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New Cd By Chris Droney


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I received a pleasant surprise a couple of days ago when, to my delight, was a copy of Chris Droney's newest CD in my mailbox. Chris and I are friends so it should have been no surprise that I received a copy. It's just that I really wasn't expecting it. What was really exciting, however, was the music! I had heard the unmastered tracks at his home, last summer on a small player, and I thought then that it was really good, but the final version, played on my CD player at home, when I can really listen carefully, is fabulous.

Chris has recently celebrated his 80th birthday. You might be tempted to say, "Oh, it's good for someone his age." But, far from it. It's great for a master musician of any age, including the younger hotshot players we hear so much about---better, in many ways. His playing is dynamic, with the very steadiness that he is famous for. Melody is paramount, but he does embellish the tunes with taste. That is, he uses embellishments to effect, not just for the sake of putting them in wherever possible. In this regard, they are more effective than if they were overused. His playing is clear---you can hear every note distinctly. This makes his music very accessible to concertina players who strive to become better.

The accompaniment on this CD is Jacinta McEvoy, and she does a masterful job, on both guitar and piano. The whole is mixed in such a way that the listener is aware of the accompaniment, but it is clearly in the background and does not dominate or distract from the music.

For those of you who have any of Chris's earlier recordings, let me say that this is a completely new CD, with only one or two tunes heard on other CDs. Almost all of it consists of tunes never recorded before by Chris or anyone else, that I'm aware of. And these are gems. There are so many tunes I don't know, but really like, that I don't know where to start---really old traditional tunes---concertina tunes, not warmed up fiddle or pipe tunes. That also makes them accessible to concertina players. All tracks are traditional except for one tune each by Chris, Vincent Broderick, Sean Ryan, and Charlie Lennon. Personally, I'm tempted to start with "Peaceful Corcomroe," an air recently composed by Chris himself.

Chris is a continuing legend in Irish music, especially Irish concertina music. In fact, the title of the CD is "Down from Bell Harbour," comes from a poem titled The Fleadh Down in Ennis:

 

"And down from Bell Harbour

Chris Droney, he came,

He played on a matchbox

I thought twas the same

Til someone said,

'Robbie, what's that your saying?

Isn't that his own small concertina!"

 

I just spoke with Ossian Music, ( www.info@ossianusa.com ) who told me that they will soon have copies in stock, as I'm sure other importers will. This is a MUST CD for any concertina player's collection.

 

Frank Edgley

Edited by Frank Edgley
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Guest Peter Laban

Lovely stuff and good news.

 

'The Fleadh down in Ennis' is a song by Robbie McMahon by the way which managed to mention every musician of note present that year

'Mrs Crotty from Kilrush she came... she played all and never did blush, good girl yourself Mrs Crotty' being the other concertina reference in it.

 

 

On a side note and in line with the Clare concertina line of this thread I am happy to say Kitty Hayes and myself will be launching our duo CD in a few weeks. Kitty is in great form and it seems the older generation of Clare players is still ready to stand up and be counted.

Edited by Peter Laban
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i'm glad to hear chris droney has a new cd out.

 

the comments about the piano are interesting. his cd "the fertile rock" is one of the few irish music recordings i've heard where i actually enjoy listening to the piano. (i have a whole stack of recordings i never listen to because of the piano/guitar...). i'll definitely get a copy of the new one.

Edited by Chris Allert
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I'll look forward to getting a copy of both new CDs.

 

I heard Chris in Corrofin this year and was quite impressed with his style and expression. I keep a copy of his "The Fertile Rock" CD in my car and it's played frequently.

 

I had the pleasure of hearing Kitty play at the Corrofin Festival last year and spoke with her for a brief time afterwards. I keep her "A Touch of Clare" CD right beside "The Fertile Rock" and those two are played in rotation along with a couple of others that I have a special fondness for.

 

(Edited to put the proper number of "r's" in Corrofin)

Edited by Bruce McCaskey
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  • 1 month later...
Guest Peter Laban

I picked up Chris Droney's CD a couple of days ago in Custy's and it is indeed quite nice. A few remarks: either Chris has a different concertina or the recording has been filtered quite rigorously, leaving you with a first impression the sound is somewhat different from what you may come to expect from listening to Droney's playing in the past.

 

Chris' music usually relies more on speed and drive than on swing for it's effect which makes him sometimes sound nearly 'jolly' to my ears. Not so much on this recording though, while the playing moves rhythmically in very straight lines there seems to be a bit more restraint and between this, the sound of the recording and the accompaniment (which contributes to a more 'modern' feel of this CD) there is more of an almost introspective mood than I would have expected to find on a Chris Droney CD. Lovely job altogether.

Edited by Peter Laban
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Yes, I spoke to Chris earlier this week. He mentioned that he liked this CD much better than his previous one, and that he had played at a more relaxed tempo. I had listened to his earlier recordings, and he had played a concert in Detroit a couple of years ago. I remarked that his "in person" concert was better than his recordings. Well, this latest recording is much more like the live concert than his earlier recordings. Most people who have recorded will probably agree that the tension involved in the recording process can change the way you normally play. Chris had a professional producer work with him on this CD, which probably helped set the stage for this outstanding recording, making it more like the way he would normally play, live. Also, Chris informed me that this latest CD got five star ratings from a couple of music magazines a week or so ago.

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Guest Peter Laban

I am not sure about all that, Chris Droney doesn't strike me as someone who gets upset or nervous about playing. In fact I always get the impression he's unsually as cool as a cucumber at concerts, not a worry on him. His recording with George Byrt pretty much caught them play as they would 'live' and in that sense gives you more the feeling of being in their presence than you'd get from the present one..

If anything, the slightly different atmosphere on this new CD I was referring to does lie in mostly the production and has more than anything to do with recording technology and choice of accompaniment. But whatever the way, it's a nice CD.

Edited by Peter Laban
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