all harpers and the Gaelic lords went into exile.
The harpers became travelling minstrels, Sharon opted for Rory Dall O'Cathan (Give Me Your Hand), William Connellan (Maire Nic Ailpin) and
the most famous of all, Turlough O'Carolan (Sí Beag Sí Mór, Eleanor Plunkett, Princess Royal).
At the beginning of the 19th century interest in the harp hit rock bottom: Thomas Moore put the words of The Last Rose of Summer
to a tune Edward Bunting transcribed at the 1792 Belfast Harp Festival. Soon after, the instrument's revival began, eventually leading
to the recordings of harper/singer Mary O'Hara during the early folk music revival (Ballinderry) and budding harpers making
a stab at faster dance music besides airs and ballads (Blarney Pilgrim / Morrison's Jig from Alan Stivell's "La Renaissance de la Harpe Celtique").
Sharon finishes her celebration of the harp with Tommy Potts' slip jig The Butterfly, featuring her pupils from the Carroll School of Harp in the Sonas Harp Ensemble.
Other tracks feature vocalist Clara Wilson, piper Paul McKernan, and fellow harpists Dearbhail Finnegan and Adrian McParland.
Sharon says, she recorded only pieces that evoke the spirit of their time and the composers who wrote them.
These tunes are well-known but executed with impeccable virtuosity in a relaxing setting.
The CD booklet includes a brief history of each tune. Sharon also has plans for a book with full arrangements and much more information.
© Walkin' T:-)M
Ralf Kleemann "Finistère - New Celtic Harp"
Own label, 2018
Ralf Kleemann is from the same hometown as this humble reviewer, a city with a tradition of wandering minstrels,[29]
so I have encountered his harp playing several times over the years. Ralf has a background from classical to jazz music, but found slightly
other inspiration during an Irish tour for his subsequent solo albums.[33][43]
He was awarded the Deutsche Folk Förderpreis (as part of the Trio Modal) and the
Prix d´Improvisation at the Rencontres Internationales de la Harpe Celtique in Britanny. Ralf's fourth album is also named after
the most western part of Britanny, Finistère. The title track had been composed by Thomas König for a Breton harp competition where it was awarded first prize.
The late Kristen Noguès[34]
provided the harp arrangement for the traditional Ar baz valan. The ballad Gwerz Marv Pontkalleg is
best known from Alan Stivell's "La Renaissance de la Harpe Celtique" but Ralf's version also owes a lot to Kristen Noguès.
Ralf presents a three-part suite, lumped together over the years from traditional Breton themes such as a hanter dro.
He eventually finishes off with a longer and more improvisational version of the title track.
While traditional Breton music had been a major inspiration, Ralf goes for a Pan-Celtic sound.
His execution is muscular and confident while being emotional and melodic at the same time.
© Walkin' T:-)M
Virginie le Furaut "Eau de l'âme"
Coop Breizh, 2018
Harpist Virginie le Furaut hails from the Morbihan area of Britanny. She has been part of several duos (Orin', Cordélame) and trios (Edgylinn)
and lately supported singer-songwriter Nolwenn Leroy. "Eau de l'âme" (which means Soul Water)
is her debut solo album (save from contributions by vocalist Jeremy Kerno-Dréano, guitarist Alban Bauduin and bodhràn player Eddy Guilloteau).
The nine tracks display the wide range of Virginie's interest. Starting with a laridé and other Breton dances, she plays polkas,
crosses the sea for Ireland's shores to perform a set of jigs and sing the folk ballad Spancil Hill,
and eventually deals with what seems to be a kind of Scottish from Sweden. Virginie's execution is animated and rock-solid without abstaining from
sentiment and fervour. It is always nice to see that the harp is reinventing itself every now and then.
© Walkin' T:-)M
Eliza Gilkyson "Secularia"
Red House Records, 2018
These days Austin folk singer/songwriter Eliza Gilkyson[36]
is touring both solo and with Three Women and the Truth (plus Mary Gauthier and Gretchen Peters). Her 20th album provides another poignant observation and
contemplation of the world we live in, in terms of spiritual songs though not in terms of the established religious and patriarchal régime. So
"Lifelines" encourages people closing ranks after the US presidential elections; other topics may relate to the #metoo movement.
