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Review
of "An Traidisiun Beo"
Angelina Carberry, Angel of the Banjo
CEOL
By Earle Hitchner
"Break up the Carberrys.
They have too much talent and skill for
one Irish family to possess. It's just
not fair.
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From County Longford, the
Carberrys feature multi-generational players
of redoubtable skill: Angelina on banjo, her
father Peter on button accordion, his uncle
Peter on uilleann pipes, his son Noel on uilleann
pipes, and Peter's grandsons Diarmuid and Kevin
on uilleann pipes, among other musical members
of this extended clan. You'd need a bus to transport
them all to a session.
In 2001 Kenagh button accordionist
Peter Carberry, Manchester-born daughter Angelina
on banjo, and London-raised accompanist John
Blake made "Memories From the Holla,"
a marvelous recording that I now realize, too
late, belongs in the "sweet 16" list
of albums I just compiled. (See article elsewhere
in this issue.)
In 2003 Angelina, who now
lives in Knocknacarra, Galway, and Armagh button
accordionist Martin Quinn released a recording
together that finished seventh in the Irish
Echo's list of the top 10 traditional albums
for that year.
Now comes "An Traidisiun
Beo," Angelina Carberry's solo CD on her
own ReelTrad Records imprint. A shoo-in for
my top 10 list of albums in 2005, it is another
splendid example of a trend in Ireland that
I identified in a past "Ceol" column:
an enlightened, tasteful, ever-so-appealing
movement from pyrotechnics or frills back toward
basics. Think of it as neo-trad: "new"
in the sense that individuality and invention
still pulse through the music, but "old"
in the sense that nosebleed speed and ornamenting
for its own sake have receded from their post-"Riverdance"
crest. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's bored
now with the rosin pluming and horsehair snapping
of hyperkinetic Irish fiddlers on stage. It's
turned from crowd pleasing into crowd pandering.
In the world of the Irish
four-string banjo, Angelina Carberry doesn't
cater to anyone's musical expectations but her
own. She plays in a lyrical, unrushed, unself-absorbed,
clear-stream style that draws out the richness
of each melody. With the sole exception of the
last track, Turlough O'Carolan's "Princess
Royal," in which a slight synth drone intrudes,
everything about "An Traidisiun Beo"
is exemplary.
She gets plenty of fine assistance
from Martin Quinn and Peter Carberry on button
accordions, Laoise Kelly on harp, Martin Gavin
on bodhran, and John Blake on guitar and piano,
but this is, first to last, Angelina's album.
Six of the tracks are just banjo and accompaniment,
whether guitar, piano, or bodhran. In "Dermot
Grogan's Jig/Hardiman's Fancy," "Finbar
Dwyer's/The Dogs Among the Bushes," and
"The Brown Coffin/Paddy Lynn's Delight,"
all essentially solo showcases, she lets each
tune unfold organically, reminding us that the
destination matters less than the journey.
I know what you're thinking:
how does her style of playing compare with Gerry
O'Connor's? They're dramatically different banjoists
with different intents, but they share a bond
in their ability to wring every element of pleasure
from a tune. They also share a meticulousness
in their playing, hitting every note flush and
skipping or slipping no detail. If they occupy
opposite ends of the tenor banjo scale of style,
it merely proves how versatile the sound of
the four-string banjo can be in such masterful
hands.
Angelina's collaborations
with her father, Peter, and Martin Quinn on
the box are no less memorable on the CD. The
medley of "Bonnie Anne's Reel/Rogha Thomais
Ui Dhubhda/Quinn's Reel" spotlights the
beautifully blended playing of Angelina on banjo,
Quinn on accordion, Blake on guitar and piano,
and Gavin on bodhran, while "The Girl of
the House/The Dawn Chorus/O'Sullivan's March"
and "Paddy Kelly's/The Log Cabin/Mayor
Harrison's Fedora" are propelled at a model
tempo and with a model touch by Angelina, her
father, and Blake.
