The new faces of piping, 8 Jan 2004

The pipers are all accomplished. On first listening it is Barry Kerr who stands out - I felt I could have been listening to Paddy Keenan, and there's no higher praise than that. The others, if less spectacular, are no slouches either; I particularly enjoy the contribution of Patrick Davey, who includes two interesting compositions of his own and who is the only one of the four to make full use of the regulators - often the mark of a master piper.

Traditional releases these days stand or, more frequently, fall by the quality of the accompaniment, and good players are pearls almost beyond price. It is incredible therefore that this album features not one but five different guitarists, all of whom show the right approach: variational, not too jazzy, making full use of the instrument's percussiveness. Although I would like to hear more unaccompanied selections, I have to admit that in each case the guitarist is adding something to the music (not merely filling out the sound).

If there's a weakness it's in the slow airs, notoriously the area which sorts the sheep from the goats. Clare Byrne takes on one of the great sean-nos airs, 'Bean Dubh a'Ghleanna' and, frankly, loses. The performance is stilted, showing little feeling for the air as a piece of music belonging to a song. The others attempt less and fare better, leaving the CD without an outstanding performance of an outstanding air.

The benefit, though, is that the tone remains essentially light throughout, in fact the album is a real mood-lifter. It demonstrates perfectly that, where there is sufficient taste and musicianship, traditional music is in no need of drum loops, panoplies of instruments or other production gimmicks to hold the interest.

 Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)