Eliza's credo is secular but neither materialistic nor new-age ideas disconnected from reality:
Thank you for the sun, for my true love's face and our lives in love consumed, water flowing clean and pure, children born to carry on.
Thank you for the songs, thanks for all my good luck, all the things that don't go wrong and the hopes that won't give up.
The album is kicking off with "Solitary Singer" - she sings her best when nobody's listening... -
written by Eliza's grandmother Phoebe Hunter Gilkyson set to music by her father Terry Gilkyson.
The late Jimmy LaFave[63]
shares a verse of the 19th century anti-war gospel "Down by the Riverside,"
Shawn Colvin duets on ecology-minded lyrics from another one of Phoebe's poems.
The album eventually closes with rather quaint words and images:
I'm your unworthy instrument. Come strike my final tones and blow your horn magnificient through the hollows of my bones.
Eliza Gilkyson is supposed to challenge us and our dated views. It might as well give us something to focus upon.
Besides, there is Eliza's usual musical sense and songwriting skills at the highest level.
You cannot ask for more.
© Walkin' T:-)M
Hello Tut Tut "World Music Dance Band"
Own label, 2018
This unimaginatively titled album from a curiously titled band offers foot-stomping Balkan Beat
taking the detour via Australia. It is the debut album of a seven-piece ensemble battling it out with
clarinet, fiddle, accordion and electric guitar. Except one track, the traditional klezmer tune "Elephant Tanz,"
they have written their own original music pillaging their respective European backgrounds for a mixed bag
of Yiddish, Slavic and Romani music.
Guest musicians on kora and trumpet add African and Latin spices, there is even a bit of electronics thrown into the mix.
At times it sounds epic, though most of the times you are drawn to the dance floor
with a lot of youthful energy willing to be released.
The rousing track "Baal Shem Tov" takes its inspiration from the founder of Hasidic Judaism who had
proclaimed that the joyful celebration through music should be at the very centre of life.
Hello Tut Tut have become a household name on the Australian roots music circuit,
now they are ready to conquer the rest of the world.
© Walkin' T:-)M
Diknu Schneeberger Trio "Feuerlicht"
O-Tone Music (Edel), 2018
I have fond memories of an elongated stay in Vienna nearly ten years ago.
There was a regular Sunday morning brunch in a jazz café in the northern outskirts of town,
where I first encountered a very young Diknu Schneberger and his Django-ish gypsy style guitar.[42]
The Diknu Schneeberger Trio celebrates its 10th anniversary, and the line-up hasn't changed a bit.
Diknu's father Joschi Schneeberger is plucking and slabbing on the double bass, while
Martin Spitzer's rhythm guitar is providing the firm ground for Diknu's feverish guitar attacks.
The last in a line of great Romani artists has provided many gorgeous tunes of his own, besides tracks from
Django Reinhardt, Dutch guitarist Stochelo Rosenberg, swing saxophonist Jimmie Lunceford,
Italian musette accordionist Tony Murena and Norwegian Romantic-era composer and pianist Edward Grieg.
Diknu's playing technique is based on Django's but has grown into something original.
He hasn't lost his youthful panache and temper, but he also has required a refinement and virtuosity
that is almost unheard of. I recommend to forget about the zithers and the schrammel music and
have a look at Vienna's clubs and bars where they consume an aromatic cocktail instead of sour heurigen wine.
© Walkin' T:-)M
Various Artists "Yiddish Glory - The Lost Songs of World War II"
Six Degrees Records, 2018
I'll sing songs about today's battle so the whole world will resound with the music,
Berta Flaksman wrote in a martial song in 1943 to encourage members of the Red Army to fight against the German Wehrmacht.
