R - Comhaltas Archive

lmportantArchive necordingsof traditional musicplayed in old trad style are loud/doversin their praise of a newComh altas CD and cassette which hasjust been released . The McDonaghs ofBallinafad we re musicians whose lovelySligo style playing on flutes and fiddleswas cherished in memory by thoselu cky enough to have heard them intheir heydays back in the 50's and 60's.From the co ll ected recordings ofseveral fri ends and ad mirers Comhaltashas now issued a CD/Cassette of over50 minutes music played by theMcDonaghs and their musicalcomrades.We believe that these recordin gs capturethe unforgettable spirit, atmosphere andspontaneity of the McDonaghs and theirfriends in full sessions.The sleeve notes for thi s CD - by PaddyRyan and Seamus Mac Mathuna aregiven here.The McDonaghs of BallinafadWhen we think about Sligo musiciansand their music, the names that cometo mind most readily are those of thegreat masters of Sligo fiddling such asMichael Coleman, lames Morrison,John joe Gardiner and Paddy Killoran.Th ese people, through their ownmusical genius, streamlined and refinedthe playi ng style they grew up with atthe turn of the century. Theirrecordings, particularly those ofColeman and Morrison, had animmediate and powerful effect on thatstyle as other musicians becamecapitivated with the new idiom, andturned away from their old, simpleways of playing in order to imitate it.Let us pause fora moment andask ourselveshow muchactual evidencedo we have ofw hat the musicof South Sli gosounded likebefore therevolutionw hich wasThe CDcDonaghs of &11fnafadand FRiendsplay T 1tGdItIonaJ