Also, hearing former Bumblebees'
harper Laoise Kelly provide rhythm for Angelina's
banjo work in "Paddy Fahy's/The Buck from
the Mountain" hornpipes creates a well-executed
change in texture.
The fluid, unobtrusively shimmering
banjo playing by Angelina Carberry on this recording
conveys utter ease through all the hard work
she's put into her training. The sweat doesn't
show, nor should it. This album is about music,
not muscle. Honesty and integrity in performing
are natural byproducts of something more important,
more fundamental: she loves to play. You can
hear it in every note from her banjo.
"An Traidisiun Beo"
is another shining example of a so-called vanity
album, self-produced and self-issued, that eclipses
most of the far more expensively made Irish
traditional recordings released by major commercial
and long-established indie labels. The name
of Angelina's own record label sums it up best:
ReelTrad. That it is."
[Published on December
28, 2005, in the IRISH ECHO newspaper, New York
City. Copyright (c) Earle Hitchner. All rights
reserved. Reprinted by permission of author.]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Musicians:
Angelina Carberry - Banjo
John Blake - Guitar &
Piano
Peter Carberry - Accordion
Martin Quinn - Accordion
Laoise Kelly - Harp
Martin Gavin - Bodhran
Production:
Produced by -
Angelina Carberry &
Martin Quinn
Engineered by - Dave Brandt
Recorded at - db Audio,
Barna Co. Galway
Mastered by - Dave Brandt
Photography - Garrett
Hurley
Layout and Design - Open
Ear Productions Ltd
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reviews
ANGELINA CARBERRY - An Traidisiún
Beo
Reeltrad Records RTR002
12 tracks, 51 minutes
The title
is a bit of a giveaway: traditional music on
banjo from Angelina and friends, a fine example
of the contemporary style. There's a good mix
of tunes here, from the well-known Poll Ha'penny
and The Dogs Among The Bushes to rarities such
as Dermot Grogan's Jig and The Log Cabin. Angelina's
sources range from Kerry to Scotland and America,
gathering all forms of Irish music from the
Donegal highland The Miller Of Drone to the
stirring Carolan piece The Princess Royal.
Angelina
plays in the bouncy, percussive style of most
banjo music from the 1920s to the present, without
the fluid ornamentation and other liberties
taken by Gerry O'Connor and his successors.
Comparisons with John Carty and Kieran Hanrahan
spring to mind, although Ms Carberry is more
at home with jigs and hornpipes than the unrelenting
reels which predominate on many CDs. An Traidisiún
Beo is a breath of fresh air in that respect:
only five sets of reels, slotted in between
highlights such as The Brown Coffin and Paddy
Fahy's, two hornpipes deserving better names.
There's also a charming setting of the slip
jig Will You Come Down To Limerick?, and a lovely
set of jigs starting appropriately with The
Girl Of The House.
Accompaniment on most tracks is provided y the
admirable John Blake, and Angelina is joined
at several points by her father Peter and her
husband Martin Quinn on accordions. Laoise Kelly's
harp and Martin Gavin's bodhrán also
appear in a few places. The website at www.reeltrad.com
has more details and samples, as well as information
on Angelina's previous duet recordings with
Peter Carberry and Martin Quinn: check it out.
Alex Monaghan
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best Irish Traditional Albums
of 2005
6) AN TRAIDISIUN BEO, by
Angelina Carberry (self-issued, ReelTrad RTR
002)
"Memories
From the Holla" in 2001 and "Angelina
Carberry and Martin Quinn" in 2003 were
recordings that featured Angelina's beguiling
ability on tenor banjo, and this solo CD from
2005 will only bolster the respect for her nimble,
lyrical, unhurried, clear-stream playing style.
Ireland's spreading neo-trad movement, in which
ego-flexing invention takes a backseat to hard-core
playing, has not yet taken firm foothold in
America, but this recording may become an influential
exemplar. Half of the dozen tracks are just
banjo and accompaniment, whether John Blake's
guitar and piano or Martin Gavin's bodhran.