At the end of the World War, ethno-musicologist Moisei Beregovsky had discovered a collection of songs written by Jewish refugees,
Russian soldiers and survivors of the Ukrainian ghettos. Historiography from below: elegies about violence and destruction,
cries of hope and revenge, calls for resistance against fascism. For a change, the Jewish people are shown not only as lambs led to the slaughter,
but also as courageous and even brutal combatants. In this respect, Tarantino's Nazi hunting flick "Inglourious Basterds" has not just been a
revenge fantasy projected back into the past, as Berta Flaksman knows of her hero Yoshke from Odessa:
For three full days he hailed them down, firing one after the other ... Showing no mercy,
he sorted things out with the fascists, gave Hitler a strong lesson to remember him by...
In the course of the Stalinist purges the scientists disappeared in the Gulag and the songs in the archives, where they - mostly only text without melody -
resurfaced not until the 1990s. Now, Canada-based professor Anna Shternshis, Russian songwriter and chanson singer Psoy Korolenko,
and Loyko violinist Sergey Erdenko[42]
have brought some of them back to life. It satisfies immensely that Hitler and Stalin were ultimately unable to silence these voices.
In addition to the emotionally overwhelming music, the complete package includes a comprehensive booklet with all lyrics, English
and Russian translations as well as background information.
© Walkin' T:-)M
Yale Strom's Broken Consort "Shimmering Lights - Hanukkah Music"
ARC Music, 2018
Since the beginning of the 1980s, the US American violinist, composer and ethnomusicologist Yale Strom has been conducting extensive field research
in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. This provided a strong foundation for his klezmer ensemble Hot Pstromi. In addition, he made himself known as a composer
of new Jewish music, which klezmer crosses with Balkan sounds and religious improvisations with jazz rhythms.
"Shimmering Lights" is an excellent collection of old and new songs and instrumental pieces accompanying the Jewish Festival of Lights (Hanukkah).
This is celebrated differently in different Jewish communities (Yiddish, Sephardic, Hebrew), and correspondingly varied is Strom's musical potpourri.
Besides, Yale Strom loves incorporating musical influences from all over the world. His fellow musicians - a string quartet plus vocals, acoustic and
electric guitar and the Arabic short-necked lute Oud - do not only have experience with klezmer music, but also classic, jazz and bluegrass.
The bulging package is strung together with detailed sleeve notes including the song lyrics in Yiddish and English.
© Walkin' T:-)M
SonDeSeu "Beiralua"
Altafonte, 2018
Altafonte, the record company with headquarters in Madrid, whose management was related to the labels DoFol & Boa Music (which took care of a good number of Galician folk artists), it brings to us the latest masterpiece of the orchestra SonDeSeu.[35] Back in 2010—2013 we enjoyed their CDs ‘Barlovento’[42] and ‘Danzas Brancas’,[54] and we always wished their healthy continuity in the evanescent world of Spain’s folk music. Despite the crisis that drastically idled the country’s economy ten years ago, the Galician local institutions that supported this wonderful project in the city of Vigo (ETRAD, Escola Municipal de Música Folk y Tradicional, and Concello de Vigo), have endured in their efforts. Thus, today in 2018, we can listen to ‘Beiralua’, SonDeSeu’s fifth record, which follows their prior: ‘Mar de Vigo’, ‘Barlovento’, ‘Trastempo’ and ‘Danzas Blancas’. The enthusiastic orchestra comprehends now more than sixty musicians, structured in nine sections for: double bass, Galician bagpipes (gaitas, coordinated by Xaquín Xesteira), fiddles (coord. Alfonso Franco), bouzoukis (coord. Xosé Liz), choir (coord. Javier Feijoo ‘Xisco’), traverse flutes (requintas, coord. Xosé Liz), percussion (coord. Xaquín Xesteira), Galician hurdy-gurdies (zanfonas, coord. Anxo Pintos), and Celtic harps, being still the conductor the veteran Rodrigo Romaní (ex-member of the band Milladoiro), who also plays and leads the sections for double bass and harps. What I really enjoy about the path taken lately by SonDeSeu, is what I was hoping for since I heard their first CDs: To get the collaboration of so many other talented guest folk artists. Quico Comesaña (harp & bouzouki performer in the late band Berrogüetto) is the composer of the song ‘Ciclotimias’. The tune ‘Aí ven maio’, written by the singer-song writer Luis Emilio Batallán (with lyrics from the poet Manuel Curros Enriquez), is sung by Rosa Cedrón (formerly in the band Luar Na Lubre). Xosé Lois Romero[47] is the author of ‘Maneo de Malpica’, inspired by a Galician traditional melody. The ‘Rumba de Ribeira de Piquín’ has arrangements from Pedro Lamas, with Susana Seivane as gaita bagpipes guest performer. The classic melody in ‘Campanas de Bastabales’ (by the singer-song writer Amancio Prada), transmits the melancholy imprinted in the lyrics from the emblematic poetress Rosalía de Castro. I could imagine a following challenge to make SonDeSeu a bit more universal folk orchestra: to complement their unquestionable Galician repertoire incorporating a few songs (and maybe also guest artists) traditional from Portugal or even from French Britany, Ireland, Scotland, Wales,... It would make sense, to take advantage of their robust sections for Celtic harp, bouzouki, violin, flute.
