I've been waiting a long time to hear this combination of instruments, because I was, and still am, convinced they are capable of producing some great Scottish Music. This was fine, but I reckon there's a lot more to come from these guys, on these instruments.
However, in this case, I felt the Irish Tunes in this set were just a little stilted & for me at least, in that they didn't roll & flow quite the way I expect Irish Music to.
Of course, to be fair, they're never going to stand up in competition, against the great pairing of Uilleann Pipes & an Anglo Concertina when it comes to playing Irish tunes.
As for the Scottish Tune though, I thought it was a great pity the Concertina didn't actually play the melody on this tune, because I think those two instruments could make a great job of Scottish Tunes.
I look forward to hearing these guys playing some cracking music on these instruments in the future, though.
Re: Irish Tunes on English Concertina & Scottish Smallpipes.
Grand stuff, Ptarmigan.
Their overall sound has me wanting a bit more "bottom", and something with more rhythm along on the slip jig, but that is just the instruments doing what they do, each with their virtues and their limitations. (I would not ask a hammer to be a screwdriver!)
Re: Irish tunes being enjoyed between friends ~ whatever the instruments
It seems a shame to drag actual people into this discussion. I'd enjoy these two at a session, appreciate their efforts, but putting it under a critical light, not knowing them, well, that's a bit uncomfortable. They may not consider what they[re doing as anything more than a couple of friends sharing music, giving a few tunes a go. We all have to start somewhere. I wish them the best... But, they have put it on public display, U-Tube wise, so ~
Remember the "Concerto for a Typewriter"? There's always hope, but in this case there is in my sense of it more of the technique, the mechanics of getting through a set of tunes than that lovely fairyland dust musicality... It doesn't lift my feet or make me smile, on the contrary, I've lead boots and am tending to grimace. But I still wish these lads well and hope they find their way out of the grandfather clock in this...
Now, the real question is, are you suggesting it's O.K. to play Scottish music in a stilted way? That's a whole other subject, because some folks do think it's the norm, like school recorders playing "The Irish Washerwoman" or some GHB groups giving the grind to a set of marches, or a classical violinist pulling the wings off of "The Butterfly", as if it were taffy... It's O.K., and they get their pleasure, which I wouldn't take away, and there might not be any pretense involved, such acts being what they are, but sometimes that sort of thing gets taken seriously, as a just representation of 'the music'...
Irish Tunes on English Concertina & Scottish Smallpipes.
Irish Tunes on English Concertina & Scottish Smallpipes.
Here's a video of Donald Lindsay - Scottish Smallpipes & Cameron Miller - English Concertina playing a set of
Irish & Scottish tunes.
What do you think?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCQeht9ECCc
I've been waiting a long time to hear this combination of instruments, because I was, and still am, convinced they are capable of producing some great Scottish Music. This was fine, but I reckon there's a lot more to come from these guys, on these instruments.
However, in this case, I felt the Irish Tunes in this set were just a little stilted & for me at least, in that they didn't roll & flow quite the way I expect Irish Music to.
Of course, to be fair, they're never going to stand up in competition, against the great pairing of Uilleann Pipes & an Anglo Concertina when it comes to playing Irish tunes.
As for the Scottish Tune though, I thought it was a great pity the Concertina didn't actually play the melody on this tune, because I think those two instruments could make a great job of Scottish Tunes.
I look forward to hearing these guys playing some cracking music on these instruments in the future, though.
Cheers
Dick
# Posted on October 14th 2009 by Ptarmigan
Re: Irish Tunes on English Concertina & Scottish Smallpipes.
Grand stuff, Ptarmigan.
Their overall sound has me wanting a bit more "bottom", and something with more rhythm along on the slip jig, but that is just the instruments doing what they do, each with their virtues and their limitations. (I would not ask a hammer to be a screwdriver!)
Thanks for sharing that.
# Posted on October 15th 2009 by Rook
Re: Irish tunes being enjoyed between friends ~ whatever the instruments
It seems a shame to drag actual people into this discussion. I'd enjoy these two at a session, appreciate their efforts, but putting it under a critical light, not knowing them, well, that's a bit uncomfortable. They may not consider what they[re doing as anything more than a couple of friends sharing music, giving a few tunes a go. We all have to start somewhere. I wish them the best... But, they have put it on public display, U-Tube wise, so ~
Remember the "Concerto for a Typewriter"? There's always hope, but in this case there is in my sense of it more of the technique, the mechanics of getting through a set of tunes than that lovely fairyland dust musicality... It doesn't lift my feet or make me smile, on the contrary, I've lead boots and am tending to grimace. But I still wish these lads well and hope they find their way out of the grandfather clock in this...
Now, the real question is, are you suggesting it's O.K. to play Scottish music in a stilted way? That's a whole other subject, because some folks do think it's the norm, like school recorders playing "The Irish Washerwoman" or some GHB groups giving the grind to a set of marches, or a classical violinist pulling the wings off of "The Butterfly", as if it were taffy... It's O.K., and they get their pleasure, which I wouldn't take away, and there might not be any pretense involved, such acts being what they are, but sometimes that sort of thing gets taken seriously, as a just representation of 'the music'...
# Posted on October 15th 2009 by ceolachan