Mary & Andrew MacNamara: Open Hearth

MARY & ANDREW MacNAMARA: OPEN HEARTH

Mary MacNamara: concertina

Andrew MacNamara: accordion

Those familiar with the subtle, sparsely decorated, and gently paced music of Tulla, Co. Clare, concertina player Mary MacNamara will find this recording very much in the same vein as her previous two solo albums. Although her brother Andrew's accordion playing can be quite different in style, i.e., complex in ornamentation and faster paced, here he matches Mary's style note for note, which results in a series of charming unaccompanied duets, just as one might hear played by the hearth with a roaring fire crackling in the background. The music consists mostly of some well-known tunes and standards of the Clare repertoire, though always played with a little twist that will keep the listener intrigued. My only complaint would be that this is a rather short CD, with 13 tracks all less than 3 minutes in duration. With music of this quality, one would easily listen to double that number. Sometimes, one just wishes for quality AND quantity...

Rating: ****

Price: $24.99