A River of Sound: The Changing Course of Irish Traditional Music
Hummingbird/Virgin through Festival Records
Reviewed by Bernie Brian

This CD is the soundtrack from the BBC Northern Ireland-Radio Telefis Eireann series of the same name. It was produced and directed by the same team that created the excellent series Bringing it all Back Home some years ago. Unfortunately, to my knowledge it has not been broadcast to Australian audiences yet. Come on, SBS!

The album is a live recording involving the energy and creativity of 130 musicians and the use of scores of instruments. Some of the artists featured have toured Australia in recent years. These include Christy Moore, Donal Lunny and Frankie Gavin (De Dannan).

The creative force behind the production appears to be Irish musician and academic Micheal O Suilleabhain. O Suilleabhain writes in the cover notes that while Irish music is "reaching into the past, it also extends itself into the wider world and out into the future, enriched and enriching in the process".

The enrichment of Irish traditional music is clearly reflected in the title track, which blends traditional Irish sounds with the sounds of the African harp or kora. For lovers of percussion, there is a tremendous track titled "Pulses" which incorporates the sounds of the Irish hand-held drum, the bodhran, with rhythms from India and Indonesia.

There is considerable variety of styles on the CD, including full-on orchestral arrangements anchored by O Suilleabhain's piano, the sounds of a chamber orchestra; a harpsichord, a Celtic-blues harmonica and the unaccompanied singing voice known as sean nos. So if you thought Irish music was a couple of fiddles and a tin whistle, this CD will open your mind.

This article was posted on the Green Left Weekly Home Page.
For further details regarding subscriptions and
correspondence please contact glw@greenleft.org.au

Tools

• Bookmark This Page
• Print This Page