Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin & Patrick Ourceau
Tracin’
Celtic Crossings – CC0299-02;
48 minutes; 1999
A superb CD, definitely one of the best of the year, by Clare concertina player Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin and French-born fiddler Patrick Ourceau, whose command of the East Clare idiom is simply stunning.
First off, the 
combination
of concertina and fiddle is one of the best in the business--for proof, if
needed, I refer you to the all-time classic Noel Hill and Tony Linnane duet
record. Gearóid and Patrick play incredibly tightly, and with great soul, in
that seemingly nonchalant, unhurried, bluesy way which one associates with the
music of East Clare and East Galway yet without the posturing of certain other
fiddler from that area. Their repertoire pays tribute to all the great players
of the area, Canny, Hayes, Fahey, Cooley, Kelly[1],
etc. Gearóid and Patrick have surrounded themselves with stellar accompanists
as well, Felix Dolan, his son Brendan, and Barbara MacDonald Magone on piano,
and Eamon O'Leary on guitar. In fact, the CD is so satisfying on so many
levels, from the great music to the exquisite artwork, the record notes which
are as captivating as a summer novel, the wonderful old photographs of those
who came before and who are the subject of much of the "tracin',"
musical and otherwise.
This review by Philippe Varlet was
originally written for his Celtic Grooves Newsletter and appears here by kind permission of the author.
Click here for more information about Celtic Crossings.