© Pío Fernández
Stolen Notes "The Ocean Road"
Own label, 2018
It was back in 2013 that we found out about this ‘Celtic’ folk music band from Sevilla, that had already published their second album ‘The Loot’.[52] Stolen Notes comes back with their 2018 CD named ‘The Ocean Road’, incorporating two new band members: Rafa Álvarez (accordion, piano, bass guitar) and John Conde (acoustic guitar), besides the already known José Moreno (bodhran, mandola), Juan J. Almaraz (Irish flute, whistles), and Alejo Parra (Uilleann pipes). Most of the tunes in this great CD are of Irish or Scottish inspiration, but there a few others which establish the connection with the traditional music of French Britany or Northwest Spain (Galicia and Asturias regions). Nevertheless the dominance of the sound and music styles from Eire and Alba is evident all along the album. The Ocean Road starts with the happy tune ‘The Watchtower’, which is mostly a friendly duel between the Irish pipes and the flute in the development of a polka (The Bay of Light) and a reel (The Watchtower), composed by Juan J. Almaraz. He is also the author of the second tune, which jumps into the N-Spanish beats with the medley ‘Muñeiras de Marea’, two muñeiras (Faustiñeira and Muñeira’L Gallu), followed by an Asturian saltón, ‘Saltón da Marea’. And as said, the instrumentation is the one typical in Irish folk bands, although the effect of listening to these Galician and Asturian style melodies with the Uilleann pipes, the flutes, the bodhran, the guitar is totally thrilling. The cross-over continues with ‘Ebrel Suite’, a set of beautiful French Britany inspired air, gavottes and ridées. We are then back into the Irish melodies with ‘Silverline’, a jig and two reels, with Salvador Daza as guest fiddler. The fifth set ‘Swing Five’, has a start with a short and haunting slow air on the accordion. ‘The Girl of the Swell’, followed by the cheerful 5x8 beat of ‘Apus caffer in Dublin’, both written by Rafa Álvarez. The set concludes in 5x8 with ‘Flying to Birmingham’ and ‘The Swing Dance’, by Juan J. Almaraz. ‘Nana para Estrella’ is an enchanting lullaby with slow waltz rhythm, with mandola and flute. ‘The Seven Pilgrims’ has an irregular odd meter beat, a medley of two songs: ‘The Newyorkers’ and ‘The Happy Ruinous House’, both written by the piper Alejo Parra. The eighth one, ‘Air for Liam’ is the song ‘Greenfields of Canada’, a sort of lament magnificently played by Alejo Parra in the uilleann pipes, and probably as a tribute to the late Irish piping master Liam O’Flynn sadly gone in March 2018. That one sharply switches to ‘Trip to Cork’, three jigs with the pipes and bodhran as the leading instruments: ‘Cherish the Ladies’, ‘The Wren’s Nest’ and ‘Bye a While’. And the Ocean Road leads us towards the set ‘The Connection Reels’, with an elegant slow preluding one on the piano and whistles, ‘Wine & Firewood’, followed by the faster ‘January in Glasgow’, both of them composed by Juan J. Almaraz, and merrily concluded by ‘The Caucus’, again with the imprint from the pipes and the bodhran. The final and eleventh tune, ‘Green Before the Nightfall’ is an endearing slow melody on the guitar and accordion, authored by John Conde. I must honestly say that this is probably the most well balanced and pleasant to listen Irish or ‘Celtic’ music album published by Spanish musicians in the latest years. I really hope they continue developing and maturing their unquestionable skills and resourcefulness in many more CDs to come.
