Chiff and Fipple Forums

Can anyone tell me about these musicians? I am in the process of compiling a wish list of ITM CDs. I am looking for pure music that may serve as a stylistic and artistic guideline for someone seeking the source. Other hints and tips are very welcome.

To give you an idea what I am looking for: I already have "Tracin'" by Gearoid O'hAllumrain (sp?) and Patrick Orceau, and that's about what I am looking for. Kitty Hayes' "A touch of Clare" and Tommy McCarthy's "Sporting Nell" are already on my list.

Hi Bloomfield,

First off, I have not heard "Tracin' ", but I do know Gearoid O'Hallmhurain has a solo album, "Traditional Music From Clare and Beyond". Since you seem to like East Clare, anything from Mary Macnamara should be good. Also there is the classic 'tina and fiddle album (also Clare), "Noel Hill and Tony Linnane", featuring... (insert drum roll sound effect here)... Noel Hill and Tony Linnane!!!

Sorry that I'm not very familiar with the specific musicians you're asking about. However, I can offer this advice: when seeking the pure drop, older is almost always better.

Hope this helps, but remember, buy CD's at your own risk.

Nate

Kitty Hayes is a great addition to an ITM collection. I really wish she'd make another CD. Paddy Canny would be a good choice as well. I recently bought his "Traditional Music from the Legendary East Clare Fiddler" and really enjoy it. I have some old 78's mixed to CD's on order at the moment and will let you know if they're worth adding after I listen to them.

Teri

It's hard to make recommendations, there's such a variety and every man and his dog is putting CDs on the market.

That said, The new PJ Crotty/James Cullinan one is lovely if accompanied, The McCarthy Family album is nice, Ronan Browne/O Loughlin is brilliant [OK those were the ones I bought recently, couldn't think of any others]

for the more trad variety, Joe Ryan Buachall Dreoite is grand, a bit more shaky but very much in the kitchen is Joe Ryan and Gerdy Commane's, even a few shops have a few copies of Casey in the Cowhouse left, get that if you can. Kevin Crehan's solo fiddle one is also really really nice, pure West Clare music featuring a lot of Junior's compositions.

Re Conor Keane, he is a very lovely accordeon player, I went to the launch but never bought the CD but he's a joy to listen to and play with.

I can [shamelessly] plug a CD here we did two years ago in aid of the Clare cancer centre, it has Conor Keane, Jacky Daly, Kitty Hayes and others playing [solo, duets and all for a few figures of the set] and a bunch of singers, some very nice including Kevin Crawford's uncle Vincent, Aine ni Cheallaigh and Kitty Hayes. 'Dear friends we meet' at Custy's or the Knotted Chord.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Peter Laban on 2002-08-09 05:44 ]</font>

Hey, its me again(is it my imagination or have I been spending way too much time on this board? Naw, it's my imagination).

A few things that have I learned about Maire Breatnac have popped into my head. They somehow slipped me when I wrote my first post on this topic. She was Riverdance's first fiddler, and she is the fiddler on the original Riverdance video. When I hear her CDs being described they come across as new-agey, Celtic type stuff. I think her last CD is supposed to be a musical "journey" inspired by the legend of Bran. I think you can hear sound bytes on her website, but I'm not sure where that that is (Google!). Anyway, I'm thinking you probably don't want to buy any of her stuff.

Nate

Bloo, I have the Sporting Nell CD, and its scrumptious, but it isn't primarily whistle. I really like how its just him and an instrument (concertina, flute, whistle...) and not highly "produced".

Bloomfield,
The last time I saw Mike Hanrahan was about two years ago in Yonkers, N.Y. accompanying Ronnie Drew. He's a good singer and guitar player and a good songwriter who used to play with Stockton's Wing. He also played on his brother Kieran's CD entitled, oddly enough, "Kieran Hanrahan Plays The Irish Tenor Banjo." Sonny Murray also plays concertina on this album. I picked it up in Claddagh Records (the only place worth visiting in Temple Bar, in my opinion). It's put out by Banner discs, Dublin, Ireland. Mike's style reminds me somewhat of Tommy O'Sullivan, who plays with Sliabh Notes and Paddy Keenan. Hope this helps.

