Louise Mulcahy: Tuning the Road

Tuning The Road
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Artist: Louise Mulcahy
Genre: Traditional
Label: Cló Iar Chonnachta

The natural kinship between pipe, flute and whistle are beautifully explored by Louise Mulcahy in her solo debut. Drawing on a rich well of tunes that filter years of experience into a distilled collection, Mulcahy's repertoire is as broad, welcoming and discerning as her instrumental virtuosity. Her flute style is fluid, unforced and rhythmically steady, as much at ease with the gorgeous jig set, The Three White Cats, as it is with the demanding (but divinely interpreted) west Kerry slow air, Port na bPúcaí. Her sister Michelle's harp accompaniment is equally subtle and well-defined. Mulcahy's piping owes much to the bequest of Willie Clancy, but here she makes her own indelible mark: that of a musician very much at home with the music, and making it her own. Already a standout in a year of very fine music. cic.ie

Siobhán Long

Siobhán Long

Siobhán Long, a contributor to The Irish Times, writes about traditional music and the wider arts