Gaelic in the Bow

This is a great recording, the second CD by old-style Cape Breton fiddler Alex Francis MacKay, released in 2005. Unlike his first CD, “A Lifelong Home” (1997), all of these medleys were recorded spontaneously at different points in time, not rehearsed, but simply sharing tunes he liked to play. It does feature the ever-tasteful accompaniment of Gordon MacLean on piano. Although he plays a bit out of tune (he was in his 80s at the time of recording, I believe), I love this recording, partially for the phenomenal tune choices and partly for that certain spirit and accent apparent in his playing.

Right on, there, Daniel Parker.