The Gathering

 

THE GATHERING

paul brady peter browne andy irvine donal lunny matt molloy tommy potts

Sruthán, 1981, GR 705

This is a very peculiar album not because of the line up but because of the context. It was recorded in 1977 and according to Irvine ''it was a favour for Diane Meek who was something of a patron of traditional music in Dublin at the time. She formed a small record company called ‘’Sruthán‘’ that she intended to release this album on but for some reason didn’t get round to it till she was back in the States some years later.''So it was released later by Greenhays (GR).
Of course all these musicians and singers don't play together but in duets or trios. So we can enjoy P. Brady's and A. Irvine's talent together or separately; Matt Molly is backed by D. Lunny on bouzouki (on one track only). Peter Browne is from a musical family in Dublin and is currently a producer for the RTE. A very good piper like his cousin Ronan Browne.
Rare enough are Lunny's compositions ''the Last Time'' and ''Fairfield Mirage'' with some synthetizer by Lunny.
From Dublin also was Tommy Potts (another musical family) with his unique style on fiddle and his way of ''deconstructing'' a tune. He might have composed the superb tune ''the Butterfly'' (not everybody agrees on that) and was admired by some fiddlers like Gavin or Martin Hayes but others wouldn't want to follow Potts in his musical adventures.  He died in 1988.
Additional musicians are : Triona Ni Dhomhnaill on harpsichord, Paul McAteer on drums and Arty McGlynn on guitar
Sruthán means ''stream'' in Irish.
A very rich album indeed but never reissued on CD.

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