Tunes unfold organically in Carberry's ever-capable
hands, with no nosebleed rush to the finish
line in such medleys as "Dermot Grogan's
Jig/Hardiman's Fancy" and "Finbar
Dwyer's/The Dogs Among the Bushes." This
spellbinding album of four-string banjo music
by Carberry could not be more different in style
and effect from the solo albums made by tenor
banjoist nonpareil Gerry O'Connor, and yet the
two share a deference for the integrity of a
melody and for hitting notes fully and cleanly.
Each of these virtuosos shows how versatile
the instrument can be, and Knocknacarra, Galway's
Angelina Carberry also demonstrates that ease
isn't the same as easy. Joy flows through everything
she plays.
CEOL
By Earle Hitchner
[Published on February 8, 2006,
in the IRISH ECHO newspaper
in New York City. Copyright © Earle Hitchner.
All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission
of author.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SCOTLAND on SUNDAY
Sun 22 Jan 2006
FOLK
ANGELINA CARBERRY
An Traidisiún Beo
Realtrad Records RTR002, £14.99
Brought
up in Manchester's rich Irish community, this
talented young woman now lives back in the Emerald
Isle, in a house full of wee children already
playing traditional music. Carberry plays the
banjo - the fretted bodhran to its detractors
- but one would have to lack eardrums to find
this album anything less than a delight. With
players the calibre of harpist Laoise Kelly,
John Blake on piano and guitar, father Peter
on accordion and Martin Gavins rock-steady bodhran,
this is beautifully paced, artfully performed
and downright happy collection of reels, jigs,
highlands and hornpipes.
NORMAN CHALMERS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Angelina Carberry, Angel
of the Banjo
CEOL
By Earle Hitchner
Break
up the Carberrys. They have too much talent
and skill for one Irish family to possess. It's
just not fair.
From County Longford, the Carberrys feature
multi-generational players of redoubtable skill:
Angelina on banjo, her father Peter on button
accordion, his uncle Peter on uilleann pipes,
his son Noel on uilleann pipes, and Peter's
grandsons Diarmuid and Kevin on uilleann pipes,
among other musical members of this extended
clan. You'd need a bus to transport them all
to a session.
In 2001 Kenagh button accordionist Peter Carberry,
Manchester-born daughter Angelina on banjo,
and London-raised accompanist John Blake made
"Memories From the Holla," a marvelous
recording that I now realize, too late, belongs
in the "sweet 16" list of albums I
just compiled. (See article elsewhere in this
issue.)
In 2003 Angelina, who now lives in Knocknacarra,
Galway, and Armagh button accordionist Martin
Quinn released a recording together that finished
seventh in the Irish Echo's list of the top
10 traditional albums for that year.
Now comes "An Traidisiun Beo," Angelina
Carberry's solo CD on her own ReelTrad Records
imprint. A shoo-in for my top 10 list of albums
in 2005, it is another splendid example of a
trend in Ireland that I identified in a past
"Ceol" column: an enlightened, tasteful,
ever-so-appealing movement from pyrotechnics
or frills back toward basics. Think of it as
neo-trad: "new" in the sense that
individuality and invention still pulse through
the music, but "old" in the sense
that nosebleed speed and ornamenting for its
own sake have receded from their post-"Riverdance"
crest. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's bored
now with the rosin pluming and horsehair snapping
of hyperkinetic Irish fiddlers on stage. It's
turned from crowd pleasing into crowd pandering.
In the world of the Irish four-string banjo,
Angelina Carberry doesn't cater to anyone's
musical expectations but her own. She plays
in a lyrical, unrushed, unself-absorbed, clear-stream
style that draws out the richness of each melody.
With the sole exception of the last track, Turlough
O'Carolan's "Princess Royal," in which
a slight synth drone intrudes, everything about
"An Traidisiun Beo" is exemplary.
