Bavan

It’s taken this excellent fiddle and flute duo five years to get round to recording an album together, but the long gestation period pays off in the remarkable seamlessness of their sound. Calm, steady players who prefer fluidity to flash, they’re a well-matched pair, and they’ve found the perfect foil in guitarist Donncha Moynihan, whose delicate accompaniment suits their understated style. Adding texture on some of the tracks are pianist Caoimhín Vallely, bass player Joe Csibi, percussionist Lloyd Byrne, and bodhrán player Séamus O’Kane. Charlie McKerron’s ‘Bulgarian Red’ is particularly lovely, with O’Hare playing a splendidly sonorous viola; ‘The Navigator’, a lively Byrne original inspired by a driving trip through France, is also worthy of note, as is his ‘Farewell To Drogheda’.