If you're looking for very traditional musicians playing in regional styles, I suggest you try to get your hands on a copy of 'Leitrim's Hidden Treasure', by the MacNamara family (from Leitrim, of all places). They play pipes, flute, fiddle, concertina, & piano, have a lovely Sligo style, and play very unusual tunes and versions of tunes. CD is copyright Drumlin Records, 1998; website (which has clips) is http://mcnamara.irish-music.net.
Happy hunting!
Deirdre
[Just tried to get into the site for this cd - address is no longer correct. But http://www.cranfordpub.com/recordings/mcnamara.htm has track listings and some clips, and some abc & Gif notation... Sorry bout that! D]
[Part 2: there's also a more in-depth review, for those who want more info, at http://web.ukonline.co.uk/mustrad/reviews/leitrim.htm ]
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: fluter_d on 2002-08-15 19:57 ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: fluter_d on 2002-08-15 20:04 ]</font>

Bloomfield;

Regarding your ITM list - the CD's I ordered are slowly trickling in. Alan Lomax's "World Library of Fold and Primitive Music: Ireland" was waiting for me when I got home today. Lomax went to the West of Ireland and recorded musicians and singers in 1951. Most of it is songs that I'm really enjoying. Seamus Ennis is one of the musicians (pipes and whistle) and sings a few tunes as well. Not fair that one person had so much talent. You can hear clips at: http://www.rounder.com/rounder/artists/ ... kprim.html and decide if it's what your looking for.

Teri

You'd want that one for George Pickow's photographs alone.

Teri:
I know the Lomax CD, got it out of a library a couple of years ago. Should get it again. It was a bit too rough at the edges for me then, I had just barely started playing. (It seems to me that it's impossible to appreciate the music unless you play it; maybe it's different if you grow up with it and lilt the Bucks of Oranmore before you can talk or walk. Anyway, I listen & hear differently since I got serious about playing).

Peter, I remember the photos in that one. Nice one of Seamus Ennis, sitting with his pipes, surrounded by listeners, right?

Here is a suggestion: I think we should start a Recommended Listening thread. Overarching theme: Music that is not only good to listen to, but good as a learning tool (because the style is pure or because the settings/sets have become standards, like Hill/Linane's Homeruler/Kitty's Wedding). Within the thread we could do one post per CD, or something, including short discriptions like people have done with their recommendations in this thread. It would be really helpful since it would make the advice "to listen to good players" a bit more followable (did I just create a new word?)

Bloomfield,
I second your suggestion about a RECOMMENDED LISTENING thread. I am new to serious playing of Irish music and I don't have an unlimited CD budget. Add in that most of these CDs come from the other side of the pond and I like to get recordings I'm going to like listening to.
How do we do it?
Mike

Mike,
I've been thinking about this a bit and I think in order to make it worthwhile, we'd want descriptions of the CDs. So I don't think I'd want to post my "whishlist", because obviously I don't have any of them yet and haven't listened to them thoroughly.

There is a "recordings" page at http://www.thesession.org, which links to the tune archive so that you can look up the sheet music for recorded tunes and recordings of the tunes. The system has some weaknesses, for it goes by name alone and does not distinguish the different versions of Toss the Feather, Munster Buttermilk, Pipe on the Hob, Gan Ainm (there are lots of different Gan Ainms out there. Strange... ). Also, even if it is the same tune, there are significant differences between versions that are also lost. The collection of recordings there is pretty motley, and while you get very good comments on some of them, it's not really in my view the place to go for stylistic guidance.

So, I think in order to be really helpful, our recommended listening threads should be specifically designed for those interested in the pure drop, the older traditional style that must be comprehended before all the modern experiments make sense. I think there is a need for that, as the good suggestions in this thread have shown.

Let's see what others have to say about this and then let's do it anyway.

Bloomfield wrote:
So, I think in order to be really helpful, our recommended listening threads should be specifically designed for those interested in the pure drop, the older traditional style that must be comprehended before all the modern experiments make sense. I think there is a need for that, as the good suggestions in this thread have shown.

I agree with this. When I started trying to play Flamenco I bought recordings of the late-greats to get a handle on the basic "vocabulary" of the music. It really sped up my learning of the art. I'd like to do that again with IrTrad. I don't need a list about the stuff that's easy to get, e.g. De Dannan, Solas, etc. I want the hard core stuff. That's where most of the good lessons are.
Mike

When I find out about another old pure drop recording, I enter its name in a list I'm compiling. Most of the enrites are fairly well known but it might be of some help. I've got about 50 entries. Take note that I only own a few of the albums on the list.
Nate