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Neil Mulligan With the kind permission of the Irish Herald, <http://www.irish-herald.com> we are pleased to offer recently-published Irish traditional music and Irish folk music CD reviews by Paul Carr. To read many of Paul's CD reviews of 2002, and a bit of a bio, click here. The Reviews * Neil Mulligan: Barr na Cúille* * Check back for Paul's reviews as they are regularly added to this page Barr na Cúille Neil Mulligan This classic CD ranks among the finest examples of pure piping that you are likely to find among the ranks of piping CDs in the last few years. And it's no wonder, as Neil Mulligan comes from a Dublin family with musical roots in Co. Leitrim and four generations of musicians behind him. Mulligan's piping is a very melodic piping, with minimal use of the drones as a backdrop or as an accent. While he often has a weeping note behind the melody, it never gets in the way of the tune. The CD features a number of less well-known tunes, along with the crowd pleasers, like the beautiful and intricate The Salamanca, Bonny Kate, and The Copperplate. There is also the famous reel called Lucy Campbell, on loan from Scotland indefinitely, as well as the Miss Monaghan's. Both these pieces give a talented piper a chance to shine, and shine Mulligan does. One of the more unusual tunes is a slow air called Dark is the Color of my true Love's Hair, normally presented as a song. Here Mulligan The air of the song had been lost in Ireland, but was brought back in the 1950's by Willie Clancy after hearing it from an American folk singer. One of the brightest, somewhat bouncy jigs is The Leitrim Slashers, also known as The Kinnegad Slashers. Mulligan gives it that modest, relaxed tempo that a jig deserves, and the tune comes out as a beautiful little gem under the fingers of the craftsman. This CD is available at Celtic Grooves <http://celticgrooves.homestead.com/CGhome.html> * * * Review - Folkworld - October 2002 Neil Mulligan "Barr na
Cúille" Review from Living Tradition magazine NEILL MULLIGAN
"Barr na Cuille" SD1022 Amongst other things, I'm a failed piper. After listening to Neil Mulligan's playing, I'm almost glad; I'd probably have died of frustration trying to achieve anything like such skill. Neil (aka Neillidh) Mulligan was 11 years old when he had his first lessons on the uilleann pipes from his father, and was later taught by the great Leo Rowsome. Seamus Ennis was a friend of the family, and a great influence on the young piper. Neil is a founder member and past chairman of Na Piobairi Uilleann, the pipers' association.
On "Barr na Cuilie", he plays a flat set in B, a key more commonly used by pipers in previous centuries. This gives a warmer, mellower, tone than the more common concert pitch sets. His piping is tight and controlled, with sensitive ornamentation and sparing use of regulators, a feature of Seamus Ennis's playing. There's a good mix of old and new tunes, including 6 slow airs, one of which is from the Isle of Barra. Neil learned this from Se' amus Ennis's singing. Unusually, there are only 4 sets of reels. There are 3 sets of hompipes, 2 of double jigs, and a tasteful pairing of the much-neglected slip jig, "The Whinny Hills of Leitrim" with "Drops of Brandy". The title reel is self composed, and dedicated to his father. It's a valuable addition to the store of piping tunes. Sean Donnelly's liner notes are concise and informative, pointing to the Scottish origin of many of the tunes, and similarities between many of them. I'll stick my neck out and say that this is one of the definitive recordings of uilleann piping. I played it to one of my piping friends. The poor man kept shaking his head and saying, "You just can't do that on the pipes!" Neil Mulligan can, and he does! Mick Furey
What the reviewers have said:
classics of Irish piping The Irish Times Folk Roots …a superb performance which reaches exceptional heights on the best tracks Treoir in all its understated glory Hot Press Traditional Music Maker no better than what’s to be found here Irish Music Mulligan has a talent for shining new light on the familiarand for revealing new perspectives Irish ExaminerThis is one of the definitive recordings of uilleann piping The Living Tradition"How to get albums"
Barr na Cúille --------------
to contact Néillidh directly at the email address neillidh@eircom.net for further info. on ordering. etc.
For further information please contact :
E-mail: neillidh@eircom.net Web:http://neilmulligan.com/
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