Golden Lights and Green Shadows - Review
Folk Harp Journal
Elegant, emotive, instructive - those are the first three words that pop into my head as I listen to Grainne Hambly's latest CD. Golden Lights and Green Shadows really does top her debut CD, Between the Showers which was a revelation in itself.
Many of Grainne's workshop attendees might recognize the leadoff tune, "The Hills of Coore", as well as some of the other tunes and here they are rendered in great form for you to hit the repeat track button to your heart's desire until you have the cuts and triplets pounded firmly into the RealPlayer in your brain.
The sets are arranged in a geographic and/or historic format. In particular, there are several tunes on the CD from Grainne's native County Mayo. It's really a journey into her musical heritage and, through her graceful arrangements, a great addition to the Irish harp repertoire. The backgrounds of all the tunes are well researched and laid out in an attractive format in the CD. Grainne has obviously grasped the notion that, in an age of KaZaa and CD burning, there is no substitute for a great CD package. Photos, design, comprehensive liner notes - they are all here in this CD along with a top notch recording job by Kai Schlünz, the man who engineers Rüdiger Opermann's CDs. The sound is rich and warm, yet clear.
As always, with every CD I buy, I have a favorite tune that really just knocks me out. This time, it is a slow air called "An Draigheann" (in English, "The Blackthorn", composed by Peadar O'Riada, the son of Sean O'Riada (composer of "Women of Ireland"). It seems that a knack for drop dead beautiful music runs in the O'Riada family but then Grainne takes it to a whole other level with chords and ornaments in the right hand that just melt your heart. I think many of us will be adding this tune to our set lists over the next few years.
If you want to check out what I am raving about on that particular tune, it is up on Grainne's web site. You can listen to it and then, anyone who wants to disagree with me, either step outside the pub right now, or buy me a Harp lager!
Mike Nielsen