Various artists: "The Gathering" (Realworld)
Dial-a-track code: 1971
This is the record of a 1995 concert at UCC which brought together selected performers from Irish/Scots, Galician and French/Breton musics. Centre culture instruments are the focus: Kathryn Tickell plays Northumbrian pipes, Hamish Moore the Scottish "small", and Patrick Molard Breton biniou.
Accordionists Karen Tweed and Andy Cutting are smoothly English, Raymond Ouellet staccato Quebecois, Joe Dirrane complex Irish American. Irish fiddlers Brendan Mulvihill, Martin Hayes and Brendan McGlinchey contrast solidly with the flamboyance of Canadian Pierre Schryer, the foot stomping Shetlander John Robert Deyell and the Scot, Alasdair Fraser.
Nikola Parov: "Kilim" (Hannibal)
Dial-a-track code: 2091
On kaval (flute), gaida (pipes) and gadulka (fiddle), clarinet, whistle and indeed the electronic kitchen sink, Nikola Parov here extemporises on themes from his Bulgarian/Hungarian home culture. In places the album reaches that exotic brilliance of the Eastern Europe, trumpet-led, asymmetric rhythm; in others it returns to Riverdance and East ~Wind catchy cliche generated by the too familiar Ken Edge sax, Mairtin O'Connor accordion, Noel Eccles percussion, Davy Spillane pipes.
Even though Parov's own vocals, and terrific oboe from Otto Racz and violin from Zoltan Lantos all bring it together at times as frision style jazz, still, a clutter of culturally unrelated variety short changes talent particularly Andras Berecz's wonderful head back song.
Marta Sebestyen: "The Best of Marta Sebeswen" (Hannibal)
Dial-a-track code: 2191
If I told you that Marta Sebestyen is acknowledged as one of the finest singers to step outside of Transylvania, would that grab your attention? Possibly, though I doubt it. But if I begin by saying that hers is the haunting voice on the soundtrack of The English Patient I think we will have an audience . . . and so will she.
This is a fascinating selection from her Hannibal albums to date. Although primarily a traditional singer and from a rich and beautiful tradition, too - she can adapt easily to other cultures, her pure, expressive voice capturing the jaunty flair of other eastern European styles apart from her native Hungarian. Listen to her stunning version of The Shores of Loch Brann for a taste of immaculate cross culture. The fact that she speaks seven languages fluently helps no doubt.
