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THE GLOAMING Live At The NCH Real World CDRW219
They really are a band of consummate sub- limity. This live album was recorded at Dublin’s National Concert Hall, where they’ve broken all records with what amounts to a 24-date residency; but such is the purity of the recording quality, it comes as a shock to hear the burst of applause at the end of each track.
After two studio albums they know exactly what they’re doing, never flustered, never grandstanding, easing into the various byways and highways of the Irish tradition with grace and fervour. As ever, Martin Hayes is the linchpin, almost imperceptibly weaving his dexterous fiddle bow with the unique guile and subtlety that inevitably casts a magic spell over his listeners, but it’s the American Thomas Bartlett’s unconventional, free-form piano arrangements that mark The Gloaming as something beyond anything we’ve heard before in this field.
Bartlett can – and does on occasion – contribute strict tempo piano in the style of the old Irish piano accompanists, but mostly he’s off the leash, creating all manner of diversions to the tunes. Take Cucanandy, a lovely little dandling song sung with transfix- ing charm by the mighty Iarla Ó Lionáird, which quietly slides into modern classical ter- ritory, as Bartlett’s fingers do the walking. The drama he brings to The Sailor’s Bonnet in counterpoint to the furious rhythm whipped up by the fiddles and guitar is palpable.
Hayes’ loyal compadre Dennis Cahill is always close to hand to raise the temperature with his stirring guitar rhythms and Caoimhin Ó Raghallaigh adds another dimension with his hardanger fiddle but, far from a mish- mash, they balance it all brilliantly, switching the tempo and mood with seamless ease.
Some may be disappointed because it contains no fresh material, with five tracks taken from their second studio album in 2016 and only one – The Sailor’s Bonnet – from the self-titled debut two years earlier. So you might assume this is a holding album to fill the void and keep their name alive while they pursue other projects and prepare for their next onslaught; but they are such instinctive musicians the tunes invariably flourish in a far more vibrant fashion than they do in the stu-
Catrin Finch & Seckou Keita
dio. And for anybody who hasn’t encoun- tered them before, this should be a jaw-drop- ping introduction.
realworldrecords.com/the gloaming Colin Irwin
CATRIN FINCH AND SECKOU KEITA Soar Bendigedig BENDI2-1
A few years back, not long after they’d released their debut album together, 2013’s Clychau Dibon (Astar), the duo of Welsh harpist Catrin Finch and Senegalese kora player Seckou Keita gave a notable performance at Whitby’s Musicport Festi-
val. If that initial release was the sound of two kindred music spirits from very different traditions staking out common ground on which to communicate, then the live set was the sound of that communication in full flow. It was gentle and cleansing. Music to make you shut your eyes and follow. On the way out of the hall that afternoon, I saw festival organiser Jim McLaughlin. “Hammocks,” I said to him. “Next time they play here, you should issue the audience with hammocks.”
Five years down the line and their sec- ond album finds the communication has reached a point of seamlessness. It’s hard to tell where the harp ends and the kora begins. Over eight tunes, the duo work together and round each other. These are mostly original self-composed pieces, the one exception being Bach To Baisso, an unlikely but winning combination of an excerpt from JS Bach’s Goldberg Variations and one of the oldest compositions in the West African kora play- er’s repertoire.
This doesn’t really feel like a set of sepa- rate compositions, but rather one flowing musical conversation. Full marks too to Keita as producer and engineers Jared Planas and Hywel Wigley for getting the all-important excellent sound quality essential for a record- ing of such delicate instruments.
Now, where did I put that hammock?
catrinfinchandseckoukeita.com
Jamie Renton
Photo: Andy Morgan
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