James Carty
Upon
My Soul
Racket Records RR006; 38 minutes; 2006
[James Carty's debut album on flute featuring
Alec Finn(Bouzouki), Francis Gaffney (guitar), Joe Kennedy (bodhrán), John P
Carty (flute), John Carty(flute and banjo). Includes liner notes by Michael
Hynes and Gregory Daly.]
Tracks:
1) Queen's Hornpipe/Down the Meadow (hornpipe/reel); 2) Boys of the
Lough/The Devils of Dublin (reels); 3) The Streamstown Jig/The Stolen
Purse (jigs); 4) Kitty's Gone a Clinking Coming from the Fair/Pat Ward's
(flings); 5) Trip To Birmingham/Darby's Farewell (reels); 6) Siney
Crotty's/Piper's Broken Finger (single jig/reel); 7) Sailor's
Bonnet/Anderson's (reels); 8) John Towey's/Mulvihill's (barndance/reel);
9) Major Moran's/Peg McGrath's (reels); 10) Bill Harte's/Connie the
Soldier (jigs); 11) The Merry Harriers/The Hut in the Bog/Flowers of Red
Hill (reels); 12) The Road to Rosroe/Tae in the Bog (jigs); 13) The
Caucus/Peter Flanagan's (reels).
The first thing that struck me upon listening to James Carty's very fine first
solo album on flute, Upon My Soul,
was the wide selection of tunes he has here from many sources (but
predominantly North Connaught) thus presenting a wealth of unusual or
rarely played tunes. The title of this album is well chosen as Michael Hynes’s
sleeve notes indicates: "The Greek word 'Psyche' can mean soul spirit or
breath; all vital components for a flute player."
James Carty is, of course, the younger brother of multi-instrumentalist
(banjo, fiddle and flute) and At The Racket front-man John Carty. Born and
brought up in Whitechapel in London's East End, the brothers' family is from
Boyle, Co. Roscommon, and so it is that the music either plays should have a
North Connaught accent.
I was also struck by the ease with which he intersperses sets with tunes of
differing time signatures; in fact, he makes this a statement of policy right
at the beginning of the album, with the catchy Queen's Hornpipe followed by the perfectly matched reel Down the Meadow. He carries this
selection of tunes admirably as he has at his disposal the full range of flute
delivery techniques, including reviving old style short phrasing.
Carty's shorter phrasing presented here is a studied technique of delivery, so
as to clearly punctuate the melodic elements of the tunes, and is reminiscent
of players of a bygone generation, such as John McKenna, to whom Carty pays
homage. It may be an acquired taste to some listeners, but it must be conceded
it is done here tastefully and with clear purpose and intent.
The production on this album is well-balanced, ranging from the single jig
then reel set Siney
Crotty's/Piper's Broken Finger played solo (as only the unusually
paced Piper's Broken Finger, composed
by flute player Cathal McConnell, should be!) through to James on flute
plus banjo accompaniment by brother John, with Francis Gaffney, guitar, and
John Blake, piano, on the reel set Trip to Birmingham/Darby's
Farewell.
All in all, we have here an excellently performed and produced album, with a wide ranging subject matter, displaying great depth and vivid colour, so often difficult to achieve on a solo instrument album, particularly the flute, and all the more notable as it is the first of hopefully many to come.
This is an original review by Danny Mackay.
January, 2007.
Click here for more information on James Carty.