 | | Reviews | | |  NOLLAIG CASEY
The Music Of What Happened
Old Bridge Music OBMCD15
A professional musician since the age of 19, firstly with the RTE Symphony Orchestra until joining Planxty some three years later when Bill Whelan was also in the line-up, we have Nollaig to thank indirectly for a whole slew of contemporary 'Erinama' since it was her fiddle playing that featured on the 1981 Eurovision interval piece which led to the Riverdance phenomenon! Since then, her pedigree is interesting: there aren't many Irish musicians with whom she hasn't worked, though her work with husband Arty McGlynn and with Donal Lunny's Coolfin band are perhaps the career highlights to date. This, then, is her first solo release as such, although she's joined by Arty on guitar and others including Sharon Shannon on a substantial piece of work which should bring her unique and meticulous style of playing into a more luminous spotlight.
A study in eloquence, whether she is creating evocative soulfulness on her own The Last Lord Of Beara or crafting the intricate rhythms of the Galician Jota da Maia, Nollaig's playing is both distinctive and thrilling to hear. She can make the tradition sound freshly-minted on The Clergy's Lamentation - her fiddle conjuring a solemn vulnerability, or her voice (there are 4 vocal tracks here) the epitome of airy warmth on the charming A Bhurcaigh Bhui o'n gCeim. With her collaborators subtly tinting the canvas without rag-rolling it into a farrago of textures, Casey can be proud of this intense, though satisfying album, due in no small measure to the impressive production by herself and McGlynn.
As ancient Fenian legend would have it, the best music is ... "the music of what happened", making this supremely tasteful album a treat for the discerning listener. Without doubt.
Clive Pownceby - October 2004
Have you listened to the album? Want to submit a review of your own?
Fill in the form below and tell us what you think. Please mention the album's name.
 | | | |
| | |  |
| | |
|
|
Folk & Acoustic
