Celtic Fiddle Festival Plays On

03/17/2005 10:17AM

Danbury, Connecticut, USA - The popular Celtic band Celtic Fiddle Festival is back for Saint Patrick's Day with Play On. After the unexpected passing of founding member Scottish fiddler Johnny Cunningham, in December 2003, fiddlers Kevin Burke (Ireland) and Christian Lemaître (Brittany) along with guitarist Ged Foley were left with an unimaginable hole to fill in their hearts and in their lineup. The band made the difficult decision to play on, and invited the young French-Canadian fiddler André Brunet (of La Bottine Souriante) to join them.

On tour, Brunet's lively Quebecois dance tunes and contagious enthusiasm lifted both tempos and spirits. At the end of a tour in March 2004, the group recorded three shows in Portland, Oregon. The result is the new CD, Play On (Green Linnet GLCD 1230), the fourth album by Celtic Fiddle Festival. It is dedicated to the memory of Johnny.
"The news of Johnny's death was heartbreakingly sad and it did not seem possible that the Celtic Fiddle Festival could continue without him," says founding member Kevin Burke. "Yet once the initial pain and sadness subsided a little, we started to think that Johnny would have been horrified at the idea of us calling it quits! After much soul searching we decided to ask Andre if he would like to join us on the upcoming tour.

"Once the tour got under way it became quickly evident that inviting Andre along was an inspired decision. There was great excitement in the music, we enjoyed each others playing immensely and it was evident from the audience response that they too felt they were witnessing something special."

The first track of Play On is a set of Quebecois tunes brought to the group by André, whose percussive, foot-stomping rhythm is contagious. The occasional yelp during the performance makes this opening track the first indication that this CD is going to be not only an inspired selection of tunes, but a rip-roaring good time. Brunet also shares another track of tunes, "Maison de glace/Le Printemps" - the first composed by his brother Rejean and the second by André himself.

Leaving Brittany is a hauntingly beautiful tune, composed by Johnny Cunningham and played with emotion here by those who were both his fans and his friends. It was first recorded on the album Relativity by the group of the same name, featuring Johnny and his brother Phil, and sister and brother Triona and Michael 0 Domhnail of The Bothy Band.
The tunes of Christian Lemaître's Brittany, the Celtic region of Northwestern France, include a march originally written for bagpipes, and well-known tunes of Dans Fisel, which is a special style of Gavotte.

The set "Lord Galway's Lamentation," composed by Turlough O'Carolan, and "Planxty Whitbread" are a harp composition from 18th century Ireland and a guitar piece from 20th century England and combine to form this beautiful solo guitar medley from Ged.

Kevin Burke contributes a Yiddish tune, Itzikel, most likely from Eastern Europe. "We miss Johnny terribly," says Kevin. "But we'd like to think he's out there somewhere, grinning down on us, wishing us well and exhorting us to P/ay On."

[buy Play on and also the previous CDs (with Johnny Cunningham), Celtic Fiddle Festival: Encore and Celtic Fiddle Festival].

World Music Central
http://www.worldmusiccentral.org/article.php/20050317101718391