Although these (mostly) obscure tunes come from England, Ireland, Scotland, France and Sweden, the band puts a distinctively English stamp on all of them. Firstly they are taken at a steady, unhurried pace. This is a dance, not a race. Secondly, the style of the decoration is unfussy. Celtic bands often insert a "triplet" when there is a slight gap in the melody, creating a kind of "fill". English traditional country dance bands tend to leave the gap there. This gives the tunes an "open" confident feel to them. Instead, the most frequent decoration these tunes are given is something that only fiddles can do - they do a "swoop" into the opening note of the melody. Finally there is the percussion. Celtic bands tend to have a bodhran, a snare drum (particularly Scottish bands) or else there is no percussion. Here Martin Brinsford uses a huge variety of blocks, tambourines and shakers to give a certain swing to the quartet of fiddles. Sometimes there is a cheeky little syncopation. Irish music also uses syncopation, but only in short doses. Running time 59 minutes 56 seconds. Released 2004.
Track listing
"The Green-Clad Hills/ Jimmy Garson's March" (Trad/ Trad)
A tune collected in Orkney by Peter Kennedy, and one from England
"Jack Robinson/ William Irwin's No 3/ The Tipputs" (Trad/ Trad/ Paul and Jane Burgess)
The Donegal fiddle tradition is the way of playing the fiddle that is traditional in County Donegal, Ireland. It is one of the distinct fiddle traditions within Irish traditional music.
A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, the style of the music played may determine specific construction differences between fiddles and classical violins. For example, fiddles may optionally be set up with a bridge with a flatter arch to reduce the range of bow-arm motion needed for techniques such as the double shuffle, a form of bariolage involving rapid alternation between pairs of adjacent strings. To produce a "brighter" tone than the deep tones of gut or synthetic core strings, fiddlers often use steel strings. The fiddle is part of many traditional (folk) styles, which are typically aural traditions—taught "by ear" rather than via written music.
The reel is a folk dance type as well as the accompanying dance tune type. Of Scottish origin, reels are also an important part of the repertoire of the fiddle traditions of the British Isles and North America. In Scottish country dancing, the reel is one of the four traditional dances, the others being the jig, the strathspey and the waltz, and is also the name of a dance figure.
Edward II are an English band which play a fusion of world music, English folk and reggae. Active from 1980, the band broke up after losing several key members in 1999, relaunching as "e2K" in 2000. In 2003, the band dissolved once more, but have since reformed for a one-year reunion tour in 2009 under the "Edward II" name, celebrating the tenth anniversary of the breakup of the original band. They reformed in 2015 specifically to produce the Manchester's Improving Daily project, which includes the release of new recorded material and a book. The project is designed to celebrate a collection of tunes written in Manchester during the Industrial Revolution, published as Broadsides and currently held in Manchester Central Library. In 2021 Edward II released the album "Dancing Tunes", bringing their own unique style to a collection of traditional and historic Jamaican calypso and mento songs that pre-date reggae as we know it today.
The hornpipe is any of several dance forms played and danced in Britain and Ireland and elsewhere from the 16th century until the present day. The earliest references to hornpipes are from England, with Hugh Aston's Hornepype of 1522 and others referring to Lancashire hornpipes in 1609 and 1613.
Cape Breton fiddling is a regional violin style which falls within the Celtic music idiom. Cape Breton Island's fiddle music was brought to North America by Scottish immigrants during the Highland Clearances. These Scottish immigrants were primarily from Gaelic-speaking regions in the Scottish Highlands and the Outer Hebrides. Although fiddling has changed considerably since this time in Scotland, it is widely held that the tradition of Scottish fiddle music has been better preserved in Cape Breton.
Celtic music is primarily associated with the folk traditions of Ireland, Scotland, Brittany and Wales, as well as the popular styles derived from folk culture. In addition, a number of other areas of the world are known for the use of Celtic musical styles and techniques, including Newfoundland, and much of the folk music of Canada's Maritimes, especially on Cape Breton Island and Prince Edward Island.
The Old Swan Band is a long-established and influential English country dance band.
The fiddle is one of the most important instruments in the traditional repertoire of Irish traditional music. The fiddle itself is identical to the violin, however it is played differently in widely varying regional styles. In the era of sound recording some regional styles have been transmitted more widely while others have become more uncommon.
Blackwater is the fifth studio album by Altan, released in April 1996 on the Virgin Records label. Three of the songs are sung in Irish. "Ar Bhruach Na Carraige Baine" is sung partly in English and in Irish. "Blackwaterside" is sung in English. It was the first album released by the band since the death of founding member Frankie Kennedy two years earlier. The final track on the album is a tribute to Kennedy and was written by Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh herself.
Made in Cape Breton is the first of three albums by the Celtic band The Cottars. Recorded at Lakewind Sound Studios in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and released in 2002 by Warner Music.
Grandson of Morris On is a thematic album produced by Ashley Hutchings and others.
The Merry Sisters of Fate is an album by Irish Celtic band Lúnasa that was released in 2001 on Green Linnet Records. It is the band's third major release, and first with pipe player Cillian Vallely. The record is characterised as particularly rhythm-heavy and showcasing the band experimenting more with rhythm and sound than on previous records, and features numerous instruments atypical to Celtic music, such as lap steel guitar, piano, harmonium and clarinet, played by a number of guest musicians. Rhythm, melody and strings vary as the foreground of the music, which largely consists of Irish tunes.
Irish traditional music is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland.
Hom Bru are a folk group from Shetland who formed in 1978. They moved to Edinburgh in 1980 and using the city as their base, toured all over Europe. In 1982 they moved back to Shetland and continue to perform regularly.
Finbarr Dwyer was a traditional Irish accordion player from the famed Dwyer musical family. He was born in Castletownbere, County Cork on 20 September 1946, began playing accordion at the age of three, and began composing at the age of nine. Both of his parents played accordion and his father also played fiddle. His brothers Richard and Michael likewise played accordion, while his brother John, born in 1933, played fiddle. In 1969 he won the All-England accordion title. He died on 8 February 2014, in Mallow, County Cork, Ireland.
Swan For The Money is an album by the Old Swan Band.
Canadian fiddle is the aggregate body of tunes, styles and musicians engaging the traditional folk music of Canada on the fiddle. It is an integral extension of the Anglo-Celtic and Québécois French folk music tradition but has distinct features found only in the Western hemisphere.
Rhythm Methodist is the fourth studio album by Phil Beer. Recorded at Riverside Studio whilst on a break from Show of Hands, the album is a double album, with disc one, Songs, containing cover versions of songs, whilst disc two, Instrumentals, consists almost entirely of Beer's arrangements of traditional, instrumental pieces. An eclectic array of instruments, influences and guest musicians feature on the album.
On the Fly is the ninth album by the Irish folk band Patrick Street, released in 2007 on Loftus Music.
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