Traditional

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Charlie Lennon Turning The Tune Cló Iar Chonnachta ****

Leitrim fiddler and prolific composer Charlie Lennon lends some finely wrought tunes to the tradition, and this double CD is a formidable addition to his arsenal.

With one CD of established tunes accompanied by another brimful of newly minted compatriots, Lennon bestows another gabháil of music to listeners and players hungry to cross new borders.

Against an occasionally overly robust backdrop of piano, banjo, viola and box, Lennon's throaty fiddle traces an earthy route around old standards such as James Morrison's Peach Blossom, as well as recently birthed muzettes (Waltz Joe-Anne), strathspeys and a pair of sublime commemorative pieces: an air/reel in memory of Lennon's talented sound engineer, Éamonn Goggin, and a reel dedicated to his nephew, John Lennon.

Delicately perceptive playing from a musician who marries the cerebral and the emotional without ever sacrificing one to the other. www.cic.ie   Siobhan Long

Download tracks: Taken By The Fairies

© 2007 The Irish Times