© Pío Fernández
Vigüela "A Tiempo Real"
ARC Music, 2018
Eight years ago we welcomed our first Vigüela album ‘Entre Tonadas’. [44] This folk music band comes back now with a 25 songs double-disc based on the traditions of central-south Spain, the autonomous community known as Castilla—La Mancha, more specifically from the region around their hometown of El Carpio de Tajo (Toledo province), along the Tajo riverside. Listening again to their traditional jotas, seguidillas, fandangos, malagueñas, rondeñas, veratas, tonadas,…, there is one thing that comes to my mind: This is a kind of Spanish folk music that has survived in its authentic style, unaltered by any possible influences from any other fashionable trad music from the surrounding, neither from the Iberian peninsula (from the northern or southern Spanish regions, or from Portugal), and even less from the ‘Celtic’, Mediterranean or Arabic sounds. Those kinds of crossover influences (which for many other Spanish bands have become a recurrent source of inspiration), are not something that you will find in Vigüelas repertoire. Their songs are the ones that I identify as typical of the villages of inland Spain, not just in Castilla—La Mancha but also in Castilla y León, Andalusia and even more Extremadura (Caceres & Badajoz provinces), the region having borders with Castile, Portugal and Andalusia. There is a strong sense of archaism in the music, not just in the rhythms and the melodies, but even more in the percussion instruments, many of them being just kitchen tools, such as: mortars, cauldrons, frying pans, canes, jars, bottles, spoons, forks, etc… The melodic instruments used by Vigüela are: guitar, Spanish lute, guitarro (a descendant from the Baroque guitar, smaller than the standard one), and single string rebec. Traditional dances from Extremadura are found the seguidilla ‘Pandero arroyano por seguidillas’ (Seguidillas with frame drum in the style of Arroyo de la Luz’). Arroyo de la Luz lies in the province of Cáceres, famous for musical couplets played on a frame drum. Vigüela spent time working with melodies collected by Manuel García Matos and Alan Lomax in the 1950s. The group has been careful not to imitate the way of singing from Arroyo de la Luz, but instead use this style of playing seguidilla with their own Toledo expressions. The archaism can be immediately identified in the 14 songs in CD-1, such as, ‘Arrímate, Pichón, a Mí’, a traditional tune where the rebec is not just single string, but the friction of the bow is just pulsating a single note on it. In other cases the beat is on the tambourine, the friction drum (zambomba), the mortar,…, while the melody is then on the melismatic singing of the female and male voices. In CD-2 the traditional fandangos, jotas, seguidillas,…, all the dance tunes are played with all the string instruments. For instance in ‘Malagueña a Tres del Dos’, ‘Rondeña de las Tres Esquinas’, or ‘Veratas a mi Manera’. The verata is a kind of fandango, that uses the same melodies as the rondeñas from La Vera region, but accelerating the melodies on the second beat. Vigüela calls it “my way” because they sing about the current political and social situation in Spain, using new lyrics, and also lyrics from the days of Second Spanish Republic (1931—1939), that sound quite contemporary. The members of Vigüela are: Carmen Torres—Delgado (vocals, percussion), María del Rosario Nieto—Palomo (vocals, percussion), Juan Antonio Torres—Delgado (vocals, rebec, guitar, percussion), Luis García—Varela (vocals, guitar, guitarro manchego, lutes, percussion), Javier Gómez—Garcia (vocals, lutes, guitarro manchego, guitar, percussion), Eduardo Gómez—Olmedo—Moreno (vocals, guitar, lutes).
© Pío Fernández
