Album Notes

The two Comhaltas publications, Foinn Seisiun 1 and Foinn Seisiun 2, contain 220 standard traditional tunes arranged in 74 sets as played at the Tuesday and Wednesday night sessions in the Culturlann in Monkstown, County Dublin, Ireland.

Tunes consist of reels, jigs, hornpipes, polkas, slides, mazurkas, etc. Book 1 contains standards such as Joe Cooley's Reel, Maid Behind the Bar, Bank of Ireland, Lark in the Morning jig, Kid on the Mountain Slip Jig, Ballydesmond polka and other common session favourites arranged in 39 sets. Selections in Book 2 are also established traditional standards and additionally include some of the "bigger tunes" such as the Bucks of Oranmore, the Kilfenora jigs and reel sets plus the famed Tarbolton set. There are also simpler sets such as "Sailor on the Rock, the Hare's Paw and Sunny Banks" reels or "the Lilting Fisherman, Tell Her I am and Going to the Well for Water" jigs, etc. Book 2 contains 35 sets.

Foinn Seisiún books are a must for musicians who enjoy session playing and would like to build a repertoire of tunes which will be universally known. They will hopefully also help to maintain some of the older tunes in circulation so that future generations of musicians will get an opportunity to play the Pipes on the Hob jigs, the Humours of Ballyconnell, Chicago and Copperplate reels, etc, etc.

These CDs were recorded to accompany Foinn Seisiún Book 1 and contain all of the 116 tunes arranged in sets as notated in the Book. The concept of standard traditional sets, as presented in Foinn Seisiún, has proved popular with many musicians, and is particularly useful for anyone new to the tradition who wants to build up a good repertoire, essential in any session situation.

While the Foinn Seisiún books have been well received both in Ireland and overseas,numerous requests have been received for recordings of the tunes to assist musicians in committing them to memory. This is no surprise as the passing on of traditional music is primarily an aural process. Hopefully the Foinn Seisiún CDs will now meet this need.

Good traditional sessions with their exuberance, camaraderie, sharing of music, respect for fellow performers, absence of generation gaps, etc. are arguably the most enjoyable and significant manifestation of our rich traditional culture. Whether it's a Comhaltas Branch, Fleadh Cheoil, Festival or Summer School,local hotel or pub, there are always opportunities to take part assuming the musician has a reasonable repertoire of tunes. The CDs together with the Foinn Seisiún Books should assist greatly in this regard.

We hope that musicians will enjoy playing the session sets. There will always be a particular welcome for anyone who can join us for the Tuesday or Wednesday night sessions at the Cultúrlann in Monkstown - if you need directions, visit the www.comhaltas.com/culturlann page.