Young concertina players are relatively rare, even in Ireland. Most people prefer to buy a house, but Tim Collins has chosen to nurture the little-known Sliabh Luachra concertina tradition which he was born to. You'd expect slides and polkas from him, and there's one set of each here: Tim's composition 'The H Note' sits very well after 'Bridgie Con Matt's Slide', and 'Tom Billy's Polka' is a first rate tune that's new to me.
Tim plays Jeffries
and Suttner concertinas. He has performed and recorded with the Kilfenora
band for a decade, but this is his solo debut. He's joined by some great
musicians. Piper Brian McNamara contributes to two tracks, particularly
the set of reels ending with 'The Wind that Shakes the Barley'. Fionnuala
Rooney plays harp behind Tim's own slow air 'An Caioneadh', a great new
tune. Tim's wife Claire Griffin joins him on button box for another old
favourite, 'The Thrush in the Storm'. Alec Finn and Brian McGrath provide
accompaniment on about half the 15 tracks here.
His lovely bouncy style takes Tim through almost fifty minutes of fine
dance music and two slow airs. There are times when ornamentation is lacking
compared to what we're used to these days: this version of 'The New Mown
Meadow' is rather bare, but it fits with the old-fashioned feel of 'Dancing
on Silver'. 'Moran's' and 'The Garden of Daisies' are similar in style,
as is the set ending with 'Tie the Bonnet' which Tim takes at a good steady
pace. The final pair of flowing reels ends this album in grand style,
and should whet your appetite for more.
Alex Monaghan
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this CD online from The Listening Post The Listening Post is the CD mailorder service of The Living Tradition magazine. This album was reviewed in Issue 60 of The Living Tradition magazine. |