back menu
Log in or Sign up

Irish Heritage: Ireland’s Musical Tradition - CD 1: Traditional Music Session

By Various Artists


  1. Fred Finn’s
    Ormond Sound
    Hill 16
  2. O’Sullivan’s March
    The Battering Ram
  3. Bríd Óg Ní Mhaille
  4. Green Grow The Rushes
    Francie Mooney’s Highland
  5. The Torn Jacket
    Kiss The Maid Behind The Barrell
  6. Rosemary Lane
    Swans Among The Rushes
  7. The May Morning Dew
  8. Jimmy Duffy’s Barndances
  9. The Navvy On The Shore
    Midsummer’s Night
  10. Mahony’s
    The Flowing Tide
  11. Cailín Deas Crúite Na mBó
  12. The Cordal
    Paddy Taylor’s
    Paddy Fahy’s
  13. The Buck From The Mountain
    Dunphy’s
  14. Anach Chuain
  15. Give Us A Drink Of Water
    The Humours Of Derrycrissane
  16. The Banks Of The Ilen
    The New Post Office

Four comments

Session Music

Part of a 2 CD set featuring many nice tunes (not too common) from very strong session players with tremendous drive.

Attributes: Ormond Sound (Paddy ‘Nenagh’ O‘Brien), Hill 16 (Finbarr Dwyer), The Torn Jacket (Connie O’Connell), Swans Among the Rushes (Ed Reavy), Midsummer’s Night (Vincent Broderick)

Presumably both Paddy Taylor’s and Paddy Fahy’s are named after the composers too.

Despite it being part of a 2 CD cheap compilation set, it was well worth getting. I was a bit risky about getting it but the track listing gave me an idea that this might be a hidden gem and indeed it is.

Musicians

Cormac Ó Briain: Uileann Pipes
Pól Dorris: Fiddle
Jason O’Rourke: Concertina
Ruadraí Ó Kane: Fiddle
Aiden Walsh: Banjo
Andy Dickson: Fiddle
Adrian Scahill: Accordion
Brendan O’Hare: Flute and Whistle
Ray Gallen: Bódhran
Jim Rainey: Guitar and Bouzouki

A quick bit of googling shows that some of these musicians are based in the Belfast area.

The label is “Emerald Music”.

“Irish Heritage: Ireland’s Musical Tradition - CD 1: Traditional Music Session” 🙂

Rough bits and all, that session quality, I’m impressed by these musicians. There’s some damn fine playing here. it’s a very enjoyable listen and further proof, welcome though not needed, of the musical talents Belfast is blessed with. The tempos are reasonable, a pleasure, and the variety of music on offer here is cause for further appreciation, and especially raised smiles with the set of highlands, track 4, and the set of barndances, track 8. There are also welcomed opportunities to hear some solo and duet work (musicians listed above):

_3. ) air - uilleann pipes
_7. ) air - whistle
10. ) hornpipes - whistle
11. ) air - uilleann pipes
14. ) air - accordion
15. ) slip jigs - whistle & bodhran

Also, the recording is pretty clear, so hearing different instruments in the mixed sets is fairly easy. I’m smiling as I write this because I’m also listening to this as I type. It’s well worth chasing up. I can’t imagine anyone not finding pleasure in this varied collection of tracks, and that some of the not unusual faults of sessions are not overly present here, like beating the tunes to death with wild and uncontrolled speed and that dreadful leapfrog effect some folks can’t seem to shake. However, the balance at times is crap on the bodhran, when it is given too much to the front and with reverb too, though played well. Where’s the aspirin? 😉