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Ar An Bhfidil

By Oisín Mac Diarmada


  1. Mary Brennan’s Favourite
    The White Leaf
  2. The Tap Room
    The Kerryman’s Daughter
  3. The Merry Girl
    Charlie O’Neill’s
  4. Jackson’s Morning Brush
    The Rambling Pitchfork
  5. The Flannel Jacket
    The Maid That Dare Not Tell
  6. The Cisco
    Walsh’s
  7. The Rainy Day
    The Trip To Durrow
  8. Bean A’leanna
  9. The Maids Of Mt. Cisco
    Johnny Henry’s
  10. The Lard In The Morning
    Tony Kenny’s
    Sheila’s
  11. The Morning Thrush
  12. Peter Wyper’s
    The Killarney Wonder
  13. Larry McDonagh’s
    Cock Up & C & C
  14. The Tinker’s Frolic
    Mary Of The Grove
  15. The Strayaway Child
  16. Money Musk
    Jim Gannon’s
  17. Aughamore
    Hughie’s Cap

Twenty comments

Ar an Bhfidil

I was having a few tunes with Marcus O’Murchu this evening, (as you do) & he happened to have a few copies of this new CD about his person, so I took out one of those crisp foldy things & exchanged it for Oisin’s brilliant new CD - fair exchange is no robbery.

It is lovely piece of work, from this highly accomplished young musician, who is confident enough to play many of the tracks without any accompaniment, & his playing stands up beautifully on it’s own, a joy, especially for Fiddlers, to listen to.

He is joined by John Carty on a couple of tracks for some super double Fiddle magic. Seamus Quinn comes in on a couple of tracks on Piano, while Sean McElwain does the same on Bouzouki, John Blake lends a hand on Guitar on one track & Tristan Rosenstock accompanies Oisin’s whistle playing, on Bodhran, on track No. 5.

Paddy Ryan writes about how ’the music is tastefully played by a musician who knows his art form. He has a deep understyanding of the richness & beauty of the music & an innate ability to interpret a good tune.
The imaginative tune settings, the intricate variations & technical mastery, & the full-bodied, sweet tone are the hallmarks of his superb musicianship. His style is very distinctive & very personal with influences from Clare & North Connaught showing through. This recording encapsulates the artistry of Oisin MacDiarmada as a top class Fiddler. The music flows with clarity & fluency, & the rich variety of tunes displays his extensive musical range.’
Paddy concludes by saying he ‘can highly recommend it’. Well I concur, it’s a beezer, & if your a Fiddler, it will be added to your collection, sooner or later, mark my words.

One wee gripe, & it’s nothing to do with this CD, or it’s incredible music, which is sure to delight all who are fortunate to listen to it. It’s just that since James Morrison’s Orchestra recorded this tune in the 20’s, & someone miss spelt the name, nobody has since checked up, they just copy the fault. For anyone interested, take out an atlas & find Aberdeen, on the NE coast of Scotland, now travel due west until you come to the village of Monymusk - not Money Musk. OK - you have now been warned!

Ar An Bhfidil

Has anyone heard the other album where Oisin plays as part of Teada?
Did this album just come out in the last few weeks?
Cheers
Donough

Ar An Bhfidil

Yes, it’s hot off the press.

Great album

I bought this Album today and the music is just class. If I wanted to play a fiddle I love the style he uses. Well worth the money go out and get it.

And it’s re-issued

first, spec’s at a glance from this well informed, young, driving ‘’Sligo spirited‘’ player’s debut :

Oisin MacDiarmada (fiddle & whistle) with guests John Carty (fiddle), Seamus Quinn (piano), Damien Stenson (flute), Sean McElwain (bouzouki), John Blake (guitar) and Tristan Rosenstock (bodhran).

