Celtic Reflections
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BARRY DOUGLAS
Celtic Reflections
Barry Douglas (piano)
[ Chandos / CD ]
Release Date: Wednesday 20 August 2014
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Barry Douglas is best-known for his celebrated performances of great works central to the classical repertoire, not least through his acclaimed Brahms and Schubert series on Chandos. In his new disc Celtic Reflections we hear another side to his musical life. Playing his own arrangements, he explores the melodies of his native Ireland, from ancient folk tunes passed down through the ages to pieces by contemporary songwriters. He is joined by the talented young flautist Eimear McGeown who, as well as being an accomplished classical player, is a renowned and passionate exponent of the traditional Irish flute which she plays in this recording.
Many of the arrangements are based on transcriptions of folksongs and folk tunes that offer a glimpse of Celtic cultures past. The melody for 'My Lagan Love' had been passed down aurally for generations before the musicologist Hector Hughes transcribed it in the early twentieth century, while the folksong collector Edward Bunting transcribed 'Irish Lullaby' at the last-ever gathering of old Irish harpers in 1792. Well-known folk tunes heard here, such as 'Danny Boy' and 'Carrickfergus', trace their roots far back in history and have come to represent Ireland in the popular imagination. Barry Douglas's caring arrangements breathe new life into this music and transport us on a journey across the centuries.
Presenting a modern take on traditional Celtic music, Eimear McGeown performs a number of her own compositions. Inis and The Mushroom Tree are inspired by personal experiences and informed by a knowledge of and passion for the folk music of her homeland.
"I enjoyed listening to this disc a lot, partly, I am sure, because, like Douglas himself, I grew up in Northern Ireland and this was the folk music that I knew from an early age. Not all of these airs were familiar to me when I listened to this disc, but they all felt familiar, be it in the familiar cadences or the colour of the melodies, and Douglas clearly has this music in his bones. You don't have to be Irish to enjoy it, though, and anyone who enjoys music with a Celtic tinge will like it very much.
All the arrangements are by Douglas himself and he does a good job, combining both variety and pattern. The Coolin is a pleasant, rippling set of variations, while in most of the other settings, such as Down by the Salley Gardens and My Lagan Love, he adopts a simple strophic setting with variations in the accompaniment to keep things interesting. Sometimes he will play around the theme and engage with it after only a while, most successfully in Carrickfergus, and in some he plays it straight, such as Danny Boy, which makes a beautifully straightforward conclusion to the disc.
His playing is predominantly thoughtful and introspective, as befits the "Reflective" element in the disc's title, though he gets an injection of energy when it's required, such as in the dance-like Planxty Dillon. Eimear McGeown's Irish Flute makes a very colourful and very welcome addition to several of the numbers, most impressively in The Mushroom Tree and The Kid on the Mountain, which are lovely. She also plays her own composition in Inis, a hauntingly beautiful use of the instrument, with perfect interplay with the piano and an evocative sense of mythology in its tone.
Some might quibble that this isn't a great outlet for Douglas' musical talents, but it's clearly a project close to his heart, so why shouldn't he have the chance to record it? Let's not forget that he is currently engaged in a pretty large-scale Brahms series for Chandos (Volume 1 ~ Volume 2), so who could begrudge him the change to kick back with this? There may not be anything on this disc to frighten the horses, but there is a huge amount to enjoy and I found it nostalgic, evocative and (whisper it) very relaxing" (MusicWeb Oct 2014)
Tracks:
My Lagan Love
Irish lullaby
Home Away from Home
The Cliffs of Dooneen
Carrickfergus
The Coolin
Inis
She Moved through the Fair
The Mushroom Tree
The Kid on the Mountain
Danny Boy
The Raggle Taggle Gypsy
The Last Rose of Summer
Down by the Sally Gardens
The Pleasant Rocks
Open the Door Softly
The Lamentation of Eoin O'Neill
Planxty Dillon
