by Catherine L. Tully

Artist: Oisin McAuley
Album: "Far From The Hills of Donegal"
Year produced: 2007

What do you get when you take a lead fiddler from a group like Danú and give him center stage and full reign? You get "Far From The Hills of Donegal," a 13-track CD packed full of top notch fiddle playing! In his solo debut, Oisín McAuley crisply outlines every sound that comes forth from his chosen instrument and it is truly a joy to listen to his considerable skill as he zips around the melodies. Far from limited to a virtuoso style, however, he is also able to call forth haunting, yearning sounds from his strings.

McAuley has been at the helm of the fiddle since he was nine years old, and if you need proof, just hit play... he dives right in with zeal from the first track. While the music on this CD fits squarely within the rather broad definition of traditional, it also "tip-toes" across the boundaries and steps out of itself here and there. It seems when musicians reach a certain level of mastery, they bring something extra to the sound that only they hear in the music--their art. You'll definitely hear that type of sound on the tracks here.

McAuley has played music, studied music and taught it--making for a wide variety of experience that has no doubt flavored his style. His roots trace back to West Ireland, and that plays a role here in the tracks as well. Those expecting a CD full of reels will be disappointed, but if you want to hear the fiddle stretch and reach and become something more than you typically hear--this is the CD for it.

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Catherine L. Tully is a freelance writer and photographer who specializes in the arts. She has written for American Style and Classical Singer, among others and reviews music for Marc Gunn's Celtic MP3s Music Magazine. You can reach her through her photography website at www.moonbeamdigital.com.

Labels: cd_review_2007

Posted by Marc Gunn, Tuesday, April 24, 2007.
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