She gets plenty of fine assistance from Martin
Quinn and Peter Carberry on button accordions,
Laoise Kelly on harp, Martin Gavin on bodhran,
and John Blake on guitar and piano, but this
is, first to last, Angelina's album. Six of
the tracks are just banjo and accompaniment,
whether guitar, piano, or bodhran. In "Dermot
Grogan's Jig/Hardiman's Fancy," "Finbar
Dwyer's/The Dogs Among the Bushes," and
"The Brown Coffin/Paddy Lynn's Delight,"
all essentially solo showcases, she lets each
tune unfold organically, reminding us that the
destination matters less than the journey.
I know what you're thinking: how does her style
of playing compare with Gerry O'Connor's? They're
dramatically different banjoists with different
intents, but they share a bond in their ability
to wring every element of pleasure from a tune.
They also share a meticulousness in their playing,
hitting every note flush and skipping or slipping
no detail. If they occupy opposite ends of the
tenor banjo scale of style, it merely proves
how versatile the sound of the four-string banjo
can be in such masterful hands.
Angelina's collaborations with her father, Peter,
and Martin Quinn on the box are no less memorable
on the CD. The medley of "Bonnie Anne's
Reel/Rogha Thomais Ui Dhubhda/Quinn's Reel"
spotlights the beautifully blended playing of
Angelina on banjo, Quinn on accordion, Blake
on guitar and piano, and Gavin on bodhran, while
"The Girl of the House/The Dawn Chorus/O'Sullivan's
March" and "Paddy Kelly's/The Log
Cabin/Mayor Harrison's Fedora" are propelled
at a model tempo and with a model touch by Angelina,
her father, and Blake.
Also, hearing former Bumblebees' harper Laoise
Kelly provide rhythm for Angelina's banjo work
in "Paddy Fahy's/The Buck from the Mountain"
hornpipes creates a well-executed change in
texture.
The fluid, unobtrusively shimmering banjo playing
by Angelina Carberry on this recording conveys
utter ease through all the hard work she's put
into her training. The sweat doesn't show, nor
should it. This album is about music, not muscle.
Honesty and integrity in performing are natural
byproducts of something more important, more
fundamental: she loves to play. You can hear
it in every note from her banjo.
"An Traidisiun Beo" is another shining
example of a so-called vanity album, self-produced
and self-issued, that eclipses most of the far
more expensively made Irish traditional recordings
released by major commercial and long-established
indie labels. The name of Angelina's own record
label sums it up best: ReelTrad. That it is.
Her new album is available at www.reeltrad.com.
CEOL
By Earle Hitchner
[Published on December 28, 2005,
in the IRISH ECHO newspaper
in New York City. Copyright © Earle Hitchner.
All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission
of author.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Angelina Carberry
- An Traidisiún Beo
(Reel Trad Records)
While
the fiddle holds dominance, it is nice to see
instruments normally relegated to the ‘with
accompaniment from’ category have a chance
to take centre stage.
The banjo
tends to be one of those instruments only there
to fill out the sound, but Carberry proves it
can vie with the best of them, such as on the
reels recorded here with both Peter Carberry
and Martin Quinn on accordion.
However
the best testament for letting the banjo take
the lead in things comes from track four, a
Highland and some reels. Here, Angelina, as
leader of the band, lets rip with some ad-libs
and flourishes that make for exciting listening.
It makes me wonder what she would be like on
guitar and if deep inside her there is a closet
fan of the guitar riff?
Galway Advertiser
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANGELINA CARBERRY
An Traidisiún Beo
Reel Trad
Angelina
Carberry’s downright languorous solo CD
is a snapshot of a banjo player who’s
not in a hurry – surely a threatened species
these days. With a family history steeped in
traditional music, Carberry goes for the jugular
of a tune, surgically dissecting it until she
reaches its pulsing core, only to then repair
whatever inefficiencies might lurk within, assisted
by her husband Martin Quinn and father Peter,
both on box, and the eternally inventive John
Blake on guitar. The jig set headlined by ‘The
Girl of the House’ is a lesson in ensemble
playing, the banjo stepping into the limelight
only when the tune calls for it, though her
solo introduction of ‘Paddy Fahy’s’
hints at a musician who thrives best in the
live session.
Siobhán Long
The Irish Times
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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