Maeve Donnelly & Peter O'Loughlin: The Thing Itself

MAEVE DONNELLY & PEADAR O'LOUGHLIN: THE THING ITSELF

Maeve Donnelly: fiddle

Peadar O'Loughlin: flute

Ronan Browne: flute, tinwhistle

Geraldine Cotter: piano

If you're a fan of the "pure drop," or "the thing itself," as it is referred to here, that is the most genuine form of traditional music you might find, then look no further. Fresh on the heels of O'Loughlin and Browne's wonderful "Touch Me If You Dare," fiddle player extraordinaire Maeve Donnelly, originally from East Galway and now living in Clare, and East Clare flute player Peadar O'Loughlin have produced yet another gorgeous duet recording, to be added to a growing list of such albums released in that area in the last few years. Like PJ Crotty and James Cullinan's masterful "Happy to Meet" of a couple of years ago, it exemplifies what genuine traditional music is about: substance and subtlety, and the kind of playing which sounds so effortless, yet can be so complex in its nuances. Many of the tunes are well known, but the treatment they are given by musicians of the caliber of Donnelly and O'Loughlin is indeed "the thing itself."

Rating: **** 1/2

Price: $21.99