One's Own Place: A Family Tradition

Kevin Henry

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 26, 1999)
• Original Release Date: May 17, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Bogfire
• ASIN: B00000HYZC
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #191,997 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Tony MacMahon, RTE Producer

"Kevin Henry is the only remaining person who has a local style of playing which is absolutely authentic and faithful to his own region. His music is as immediate as one of those standing stones you see in the Burren, where you look at the image and see history. His music has that."

Product Description

One's Own Place contains 23 tracks of Irish traditional music and recitations from Kevin Henry who plays flute, tin whistle and uilleann pipes. He is joined on several tracks by his daughter Maggie Healy on flute, tin whistle and fiddle; sister Verona Ryan on fiddle; brother Johnny Henry on fiddle and life long friend Malachy Towey on bodhran.

The musical recordings here represent a sampler of styles from the Sligo region. "The reels and jigs are mostly all local tunes from the Coleman Country area," says Kevin, and reels dominate the selections. Outstanding among these are The Clogher Reel/Sean Sa Cheo, the Dermot Grogan trilogy, the thrilling Tom Ward's/The New Policeman, The Tarbolton/The Golden Keyboard, masterfully delivered by Maggie, and Speed the Plough/McFadden's Handsome Daughter, the latter with its juxtaposition of a dark first passage with a light, redeeming second part.

The double jigs and hornpipes are very strong, especially the wistful and haunting Murphy's and Kitty's Wedding, played by Verona, Johnny and Maggie. The Butcher's March played ensemble is one of the highlights of the project-"grand" as Kevin would put it, and "hearty."

Kevin Henry is a master storyteller who performs what are known in Ireland as recitations. Here he performs Guilty or Not Guilty, The Hellbound Train, Rex, Peg Kelley's Black Cat and The Green Eye of the Little Yellow God. Kevin also performs one song in the unaccompanied vocal sean-nos style, My Little Thatched Cabin.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Authentic Irish music, May 4, 2000

By	M. Polczynski (Elm Grove, Wisconsin, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If your tastes tend toward Celtic New Age or Irish elevator music, don't buy this CD. If possible, this music is even more authentic than Colm O'Donnell's on "Farewell to Evening Dances", BogFire's other current release. If you've ever attended a session in a small rural pub in Ireland and long to return, this CD will intensify your longing. Buy this CD before musicians like Kevin Henry disappear.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars traditional irish music at its best!, March 30, 2000

By A Customer

I thought the CD was excellent. Some of the greatest Irish music I have ever heard. The poems are spoken with great heart that you are mesmorized. this CD is for anyone who loves Irish music. I hope he makes another one!