Irish Traditional Flute Solos and Band Music from Kerry and Tipperary

Billy Clifford – flute
Matt Hayes – Accordion
Catherine Ryan – Drums

Topic – 12TS312 – 1977

Topic stretched the criteria somewhat in order to make this the fourth in the ‘Music from Sliabh Luachra’ series, but Billy Clifford’s lifetime of exposure to the music of that region is very much evident in the solo material on this album. The solo polkas here feature the best playing of these tricky tunes in the Sliabh Luachra style that I have heard on the flute, and as Sliabh Luachra polkas played on the fiddle mimic the ornaments of the melodeon or accordion, Billy Clifford in turn uses the flute to play the fiddle, incorporating the idiosyncratic and heavily accented legato bowing of his mother Julia’s fiddle playing into his own unique and really lovely style.

The other side to the album is the material recorded with Catherine Ryan and Matt Hayes, featuring the eponymous band music from Tipperary. There are a number of quite outstanding tunes, such as the dubiously titled ‘Michael Coleman’s’, as well as a number of other reasonably well-known but interesting, even slightly unusual tunes. Between the two styles of playing there is some really great music on this album. — Rob Ryan

SAMPLE: Billy plays Matt Hayes’ polkas in his lovely flowing manner:

Download this classic, out-of-print album here:
http://ceolalainn.breqwas.net/download/Irish%20Traditional%20Flute%20Solos%20and%20Band%20M.zip