Customer Reviews

Morning Aire

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sue Richards is the penultimate Celtic harpist! Her music evokes the beauty and tranquillity of Scottish hills & moors while providing a bit of serenity for the daily commute. My favorite CD is Grey Eyed Morn but this one is almost as great.

This is one of my favorite CDs. Most of the music is mellow, but full of energy at the same time. The wide variety of instruments played insures that the music is definitely not dull. The artists who play them lovingly bring out tunes that have been played for generations in Ireland. You won't be disappointed with this CD.

These Scottish and Irish traditional tunes are all quite nice -- often (to my ears) beautiful. The sequencing of slow tunes and fast ones seems right to me, if a little random. If it was me (and I HAVE made a few records), I would have ended either with a bang or with an exceptionally beautiful slow air. This CD just stops.

The recording is a little too reverbed for my taste. I prefer my chamber music in a small chamber ... not an artificial cathedral. I say "artificial" because it was recorded in a recording studio and the reverb was added in later. The overall impression is that everyone is seated 15-20 feet away from me.

The playing is all top-notch, but, in my opinion, it is just too careful. (The exception is Karen Ashbrook's delightful interpretation of The Rights of Man.) Unlike another reviewer here, I do not hear a lot of energy. Everyone sounds like they are holding back just a bit.

The liner notes say that Sue Richards "brings a joyous and inventive spirit to traditional music from Ireland and Scotland". With the exception of Ms. Ashbrook's contribution, I do not hear much invention or joy. I'm not saying "Morning Aire" is dull ... just a bit careful.

Don't get me wrong -- it is a nice collection of nice tunes played nicely by excellent musicians. But it is more "Late Night" than "Morning Aire".

That being said, it is a worthy collection of worthy Celtic tunes played expertly by worthy traditional musicians. It does not reach the artistic levels achieved by Celtic harpists Derek Bell, Patrick Ball, or Patsy Seddon, but you will certainly enjoy it.