Review: The Donegal Fiddle

The Donegal Fiddle, RTÉ Music Ltd., 1996 (RTÉ 196).

Featured fiddlers: Francie and Mickey Byrne (13 tracks); Jimmy Lyons (10 tracks); John Gallagher (6 tracks); Mickey Doherty (5 tracks); and John Doherty (3 tracks). James Josie McHugh, Paddy Gallagher, and Simon Doherty appear on one or two tracks each.
Solo fiddle, 25 tracks; the other 12 tracks feature playing in pairs.
The recording was done in 1949 and in 1957 but is nonetheless good (see below); it is drawn from the RTÉ archives and it is to be hoped that further such releases are forthcoming.
Available from RTÉ and Claddagh Records.

Here are some of the best old fiddlers from Donegal. Some of them appear here for the first time on a commercial recording. The playing is generally excellent, and in some cases it just doesn't get any better -- though of course it sometimes has the roughness of old field recordings (because that's what this release was made from). If you are interested in Donegal fiddling it is "required listening"; if you simply want an idea of what good, authentic Donegal fiddling sounds like, then this recording should be on the list of those you are considering. (Others you might consider are The Brass Fiddle, The Fiddle Music of Donegal, reviewed separately, and anything by John or Mickey Doherty.)

The liner notes are extensive and detailed, giving substantial accounts of the tunes and the players.

Here are some of my own favorites. One is "Rí na bPíobairí" (one of the Donegal tunes called "King of the Pipers") played by Francie and Mickey Byrne, the first track on the recording. This appeared on their Ceol na dTéad but that recording was marred by speeding up and slowing down (with very annoying changes in pitch) -- due to the recorder's unstable power source (the battery of a van). The recording was remastered for The Donegal Fiddle and the improvement is wonderful. Indeed, for recordings made in 1949 and 1957 the sound quality is good. A shorter, less colorful version of this particular tune was recorded also by Altan and Séamus and Kevin Glackin -- but the Byrnes' (aka the Deargs) version, which has a few more parts, has a great deal more character. Among their other selections is an extremely beautiful lament -- the Deargs were very good at playing airs -- called "Briseadh Eachdhruim," which, as the liner notes justly say, "is possibly one of the rarest and most moving pieces of Irish music." Their style is bright and quick, but on the raspy side.

The version of the "George the Fourth" highland by Mickey Doherty has become one of my favorite tunes; it has great drive and power, and the influence of the pipes is evident (e.g., in the double-stopping imitation of the drones -- also in the ornamentation). His brother John plays a very similar setting on The Floating Bow, reviewed separately. One is hard pressed to say which of the brothers' versions is the better. His style is a bit bouncier and brighter than John's, but possesses the same "lonesome" quality. I have heard it said that Mickey's style is more "authentically Donegal" than John's; in this context I'm not positive what that means.

We are treated to the playing of John and Mickey's brother, Simon Simi Doherty, on one track, with John playing an octave lower -- the tune is a Donegal version of "The Pidgeon on the Gate" and it is mighty playing indeed.

The producers of the recording are to be thanked for publishing, for the first time, the playing of two excellent older Donegal fiddlers, John "The Tae" Gallagher and the late Jimmy Lyons.

John Gallagher's playing is exciting and clear. His playing of "Mooney's Reel," called "Paddy Ryan's Dream" outside Donegal (and "Miss Lyell" in Scotland), is a particularly exciting rendition of a good tune. He plays two duets with James Josie McHugh and one with his father, Paddy "The Tae" Gallagher.

Jimmy Lyons' playing resembles somewhat the playing of fellow Teelin fiddlers Con and Frank Cassidy -- with a sweet tone and more of a slurring bow and left-hand ornamentation than other Donegal players. His playing here is mainly of highlands and hornpipes (6 of the 10 selections). The recording of his tracks were done in 1949 and are accordingly a little scratchier than the others.

This is, in my opinion, mainly a recording for specialists, but as such it is indispensible and a very welcome addition to the now rapidly growing list of Donegal fiddle recordings. And I think very many non-specialists who like good fiddle playing would like it as well.

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