Irish Traditional Music on Concert Flute
Fintan Vallely, with Mark Simos, CB Heinemann & Lori Cole
(WHN 003, and Shanachie 29019, 1979)
The players
Fintan Vallely is a flute player, and writer and commentator on Irish Traditional music. From Co. Armagh, in Ulster, he brought out the first ever Irish flute tutor in 1986 (Timber - The Flute Tutor), new edition 2008. He went on to be The Irish Times's and Sunday Tribune's critic for Irish music in the 1990s, and the compiler of the A-Z reference The Companion to Irish Traditional Music. He has written and edited several other books, most recently Sing Up! - Irish Comic Songs and Satires, and Tuned Out - Traditional Music and identity in Northern Ireland. His debut album The Dark Loanen - Irish Traditional Music on Flute was recorded by Shanachie, New Jersey, in 1979 (reissued 2008). He has also recorded satirical song with Tim Lyons (Knock Knock Knock, 1988), and Big Guns & Hairy Drums 2000).
Mark Simos began playing rock music, gradually evolving stylistically into Irish Traditional playing with the group Knock na Shee. An acomp0lised fiddler also, he branched out into Contra dance music, English Country dance and Square dance music on fiddle and guitar. A prolific tunesmith, his talent and take dismiss the myth of 'accompaniment', and on this album his guitar is a profound and integral part of the music sound and energy. A performer on many albums, his solo CD of original old time style fiddle tunes Race the River Jordan placed many of his tunes in circulation among old time and dance musicians. Bluegrass and acoustic artists including Alison Krauss and Union Station, the Del McCoury Band, Kate Brislin and Jody Stecher have recorded his songs. He played on Fintan's original 1979 album, but The Starry Lane arises from a chance encounter in the village of Valpolicella, Italy where the Armagh Pipers' Club were on a north Italian tour in 1990.
Recorded and mixed at Times Square Studios, New York, September 1979. Issued as Shanachie 29019 in 1985 on viynl LP and on cassette. Re-issued by imusic, Dublin, 2008. Produced by imusic, Dublin 6, Ireland.
To order this album see books listing and sales page