Under the Moon

by Martin Hayes

Overview

Martin Hayes is a fiddler from County Clare whose sure but gentle touch and deep musical intelligence have combined to produce one of the most satisfying recordings of traditional music in a long time. Accompanied in most cases by only an understated guitar, and in duet on one lovely track with his father, Hayes performs a long set of tunes that range from the familiar ("Rakish Paddy," "The Cliffs of Moher") to the more obscure ("Kilnamona Barndance," "Farewell to Milltown"). What is special about this album isn't so much the material Hayes has chosen, though it's all lovely; instead, it's his unflagging focus on the tunes themselves rather than on his own virtuosity that makes "Under the Moon" both musically inspiring and emotionally rewarding. In a field dominated by fiery virtuosos, many of whom seeming intent on throwing every fleet-fingered ornament possible into every phrase they play, Hayes plays for the tune itself. He interprets and embellishes it, of course, but always in a way that reveals the music rather than obscuring it. There are no barnburners on this album; even the uptempo numbers are played with gentle assurance instead of headlong abandon. When he cuts a note, it is with the quietest, quickest tap of a finger; when he slides into another, it is with the slow, languorous grace of a lover's caress. Yet he never sounds overearnest or academic in his playing, either; he sounds conscientious, not self-conscious. The effect is one of an expatriate speaking after a long exile the native language that he loves, or of a father gently explaining an ancient craft to his child. Stunning. It nearly made me tear up. ~ Rick Anderson

Product Details

Release Date:	07/11/1995
Label:	GREEN LINNET
UPC:	0048248115520

Tracks

1. Bill Malley's Barndance/Kilnamona Barndance
2. Cloonagroe Reel/West Clare Reel
3. O'Connell's March/Galway Bay Hornpipe/The Banshee's Wail over the Man
4. Hole in the Hedge/Seamus Cooley's Jig
5. Bony Crossing the Alps/The Maids of Feakle
6. Kitty Come Down to Limerick/Catherine Kelly's
7. Rakish Paddy
8. Pat Canny's/Come West Along the Road
9. Fair Haired Molly/Farewell to Milltown
10. Lark's March/Kilfenora Jig/The Cliffs of Moher
11. Graf Spey/The Boys of Balisodare
12. Crooked Road/The Foxhunter's Reel
13. Lucy Farr's

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Martin Hayes   Primary Artist,Fiddle
Steve Cooney   Guitar
John Williams   Concertina,Accordion
Randal Bays   Guitar

Technical Credits

Helen Bommarito   Executive Producer
Martin Hayes   Arranger,Producer,Liner Notes
Maureen Brennan   Liner Notes
Matt Purcell   Engineer
Junior Crehan   Composer