Tara Music Company Recommends

Although not on the Tara Music Label we highly recommend the following albums.

Live In Hope: The Wildlife Album 2 is a celebration of nature in music, with all profits going to the WWF and Ulster Wildlife Trust. Compiled by music journalist and biographer Colin Harper and annotated by Simon Barnes, nature columnist for The Times, every track - five of them recorded exclusively for this release - is inspired by an aspect of the natural world: trees, rivers, seas, seasons and a few of our fellow travelers on the earth. There may be moments of regret but there are more of joy. We live in hope.

The Poet & The Piper - Seamus Heaney, Liam O Flynn
The Poet & The Piper CD Cover

Seamus Heaney, the Derry poet, holder of the Nobel Laureate for Literature, and Liam O’Flynn, the internationally acclaimed uilleann piper have collaborated to produce an album of poetry and music, with Heaney (a great reader) reciting his own lines and O’Flynn playing the uilleann pipes. Not just a number of poems and tunes thrown together – the two artists laboured hard to achieve a coherent piece of work, and they succeeded. It’s a graceful, skilful performance that deserves to be listened to again and again.
Musicians: Seamus Heaney: poetry reading Liam O'Flynn: uilleann pipes, whistle Rod McVey: harmonium Stephen Cooney: guitar
Tracks: 1. The Given Note / Port na bPúcaí 2. Digging 3. Bogland 4. Árdaí Chuain 5. At the Wellhead 6. The Otter 7. The Rolling Wave / The Hag's Money 8. The Yellow Bittern (An Bonnán Buí) 9. The Yellow Bittern / The Broken Pledge 10. The Glamoured (Gile na Gile) 11. Aisling Gheal 12. The Tollund Man 13. Midterm Break 14. Sliabh Gallon's Brae 15. Clearances 3 16. Clearances 5 17. Cronán na Máthar 18. Two Lorries 19. The Humours of Castlebernard / The Bank of Turf 20. A Call 21. Seeing Things - Section 3 22. Fáinne Geal an Lae 23. St. Kevin and the Blackbird 24. Open the Door for Three 25. The Annals Say 26. Postscript 27. Garret Barry's Reel / Seán Reid's Favourite.

Legacy of a Quiet Man CD cover Legacy of a Quiet Man By Sinead Stone and Gerard Farrelly - Sinéad Stone is one of Ireland’s finest singers. Sinéad and musician Gerard Farrelly have recorded their highly acclaimed debut album, “Legacy of a Quiet Man”.

The album includes such songs as the classic “Isle Of Innisfree” - theme of the film, “The Quiet Man”, the sublime “We Dreamed Our Dreams” and many other songs by Dick Farrelly, one of Ireland’s most acclaimed songwriters.

Gerard’s musical backing is creative, sensitive and understated, allowing the Dublin singer the space to wrap the full tonal range and colour of her truly exquisite voice around each song. Sinéad’s voice is especially suited to songs of the Irish tradition, and it shines through on this album.

"These are Irish songs as they should be, a blend of tradition, poetry and soul"
Seamus Mahon (The Meath Chronicle)

"The result is nothing less than magical"
Colum Sands (BBC Northern Ireland)

Lumina By Eoin Duignan - The idea for this CD, a musical journey of spirit from birth to death and rebirth, was born on first viewing of the Harry Clarke (1889-1930) windows in Diseart Chapel, Dingle.
Lumina is a six part musical suite written for low whistles, evoked and inspired by the magnificent Harry Clark stained-glass windows in Dingle, Co Kerry

As far as I can remember this is the first time in nearly a decade of reviewing, that I have given a Ten/Ten rating to an album by a living artist. It's warranted. Lumina is a stunning achievement.
Sarah McQuaid - Hotpress

If music offers a window to the soul, then that of piper and whistle player Eoin Duignan is a Kaleidoscopic fanlight into a world where the spirit reigns unopposed
Siobhan Long - The Irish Times