Derek Bell
Carolan's Receipt
Claddagh

Time changes everything: nowadays you can't buy a harp record without hearing Turlough O'Carolan, in one tune or several. It was different in the 'Seventies; this was the first album entirely devoted to Carolan's music. The task went to Derek Bell: mainstay of The Chieftains, he uses different harps for different moods, even dubbing three parts at once. Bathed in echo, the notes rise up ­ peaceful and ordered, persistent as memory. And Carolan's memory will be preserved; that's obvious from hearing this album.

Bell picked the tunes and arranged them simply; harmonic drones were added to the published melodies. This brings a harpsichord effect to "Sidh Beag agus Sidh Mor," the first tune Carolan wrote. Other songs fit the pattern: if it sounds "Irish," it's played on metal strings for hard, tense sound. The prize among these is "Carolan's Quarrel": dainty at first, the waltz grows melancholy ­ inspired, says the legend, by a fight over whiskey.

When he turns to the modern (gut-string) harp, Derek plays gently, the sound of a lively ballroom. Right hand keeps time, the left races through classical filigrees ­ really effective on "Carolan's Concerto." The sound is full, a band in itself ­ when joined by his mates in The Chieftains, Derek is restrained behind the fiddles and pipes. These seem crowded to me, a little too fancy; I prefer "Bridget Cruise," with its breathy flute and emotive strings. Such music needs little embellishment: its strength is felt when the first note is heard. With these eloquent readings, Derek Bell speaks for Carolan as no book ever could. - John Barrett