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Seán Ó Riada was one of the most important figures in the 20th-century revival of traditional Irish music. His chamber group Ceoltoiri Chualann helped revive the music of the great harper Turlough O'Carolan and was also the incubator for Paddy Moloney and other early members of the
Chieftains.
Ó Riada's Farewell, his final recording before he died in 1971, is a selection of ancient tunes played on an 18th-century harpsichord. Ó Riada was interested in re-creating the music as it might have been heard in the great houses of the patrons of O'Carolan, arranging tunes like "Sí Bheag a's Sí Mhór" ("The Little Fairy Hill and the Big Fairy Hill") and "Aisling Gheal" ("A Bright Vision") for a period instrument. His harpsichord versions bring out a stateliness in the music that more traditional instruments like the Uilleann pipes or the fiddle can obscure.
--Michael Simmons
