Far From the Hills of Donegal

Oisín McAuley | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 30, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Compass Records
• ASIN: B000LP5DE2
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #230,294 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Oisín McAuley, lead fiddler of the celebrated traditional group Danú, is a younger exponent of a style specific to Ireland’s northwestern county of Donegal. Local players have developed an easily recognizable, every-note-in-its-place directness and although use of ornamentation is relatively sparse, bagpipe-like double-stops and drones are often employed. Growing up in a gaeltacht (Irish-speaking community), McAuley was steeped from birth in an ancient culture that has survived centuries of ruinous history while only slowly accepting modernization. He cites his grandfather and John Doherty, a much-revered regional icon, as major early influences. Not surprisingly, he also admires Altan, a superstar folk ensemble from the area. Before joining Danú, McAuley earned a degree in classical violin and spent a year in Brittany, immersing himself in that French/Celtic nation’s deathless folkways. He is obviously strongly attracted to bluegrass, jaunty Québécois dance tunes, and jazz from various eras as his music subtly reflects them all to one degree or another. But getting back to basics, McAuley has a particular gift for interpreting Ireland’s searingly emotional, high-and-lonesome slow airs. Even more than his awe-inspiring virtuosity, it is this that transforms an already remarkable solo debut into an extraordinary recorded document, ineffably haunting and full of promise for the future. --Christina Roden

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptionally Well Done, February 8, 2007

By 

TG - See all my reviews

This review is from: Far From the Hills of Donegal (Audio CD)

This is a great CD of predominantly Irish fiddle music - with a few original and french-Canadian tunes thrown in for good measure. It's very well played by Oisin and the guitar accompaniment (mostly by Shane McGowan) is top notch. The tunes are wonderfully arranged (a little bit of improvisation here and there) and it's very well recorded. It's early, but this sound to me like one of the top trad irish CDs of 2007.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More traditional than atmospheric, March 11, 2008

By 

John L Murphy "Fionnchú" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Far From the Hills of Donegal (Audio CD)

Danú's fiddler, from the southwestern peninsula of Donegal, draws upon local inspiration for his self-produced solo debut. It's instrumental, not vocal. The regional style of fiddling emphasizes staccato bowing, a harsher (perhaps to some ears more grating and less accompanied) delivery, and influence from Scottish dances such as the strathspey and the highland. McAuley covers famous musicians such as Con Cassidy (a self-titled barn dance), Patsy Touhy (My Former Wife), and John Doherty (Paidin O'Raifertaigh). He adds Gille le Bigot's Swing and Tears, a tribute to a Breton guitarist, Ronan Browne's version of the air Port na bPucaí, and his own waltzes and reels. Peter Browne and Ronan Browne back him on button accordion and pipes respectively.

Guitarist (not the Pogue!) Shane McGowan reveals a gift for understated, yet nimble, guitar on seven of the thirteen tunes. This recording eschews atmospheric keyboards, with the exception of the bland Tune for Gillian, in favor of simple, less adorned pieces from mainly Irish but also Scottish sources. The production works best when steering clear of the overly stuffed, too ambient-sounding, New Age-tinged styles that on many Compass Records -- and what was Green Linnet-- still permeate many recent Celtic-Irish musical offerings of the past couple of decades.

Less lush than Lúnasa therefore, akin more to the revivalists of older sounds found in Téada, the Irish manner of playing here represents, as with Téada's fiddler from Sligo Oisín MacDiarmada, a preference for conveying instrumental prowess without production filigree. Such a direction shows promise for younger Irish players. The retreat from the swirling, synthesized treatments favored by many Irish musicians in the past two decades should hearten listeners seeking out styles hearkening more to the village elder than the trends of the city hipster.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Olsin McAuley - Far from the Hills of Donegal, February 11, 2009

By 

Martin G. Miller (Ames, IA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Far From the Hills of Donegal (Audio CD)

This CD is a delight. McAuley is one of the finest Irish fiddlers in the world. His playing is clean, tasteful and accomplished. Excellent backup.