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CD recommendations for East Clare style?


Geraghty

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Anglo Irish, in case it's not clear.

 

I really enjoy the East Clare style of playing - at least that is what I call it since the only two players I know who play like this, Mary MacNamara and Martin O'Brien, are from East Clare. Fairly simple yet rhythmic, relaxed without a huge amount of ornamentation, not terribly fast, or at least not seeming fast.

 

Can anyone recommend some other players along this same vein, and/or some CDs of theirs?

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Guest Peter Laban

Go to the source of that particular style (which I wouldn't put down as 'the' East Clare style but rather as 'a' East Clare style) and listen to the playing of John Naughton, if you can find it.

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Go to the source of that particular style (which I wouldn't put down as 'the' East Clare style but rather as 'a' East Clare style) and listen to the playing of John Naughton, if you can find it.

 

Excellent amendment, Peter, I should have said "a" style. Thanks for the recommendations all, I shall investigate!

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Guest Peter Laban

Maybe I should even have said 'an' East Clare style. _winknudge__by_darkmoon3636.gif

 

Anyhow, what Mary Mac and Martin Hayes are doing has been so strongly marketed as the ultimate East Clare that it doesn't really do justice to the people from there who fall outside of that, even with a pedigree rooted just as deeply.

 

Was listening to some recordings of Bridget Dinneen recently (who played until she was 105). I nearly met her during the eighties when Martin Rochford suggested we go listen to her (it didn't happen). Powerful stuff.

 

Anyhow, John Naughton informed a lot of the repertoire Mary Mac and Martin Hayes played at some point.

 

It's probably also worth note Martin Rochford said that in his young days in East Clare children were started on the whistle, the good ones eventually graduated to the fiddle, the middling ones got a concertina.

 

 

It's worth listening to Terry Bingham's recording, not East Clare maybe but nice simple music that would fit your bill nicely. (I don't feel MOB is particularly East Clare stylistically speaking either, even if he's from there).

Edited by Peter Laban
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I've been looking for that Martin O'Brien CD and it seems out of print. Anyone have any ideas?

Mike

 

Mike, I came across Martin's email somewhere online and asked him if he's produced any more CDs - he hasn't, but he has copies of the first one still which he will sell directly.

 

If you can't find his email drop me a PM and I'll see if I still have it.

 

Thanks for the CD/player recommendations, everyone. I've just ordered a copy of Kate McNamara's CD and The Humours of Tulla from Custys.

Edited by Geraghty
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Guest Peter Laban

I seem to have deleted all John Naughton Mp3s in the latest clean-up. I have some tunes though I wrote from one of the tapes, your typical very simple structured tunes with a bit of a short choppy phrasing. This particular one was played by JN with P Joe Hayes on the fiddle. Bring your own East Clare flavour to it.

 

T:John Naughton's

M:4/4

L:1/8

R:Reel

K:D

B2 BA Beed|B2 AG FDFA|B2 BA Beed|B2 AG FDDA:||!

fede fd d2|fede fbba|fede fddB|ABde fdde|!

fede fd d2|fede fbba|fgef dedB|ABde fded||

 

 

 

Note: John Naughton usually played in C, one tone down from the notation.

Edited by Peter Laban
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Thanks for the CD/player recommendations, everyone. I've just ordered a copy of Kate McNamara's CD and The Humours of Tulla from Custys.

 

Well done, I've listened to Kate's CD I don't know how many times, I can't get enough :-)

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  • 3 weeks later...

Anglo Irish, in case it's not clear.

 

I really enjoy the East Clare style of playing. Fairly simple yet rhythmic, relaxed without a huge amount of ornamentation, not terribly fast, or at least not seeming fast.

 

Can anyone recommend some other players along this same vein, and/or some CDs of theirs?

 

Just released: Keepers of Tradition: Concertina Players of County Clare

This has been heavily promoted over the last several days by Clare FM. There are 28 tracks of archival concertina music. It was announced that Custy's would be carrying it as of Monday.

 

http://www.clare.fm/music/ClareFM%20trad%20archive Download the podcasts from 12/18/2009 and 12/21/2009. Great discussion about the new release and many of its tunes.

 

Yvonne

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It's probably also worth note Martin Rochford said that in his young days in East Clare children were started on the whistle, the good ones eventually graduated to the fiddle, the middling ones got a concertina.

 

 

Now I'm sure why I play Concertina and not fiddle.

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Just released: Keepers of Tradition: Concertina Players of County Clare

This has been heavily promoted over the last several days by Clare FM. There are 28 tracks of archival concertina music. It was announced that Custy's would be carrying it as of Monday.

I have just placed an order on Custy's website. I can't wait the delivery !

Thank you for the info :)

--

Taka

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i can't find it right now, but there's some article out there making the point also made here that what people often mean by "east clare style," including as defined by martin hayes in various interviews--relaxed & easygoing speedwise, lots of syncopation/swing, a plain or clean, less-ornamented line--can be found elsewhere, and is by no means the only style afoot in east clare itself....but if those hallmarks are what you like in concertina playing, you might also check out dymphna o'sullivan's record, "bean chairdin," and claire keville's recent cd, "the daisy field." "the branch line," with east galway's charles coen on concertina, is another gorgeous example.....i too think of terry bingham's record as a lovely entry in this vein. also gearoid o'hallmhorain's solo cd as well as his recording with patrick ourceau, "tracin." for me, MOB does fall into this style---i play his cd fairly frequently and it always makes me laugh because i suspect the gatekeepers would not consider him a turk of concertina playing, to say the least. but his plain playing is much easier to listen to than some of the more dressed-up stuff getting a lot of play.....

 

the cd "the lonely stranded band" with charlie piggott on box and miriam collins on concertina would be anoother one.....people mean so many different things by "east clare style." i have heard mary macnamara apply the phrase differently to concertina playing than many to do fiddling---she was speaking of "east clare style" in that context to mean, a la the phrasing of the old one-row players. for me personally, one-row phrasing would not be a bellwether of any sort. i don't particularly want a one-row sound--john naughton was a bell-ringer for me more for his clean, ornament-free line than for phrasing---the "east clare" phrasing i try for would be a la the slieve aughty fiddlers of east clare/east galway. lucy farr. or junior crehan for that matter...older concertina players who sound more fluid a la the fiddlers to me include packie russell and john joe casey, and by the way, the cd of john joe casey's concertina playing is really beautiful when it comes to ornament-free, fluidly phrased playing.....

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ok, i'm listening to those clare fm shows while working late and yes, they are playing that east clare anthology, it's really neat---it got a lot of play a couple months back a propos of some other pre-launch or something.....tulla festival? can't remember....

 

but what about this mary ellen curtin cd? i think joan just said this track was from a new cd by this lady, who i recall from a kitchen session segment. wow, that's lovely stuff. or maybe i heard wrong and it's from the anthology....very much my kind of thing....last week or so eoin o'sullivan was filling in for claire or joan and talking in a loose informal sense about a doolin concertina style which from the sound of it to me would be much like what people often mean by "east clare style"---relaxed speed, a clean uncluttered melody line, etc. he was talking about john williams' father, packie russell, terry bingham, and john williams, another one that i always forget to cite in this style. anyway.....the mary ellen curtin cut sounded lovely as well.....

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