Cormac Begley releases debut album

Cormac Begley

Award winning concertina player and innovator, Cormac Begley, will be releasing his debut album in April! This, the first solo concertina album in traditional Irish music to feature bass, baritone, treble and piccolo concertinas will also be available in an exclusive limited edition hexagonal concertina packaging.

Cormac Begley’s concertina playing has been described as ‘a masterclass in timeless musicianship (Irish Times *****) and in 2014 he received the Sean Ó Riada Award for his concertina music. He plays in a number of duets including Liam Ó Maonlaí (Hothouse Flowers), Caoimhín O Raghallaigh (Hardanger D’Amore), Rushad Eggleston (Cello Goblin) and Libby McCrohan (bouzouki). He is a member of a trio (entitled ‘Concertina’) with Noel Hill and Jack Talty, and plays in the band Ré featuring Liam Ó Maonlaí, Maitiú Ó Casaide, Eithne Ní Chatháin (Inni-K) and Peter O Toole (Hothouse Flowers) and was also involved in the dance production by choreographer, Michael Keegan Dolan, entitled ‘Rian’.

Cormac has recently returned from Cuba where he played for President Micheal D. Higgin’s first state visit to Havana, Cuba. He has performed on this season’s Other Voices with Caoimhín O Raghallaigh (The Gloaming) and has featured on This Ain’t No Disco – St. Patrick’s Day Special from New York (2017). In May of 2016, he performed with Caoimhín in the National Concert Hall’s Kevin Barry room and in October he performed again with gifted cellist, Rushad Eggleston. He will perform solo in the National Concert Hall in October 2017.

Cormac received funding from the Arts Council of Ireland to produce this album and speaking about his approach to recording the album, he says:

“All of the pieces of music that feature on this album instantly struck a chord with me the first time I heard them. My approach here has been simply to connect as honestly as possible with them and to produce a solo concertina album that highlights some of the instrument’s possibilities spanning across seven octaves”. Further he describes that “Each track is one take, recorded in St. Nicholas’ Collegiate Church, featuring one concertina and are all free from studio manipulation. I have sourced previously unrecorded music, other tunes within the tradition and I have written some music that features on the album.”

Cormac will be playing at The London Irish Centre, Camden, with Caoimhin O’ Raghallaigh, on the 11th May.

Artist’s website: http://www.cormacbegley.com/