Carolan Albums

The most famous of the Irish harper-composers of his day, Carolan's music is the most popular ever composed for the harp in Ireland. It affords a great deal of scope to the creativity of the performer, since only Carolan's melodies survive. This recording consists of original arrangements of these beautiful tunes, informed by Máire's knowledge both of the native Irish harp tradition and of baroque forms. REVIEWS OF THE CAROLAN ALBUMS... The Daily Telegraph (UK) 'A masterpiece of virtuosity from Máire Ní Chathasaigh, a scholarly Irish harpist, in truly inspired union with Chris Newman, a quirky English master of the acoustic guitar... an enticing introduction to the elegant, Italian- influenced music of Turlough O' Carolan. This album is a must for any folk-related collection.' The Irish Times (Ireland) 'If Máire Ní Chathasaigh wasn't around, Irish harping would be so much the poorer... Her work, which goes beyond mere harp performance, could be described as an attempt to restore the harp to it's true voice... (Here) harp and guitar partner each other in arrangements which leave conventional accompaniment far behind in their precision and attention to the finest detail. Unfussy, with all the spaces left empty and resonating, the long arm of the music reaches back into a noble tradition." Taplas (Wales) "A cocktail to delight and intoxicate! Faultlessly played, with consummate skill and a perfect understanding of the grace and elegance of the music. Guitar complements harp beautifully, at times sounding almost harp-like... The arrangements for harp and guitar are carefully thought out and every piece is exquisitely executed, the instruments always in complete sympathy with one another... Particularly impressive is 'Máire Dhall', where the silences ring out as clearly as the notes... A little gem. Máire's playing is truly breathtaking. Her deep understanding of the music, combined with technical skill and passion mark her out as the foremost modern interpreter of Carolan." Folkwrite (UK) "A delight...The sheer excellence of the musicianship...sets standards which should be aspired to not only in this field but throughout folk music. The sleeve notes are of a comparable standard. Very strongly recommended." Folk NorthWest (UK) "No one else could have done justice to such a project." Folk on Tap (UK) 'A magnificent collection from two superlative musicians... In a plethora of Carolan records, this is the best." Tykes News (UK) "The playing of this duo exhibits a virtuosity and balance of expression combined with a simple elegance which has a reviewer running to the thesaurus in search of superlatives. Enchanting, expressive, a remarkable piece of work.' ABOUT THE ARTISTS... 'Virtuosic, fascinating, dramatic, original, inspired, gloriously adventurous, dazzling, brilliant, stunning, impassioned, electrifying, bewitching, moving, achingly beautiful, influential, revered, unique...' - THE TIMES, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, THE GUARDIAN, THE IRISH TIMES, THE SCOTSMAN, FOLK ROOTS... Chris and Máire made their début as a duo at the 1987 Cambridge Folk Festival and since then have played in twenty-one countries - from Shetland to New Zealand and from San Francisco to Kyoto - and have given TV and radio performances on five continents. Within the past two years they've toured in the USA, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Italy, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, Ireland and the UK. They are celebrated for the "blazing guitar and dancing harp" (Dirty Linen) very much in evidence on their new CD FireWire. The Carolan Albums, however, highlights the more lyrical side of their repertoire and garnered some extraordinary reviews on it's release in 1994. Máire is 'one of the world's greatest harpists' (Edinburgh Evening News) and one of Ireland's most important and influential traditional musicians. As a teenager in the 1970s she invented a whole new style of harping that quickly became the norm amongst both her contemporaries and the younger generation of Irish players. In 2001 she received Irish music's most prestigious award, that of Traditional Musician of the Year - Gradam Cheoil TG4 - 'for the excellence and pioneering force of her music, the remarkable growth she has brought to the music of the harp and for the positive influence she has had on the young generation of harpers'. She began to play the harp at the age of eleven. Her background in a well-known West Cork musical family steeped in the oral Irish tradition was at that time unique among harpers, the Irish harp having declined since it's 17th century heyday into an urban parlour instrument alien to life in rural Ireland. Having no role models, she developed a variety of new techniques, particularly in relation to ornamentation, which made it possible for the first time to play this music on the harp in a stylistically accurate way - thus re-introducing the harp into the mainstream of the living tradition. She won the All-Ireland and Pan-Celtic Harp , ISBN13:B000024CWL ISBN10:B000024CWL Material Type:audioCD