Stephanie Makem & Tiarnan O'Duinnchinn: Ceol is Piob

STEPHANIE MAKEM & TIARNAN O'DUINNCHINN: CEOL IS PIOB

Stephanie Makem: vocals

Tiarnan O'Duinnchinn: uilleann pipes, tinwhistle

Steve Cooney: guitar, bass, drums

Paul Meehan: guitar

Feargal Murray: keyboards

Stephanie Makem is the granddaughter of the famous Co. Armagh singer Sarah Makem. She has a lovely and somewhat unusual voice, almost childlike at times. With their exquisitely airy arrangements featuring guitar and keyboards, her songs create a welcome counterpoint to the mostly exuberant instrumental numbers. Tiarnan O'Duinnchinn is another remarkable player of the uilleann pipes to have come out of the Armagh Pipers' Club, founded 40 years ago by the Vallelys. He holds four All-Ireland piping titles and other awards, has been touring since 1995, and earlier this year was invited to teach at the St. Louis MO Tionol. His technical command of the instrument is most impressive, particularly in the crispness of his close-fingering ornaments, and, while some of his musical choices seem inspired by the more recent stylistic developments in Irish music (he would be an easy fit in the band Lunasa), he always appears to use his remarkable technical range strictly for musical ends. The first track of reels, starting with "The Errigal Reel" which most of us know as "Matt Peoples' # 1," does have more of a contemporary feel, especially with the added bass in the accompaniment to the second reel. The second set of tunes, pairing a hop jig with a well-known Donegal reel usually thought of as a fiddle tune, is played on a flat set, with thankfully a less conspicuous backing, and reveals O'Duinnchinn's uncommon facility with crans. Later, he plays a highland in a style that immediately will bring to mind the fiddle playing of Tommy Peoples. For something very different, if not entirely new, his performance of Handel's Gigue in G on track 5 sounds completely appropriate, as if the composer had had the Irish pipes in mind all along. There are more treasures to be discovered here, have a listen to these two talented musicians, each of whom could easily have made a beautiful CD with this kind of material. (2008)

Rating: ****

Price: $19.99