Under The Diamond

Fiddle playing sisters Liz and Yvonne Kane hail from Letterfrack, Co. Galway and brought out The Well Tempered Bow, their debut album as a duo, in 2002 after several years of touring with Sharon Shannon’s band. About the only criticism I could muster up of that excellent recording was that no solo tracks were included; this time round, they’ve filled that gap with one solo set from each sister, highlighting both the slight differences in style and the equal technical mastery that make them such an effective pair. Unusually, they’ve also featured a slow air played as a duet, the two fiddles in plaintive unison. On the liner notes they make the comparison with the sean-nós singing of another pair of Galway sisters – Sarah and Rita Keane. It’s a fair cop, and produces an unexpectedly lovely effect. As before, there are a couple of fine original tunes penned by Liz – ‘Jig For Jimmy’ and ‘Betsy’s Delight’, written in honour of their grandfather (fiddler Jimmy Mullen, who passed away last August) and grandmother.