Clair Egan – Turning Tides: No missteps in this collection from Irish fiddler

Turning Tides
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Artist: Claire Egan
Genre: Traditional
Label: Raelach Records

Distance can shape music in ways that proximity just doesn’t allow.

This solo debut from London-Irish fiddler Claire Egan is a quietly confident collection that comfortably casts a glance to both the past and the present, with nary a misstep in between.

Egan manages a clean, fluid style that’s all her own while doffing a cap to the great London-Irish fiddler Brendan Mulkere.

Her handling of the tunes is a delight: in particular, her reading of the waltzes, Turning Tides/Contented Am I, is a joyous, freewheeling exercise in expressionism.

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And Egan's inclusion of a short passage from a Bach adagio in G Minor is miraculously paired with Castlekellys reel is a spirit-shocking delight.

Accompaniment on piano, bouzouki and bodhrán is perfectly pitched as well.

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Siobhán Long

Siobhán Long

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