Latest Traditional CDs reviewed

VARIOUS ARTISTS

1972-2007 Corn Uí Riada
Buaiteoirí

Cló Iar Chonnachta/ RTÉ Radio Na Gaeltachta ***

Sean nós singing in all its multilayered complexity is celebrated in this 35th-anniversary compendium. The annual Oireachtas sean nós singing competition commemorates the contribution of Seán Ó Riada to the tradition with Corn Uí Riada, surely the Olympic gold medal of traditional singing. Gathered here are some 23 Corn recipients, a number of them multi-year winners. There's the gliding lilt of Donegal's Gearóidín Breathnach on An Sheanduine Dóite; the bellydeep investment of Lillis Ó Laoire on An Mhaighdean Mhara, and the renewable energy evident in Dubliner Éamon Ó Donnchadha's uncompromising delivery of Bean An tSeanduine. It's a salute to the health of both sean nós singing and the teeming spirits who revel in its ability to tell a story so clearly and so well. www.cic.ie SIOBHÁN LONG

ÉAMON DOORLEY, MUIREANN NIC AMHLAOIBH, JULIE FOWLIS AND ROSS MARTIN

Dual

Machairrecords ****

Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh and Julie Fowlis have carved formidable reputations: An Daingean's Nic Amhlaoibh as singer and flute player with Danú, and Fowlis as a Scots Gaelic singer who breathes new life into the mouth music of her home, North Uist. Dual, meaning to braid or interlace, beautifully describes this breathtaking collection, with a tapestry of detail in the bouzouki, fiddle and vocal accompaniment of guitarist Ross Martin and Fowlis's husband and Danú member Éamon Doorley. Fowlis delights in playing with the syllables of her own language and dovetails with Nic Amhlaoibh's clear-as-springwater voice. A Ríogain Uasailis a knockout: a response to one of the tradition's biggest songs ( Mo Giolla Meár) using the same air. One of the most compelling recordings of the year. www.machairrecords.com SIOBHÁN LONG

Download tracks: Beauty Deas An Oileáin. Uist-Kerry Set