We’re not even two months into the new year, but I think we already have a serious contender for best Celtic music CD of 2008.
It’s “Equinoxe,” the latest incarnation of Celtic Fiddle Festival—featuring the phenomenal Kevin Burke, Christian Lemaitre and André Brunet. Guitarist Ged Foley, Burke’s Patrick Street partner, accompanies the fiddlers throughout. (He also gets a chance to shine on the solo “Sydney Smith’s March,” which has a lush Baroque feel to it.)
Released on Burke’s Loftus label—on February 19, technically, though it’s already up on Amazon—“Equinoxe” is 11 solid tracks highlighting the various Celtic musical contributions of Ireland, Brittany and Quebec. So you’ll hear tunes as diverse as “Jig de Valcartier” and House of Hammill,” by Philly’s own master tune plumber Ed Reavy. At times, as on the opening track—“Twilight in Portroe,” “Austin Tierney’s” and the aforementioned “Hammill”— the boys play together. At still other times, a single fiddler is accompanied only by Foley.
It’s all masterfully presented, but for my money, the tracks that just cry out to be jacked up to 10 on your car stereo (and you’ll probably hit “RPT,” too) are those in which the three fiddlers and Foley play together. My personal favorite is the seventh track, a set consisting of “Reel de Napoleon,” ”Reel en Sol” and “Guy Thomas.”
(And I want to take this opportunity to apologize to the poor lady in the car next to mine at a red light on Route 1 in Plainsboro, N.J. I didn’t mean to “whoop” that loud. I’ll pay for the Depends, I promise.)
And lucky us—we get to hear Celtic Fiddle Festival Sunday, February 24, at 7:30 p.m., at the Sellersville Theater. It will be the band’s only area appearance.
