Album Notes

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 also help to maintain some of the older tunes in circulation so that future generations of musicians will get an opportunity to play these lovely sets.

The two Comhaltas publications, Foinn Seisiún 1 and Foinn Seisiún 2, contain 220 standard traditional tunes arranged in 74 sets as played at the Tuesday and Wednesday night sessions in the Cultúrlann in Monkstown. This CD is a recording of some of Ireland's best musicians playing every tune in Book 2. You may enjoy learning to play these tunes along with the CD and book, or simply listen to the CD for an insight into traditional Irish music.

This CD contains a collection of 104 Irish traditional tunes arranged in 35 standard sets. It complements Foinn Seisiún CD1, a collection of 116 Irish traditional tunes arranged in 39 standard sets which was issued in August 2004.

The Foinn Seisiún concept has proved popular with traditional musicians, and is particularly useful for building up a good repertoire, essential in any session situation.
Passing on of traditional music is primarily an aural process and hopefully the Foinn Seisiún CDs will augment Books 1 & 2 in this regard.

Overall the philosophy behind Foinn Seisiún has been to try and identify the most widely accepted setting of session tunes. However, some tune settings may differ slightly from the Book version but it's important to realise that, with traditional music, there is no definitive "correct" version of any tune that must always be played. Each tune has a basic structure that musicians will normally follow, but a degree of improvisation and variation is also an important ingredient of any performance. It would have been unreasonable to insist that every musician re-learn the original tune settings in order to correct the slight discrepancies between the Book and CD; this would be very time-consuming and would also introduce a degree of artificiality with regard to the session situation. I'll leave it to you, the player, to decide whether you prefer the recorded setting or the written version originally published in Book 2!

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 Foinn Seisiún Books and CDs have been produced to assist in this regard.

Tá súil agam go mbainfidh tú taitneamh as an gceol seo. Bíonn céad míle fáilte romhat i gcónaí i gCultúrlann na hÉireann, go mór mhór ag seisiún ceoil ar aon Mháirt/Chéadaoin.

Finally a special thanks is extended to members of the Cultúrlann session group who gave so generously of their talents and time to make the CD possible. We are deeply indebted to Brendan Knowlton who did the recording and mastering of all tracks on the CD. The support and encouragement from the Craobh Chualann Branch of Comhaltas and in particular Cathaoirleach, Rosaleen O'Brien and Rúnaí, Sean Gaughan was also invaluable.


Brian Prior
May 2005


Musicians:
Accordion: Colin Magill, Marion Moynagh, Janine Redmond, Phillip Denmead
Banjo: Joe Doyle, Paul Cooper
Concertina: Kylie Moynagh, Peter Denmead
Fiddle: Gary Lynch, Brian Prior, Emma Woods, Anne-Marie McGowan
Flute: Joey Doyle, Brendan Knowlton, James Mahon, John Deaton, Christina Dolphin
Harp: Lyndsay Moynagh, Niamh Denmead
Uilleann Pipes: Joey Doyle, James Mahon

Production Staff:
Comhaltas Project Officer: Brian Prior
Recording/Producer: Brendan Knowlton
Project Co-ordinators: Sean Gaughan, Rosaleen O'Brien
Photography: Steven Knowlton, Deirdre O'Connor
Graphic Design: Graftrónaic

Recorded at Cultúrlann na hÉireann, Monkstown, Co. Dublin, January - April, 2005