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Píobaire, An, Volume 4, Issue 41, Page 7

Píobaire, An, Volume 4, Issue 41, Page 7
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periodical Publisher
Na Píobairí Uilleann
periodical Editor
Chairman, NPU
periodical Title
Píobaire, An
volume Number
4
issue Content
7nation of legato playing and closed piping inthe sense of a “middle-of-the-road” style,Eliot’s articulation is extremely precise withvery nice tight triplets of various sorts.However his music has a constant flow and ajoyful fluency with a huge number of twiddly,bubbly ornamental bits strewn in. For thesake of modulation Eliot makes extensive useof the chanter’s keys thus enhancing the sonicpossibilities of his instrument – an approach,that is both fascinating when he plays an E-dorian tunes in D-dorian instead (Track 2.1)and may leave room for discussion when usedin jazzy runs and outside notes. I would haveattributed the extensive use of scale modula-tion mainly to accordions so far, so Eliot’sstep in that direction may need getting accus-tomed to, not only for my ears. Playing tempo is usually on the faster side,whereby his timing is notably leaned forward,giving his music a somewhat stirring effect.This particular aspect together with the otheraforementioned style characteristics, as wellas the interest in Donegal tunes, lets anothergreat contemporary player come to mind – Ican hear a huge amount of Robbie Hannan’sinfluence in Eliot’s playing. I remember atape of a radio recital given by Robbie in thelate 80s that sounds amazingly similar in styleand execution. However, growing to today’smaturity, Eliot has been able to put a veryindividual stamp on his music and has indeedcreated his own distinct personal style. Besides a well chosen and tasteful selectionof interesting traditional tunes there are a fewnewly composed tracks to be found, mainlyfrom the feather of Eliot himself, but alsofrom Kirk Lynch and from fiddle player JerryHolland. As usually the case with such tunes, it is leftto the listeners’ tastes and views to becomeacquainted with them. I must admit that noteverything there is my kettle of fish, but it hasto be said that some of Eliot’s compositions,from a technical point of view, contain signif-icant technical challenges that he masterswith ease. Last but not least – the impact of the brilliantrecording quality should be mentioned. This album is an overall amazing achieve-ment. I find Eliot’s playing highly intellectualin the first instance, with an emphasis on sub-tlety and fine-woven structures. He has notime for blatant or frantic experiments.Enjoy listening!Johannes SchiefnerTRACK LISTING1 Jigs: Old Hag you have killed me/TheButcher’s March/The Gander in thePratie Hole2 Reels: The Bearhaven Lasses/Fare-well to Erin3 Hornpipes: The Wicklow Hornpipe/The Fern House4 Jigs: Gerdy Commane’s/An BuachaillDreoite/McGreevy’s5 Reels: Sporting Nell/Kitty the Hare/The Scowling Wife6 Jigs: Brendan Mulvihill’s Jig/The Tripto Belfast7 The Green Fields of Canada8 Jigs: Up against the Flatirons/What,no Watermelon?9 Reels: Jenny picking Cockles/TheFlowers of Limerick10 Jigs: An Páistin Fionn/The Walls ofLiscarroll/Lakeview Drive11 Hornpipes: Chief O’Neill’s Favourite/The New Century12 Jigs: Paddy Clancy’s/Welcome HomeGráinne13 Set Dance: The Ace and Deuce of Pip-ing14 Reels: Mother And Child Reel/Fare-well to Connaught
issue Number
41
page Number
7
periodical Author
[Periodical]
issue Publication Date
2007-07-01T00:00:00
allowedRoles
anonymous,guest,friend,member

Píobaire, An, Volume 4, Issue 41

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