Produced / Recorded by Harry Bradshaw & Rod Callan, The Works, Dublin

Sleeve notes by Oisin MacDiarmada & Paddy Ryan

(c) 2002 Ceol Records, Coolany, Co. Sligo _ www.ceolproductions.com


Reels : Tracks 1 (2nd tune), 2, 5, 7, 9, 11, 14 & 17.
Jigs : Tracks 4, 10 & 15.
Single jigs : Track 13.
Flings : Tracks 1 (1st tune) & 16.
Polkas : Track 3.
Hornpipes : Tracks 6 & 12 (1st tune).
Schottische :Track 12 (2nd tune).
Slow Air : Track 8.


we swapped this CD off Oisin at the recent ‘Teada’ gig (at the ‘Lewisham Irish Centre’, SE London) and found it to be a new 2004 Green Linnet re-release with all (but two) tracks changed from Oisin’s original _ either way, it’s a ‘’moving‘’ example of trad at it’s finest

this lad’s destined to reign in the next few years (and not undeservedly), so i hope he attempts to write his own . . . where or thereby leaving his own ‘’personal‘’ legacy to the tradition

Oisin MacDiarmada - Ar an bhfidil

My copy of this CD (from Green Linnet GLCD1227)
http://www.irishtune.info/album/OMcD/
has a track order different to that listed here - mine is

1.1 Tap Room
1.2 Kerryman’s Daughter
2.1 Mary Brennan’s Favourite
2.2 White Leaf
3.1 Strayaway Child
4.1 Flannel Jacket
4.2 Maid That Dare Not Tell
5.1 Money Musk
5.2 Jim Gannon’s
6.1 Jackson’s Morning Brush
6.2 Rambling Pitchfork
7.1 Bean A’leanna
8.1 Larry McDonagh’s
8.2 Cock Up & C & C
9.1 Maids Of Mt. Cisco
9.2 Johnny Henry’s
10.1 Morning Thrush
11.1 Lark In The Morning
11.2 Tony Kenny’s
11.3 Sheila’s
12.1 Frisco
12.2 Walsh’s
13.1 Tinker’s Frolic
13.2 John Egan’s
14.1 Merry Girl
14.2 Charlie O’Neill’s
15.1 Rainy Day
15.2 Trip To Durrow
16.1 Peter Wyper’s
16.2 Killarney Wonder
17.1 Aughamore
17.2 Hughie’s Cap

n.b. 1st tune on track 12 is the Frisco HP (not “Cisco”), and 2nd tune on track 13 is listed as John Egan’s (rather than Mary of the Grove, though I think they are the same tune)

Great Album!

I’ve been listening to it a lot lately. I especially love his playing on ‘Mary Brennan’s Favourite’.

ALSO!
‘Walsh’s Hornpipe’ mistakenly links to ‘Walsh’s Polka’.
Here’s the Hornpipe:
https://thesession.org/tunes/2332

CD Oisin Mac Diarmada

The second track on this CD says that it is the white leaf reel but listening to it and comparing to this website’s version sounds different. If anyone who knows this CD could help me out and see if the tunes match up

Re: CD Oisin Mac Diarmada

Oisín Mac Diarmada plays his own, unique versions of several tunes on the album, and there are as many versions of tunes as there are players. Comparisons between recorded, or better yet, live, versions of tunes are more helpful than comparisons with simplified visual interpretations of the tune (eg. sheet music).

Ar An Bhfidil

I don’t know why this album was not on the session.

Re: Ar An Bhfidil

Whoops, but the point needs reinforcement.

Posted by .

Re: Ar An Bhfidil

I’m not familiar with ‘The Lard In The Morning’ but it sounds delicious.

Re: Ar An Bhfidil

Just listening to this again - can’t think of a better Irish fiddle album to come out since, and not really any before, come to that.
Nobody’s mentioned that track #5 is 2 reels on whistle, and I for one could have done with more. A great simplicity to his playing, made me think immediately of Micho Russell, and praise doesn’t come much higher than that.
Here’s a clip of him in competition in 1999 - [ he generally plays a bit faster on the CD ] :
https://youtu.be/_OINueAOhFM