Saol Na Suailce

Doimnic Mac Giolla Bhríde is a young singer from Gaoth Dobhair with a pleasantly light, airy voice and an easygoing, conversational way of putting across his material. His debut CD focuses on traditional sean-nós songs from around Donegal and Tory Island, but in addition to the expected a cappella singing, there are some unusual backing concepts here: ‘Úrchill an Chreagáin’ is set against an uilleann pipe drone, while on ‘’S Nár Shíl Mé Féin’, a similar drone is joined by a slow buildup of chords played on concertina, all coming to an abrupt finish at the song’s close. On the down side, I do wish that room could have been found for English translations of the lyrics, although Mac Giolla Bhríde’s informative notes on the songs are printed in both languages.