Piano+

The piano’s influence in traditional Irish music has often been a malign one, associated chiefly with plodding accompaniment to old-school céilí bands. In Geraldine Cotter’s hands, though, it’s a lively melody instrument, bouncing its way through richly-ornamented hornpipes and reels.

Cotter has been on the scene for a long time, authoring tutors for both piano and tin whistle, so it’s surprising to learn that this is her debut solo recording. ‘The Pleasant Rocks’, a Bunting-collected piece originally composed for harp, is given a beautiful treatment here, as is the little-known air ‘Cois Taoibh an Chuain’. The overall atmosphere is on the decorous side, never quite reaching full spate, but that’s undoubtedly due more to the inherent limitations of the instrument than to any deficiency on Cotter’s part.