CATHAL CLOHESSY & EAMONN COSTELLO - Bosca Ceoil and Fiddle
Copperplate COPP022
“If you can’t think up a fancy title for an album, then just tell people what it is” seems to be as good a marketing strategy as any, and you know that you’ll never get done under the Trades Descriptions Act. Bosca Ceoil is Irish for button accordion, and fiddle is English for fidil, so that’s cleared that up. Cathal (fiddle) and Eamonn (accordion) have been playing as a duo since 2008, and this CD is mostly duets and solos, but with Rodney Lancashire guesting on bouzouki and mandolin on five of the fourteen tracks.
The musicianship throughout this release is outstandingly good. Cathal and Eamonn take a “less is more” approach, eschewing flashy pyrotechnics and preferring a gentle yet direct style which gets to the heart of the music and embodies it with a lift and drive whilst allowing all the subtleties of the tunes to be fully appreciated. This doesn’t stop them from introducing counter melodies and arrangements, however, and, all in all, it’s the sort of playing that draws the listener in and then rewards them handsomely for their time.
The music is influenced a fair bit by the mighty Michael Coleman, who is often held to be the most influential Irish traditional musician of the twentieth century, and the respect which this duo show to the background to their music ensures that twenty-first century playing passes on the flame. Just to give a contrast, the last track combines a Breton and A Neapolitan dance, which also gets the respectful treatment without losing any of the flair or drive needed.
It really doesn’t get much better than this.
Gordon Potter
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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 90 of The Living Tradition magazine. |