Classic Celtic Music from Smithsonian Folkways (2013)
Classic Celtic Music from Smithsonian Folkways (2013)
1. Love at the Endings / John McGrath’s Reel Kevin Burke 2:21 2. As I Roved Out Sarah Makem 0:54 3. Border Spirit Billy Pigg 1:20 4. ’Twas Early, Early in the Spring Margaret Dirrane 1:51 5. De’il Among the Tailors Bob Hobkirk 1:43 6. The Rocks of Bawn Joe Heaney 3:20 7. Whiskey Island Polka Pat O’Malley and Frank Keating 1:32 8. D-tigeas Ó Deabhasa (Children’s Game Song) Sorcha Ní Ghuairim 1:03 9. Trip O’er the Mountain Willie Clancy 2:39 10. The Strayaway Child / The Lark in the Morning Michael Gorman and Margaret Barry 2:54 11. The Queen of May Shirley Collins 1:48 12. The Bonny Bunch of Roses Patrick Clancy 4:44 13. The Galway Rambler Tom Byrne 1:16 14. The Mountain Road Denis Murphy 1:03 15. Bushes and Briars Isla Cameron 2:14 16. Tifty’s Annie Lucy Stewart 4:34 17. The Pearl Wedding / Nancy Taylor’s Reel Willie Taylor 2:38 18. Derry Hornpipe Joe Shannon and John McGreevy 4:23 19. With My Pit Boots On Louis Killen 1:46 20. The Young Sailor Cut Down in His Prime Harry Cox 1:54 21. Bonnie Kate /Jenny’s Chickens Jean Carignan 3:05 22. Glenlogie Ewan MacColl 5:12 Musicians: Margaret Barry - Banjo Kevin Burke - Fiddle Tom Byrne - Flute Isla Cameron - Vocals Jean Carignan - Fiddle Patrick Clancy - Vocals Willie Clancy - Uillean Pipes Shirley Collins - Vocals Brian Conway - Fiddle Harry Cox - Vocals Margaret Dirrane - Vocals Felix Dolan - Piano Michael Gorman - Fiddle Joe Heaney - Vocals Bob Hobkirk - Fiddle Frank Keating - Piano Louis Killen - Vocals Ewan MacColl - Vocals Sarah Makem - Vocals Patt Mangan - Fiddle John McGreevy - Fiddle Denis Murphy - Fiddle Sorcha Ní Ghuairim - Vocals Pat O'Malley - Button Accordion Billy Pigg - Northumbrian Smallpipes Joe Shannon - Uillean Pipes Lucy Stewart - Vocals Willie Taylor – Fiddle
In his introductory remarks compiler Richard Carlin acknowledges the dubiousness of "Celtic music" as anything like a truly meaningful category in any other than a marketing sense. What he puts into this collection is (mostly) Irish and Scottish music from Smithsonian Folkways' extraordinarily deep catalog of the world's folk music.
Not to be confused with the glossy pop of Enya and the like, this recording focuses on the music in its authentic form, played or sung -- there isn't much overlap -- by traditional artists (Willie Clancy, Harry Cox) and tradition-minded revivalists (Shirley Collins, Patrick Clancy). It's 23 cuts and an hour's worth of lovingly performed, gripping rural ballads alongside fiddle and pipe tunes, many from field recordings. My only complaint is that there's less than one minute of the exquisite Sarah Makem (Tommy's mother), on a fragment of "As I Roved Out." Sarah Makem recordings are available elsewhere, of course, and happily this, the latest in Smithsonian Folkways' Classic series, has plenty else to engage the serious listener. Not to be missed. ---Jerome Clark, amazon.com
Last Updated (Friday, 14 October 2016 21:02)