Any new album from Tommy Peoples is always eagerly awaited. His newest release, "The Quiet Glen / An Gleann Ciu/in" is a masterpiece. He comes across as a mature and confident player and while some of the wildness of his earlier recordings may have gone, the blistering triplets are still there and the album shows one of Ireland's greatest fiddlers at his peak. It includes a substantial number of Tommy's own compositions, some of which have already been recorded by others. These suggest that in addition to being a noted exponent of Irish traditional music he is about to make a significant impact as a composer.
The album begins in a relaxed mood with one of Tommy's tunes, "Jocelyn's Waltz", coupled with the Scottish air "My Granny's Hieland Hame". These are followed by two slip jigs, "Kitty Come Down to Limerick" (from O'Neill's) and "Mamore Gap", another of Tommy's tunes, named for a beautiful spot on the Inishowen peninsula. The next track is two reels, "The Green Fields of Glentown", one of his own tunes which has already entered the general repertoire, and "La Cosa Mulligan". This is followed by two descriptive hornpipes, "The Mouse in the Attic" and "The Fat Cat".
The album continues with an excellent version of Scott Skinner's "Hector the Hero", a tune which seems to have been recorded more in the last year than in the previous twenty, leading into "The Coffin Ships", written in memory of the sailing ships which transported Irish emigrants at the time of the great famine. These are followed by two well-known jigs, "The Blooming Meadow" and "The Rose on the Heather", and two reels, "The Cup of Tea" and "Beautiful Gortree".
The title track gives two for the price of one, a slow air and a jig, both called "The Quiet Glen", written about the area where Tommy spent his childhood. The sleeve notes to this track provide a fascinating insight into the growing of flax. The remaining tracks include "Don't Touch that Green Linnet", the well-known reels "Mayor Harrison's Fedora" and "The Bird in the Bush", "The Green Fields of America" and two further Peoples' compositions, "The First Day of Spring" and "The Kinnycally Klansmen".
Throughout the album Tommy is unobtrusively accompanied by Alph Duggan on guitar. An eight-page booklet with extensive notes on the tunes is included. If you have any of Tommy Peoples' previous recordings, you won't need much persuasion to buy this. If you haven't, it's a good place to start, but be warned, Peoples' can prove addictive.
At present the album is only available directly from Tommy Peoples Publishing, Toonagh Ennis, Co. Clare, Ireland. It may be available through selected dealers in future. It costs £13 (sterling) or $25 (US).
Ted Hastings
(This review has appeared on IRTRAD and in Fiddler
magazine.)
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