Golden Lights and Green Shadows

Although Gráinne Hambly lives in Mayo, her new CD was recorded and released in Germany. Musically, she doesn’t break any new ground, but this recording (her second solo effort) makes a highly agreeable listen all the same, and it’s clear that a lot of thought and a certain amount of daring has gone into the combinations of tunes: a 17th century harping air by Thomas Connellan, for example, is paired here with a reel written by piper Patrick Davey in 1995, and the one flows into the other remarkably well. Also notable is a lovely harp arrangement of Peadar Ó Riada’s ‘An Draigheann (The Blackthorn)’, previously recorded by Ó Riada on piano and by Noel Hill on concertina