Derek Bell - Derek Bell's Musical Ireland

These 13 tracks represent personal and cultural touchstones for Derek Bell. Some songs ("She Moved Through the Fair," "The Boys of Bluehill," "Hillsborough Castle," and {"The Greencastle Hornpipe"}) present Bell as a solo harpist (and occasionally on oboe, English horn, or gong), some include backing by the New Irish Chamber Orchestra, and others feature Chieftains alumni Sean Potts on tin whistle and Peadar Mercier playing bodhran and bones. All the songs are in their most basic forms, with few of the embellishments that one would get from, say, a Chieftains record, and the entire record has a beguiling gentle lyricism that is quite poignant ("Down by the Sally Gardens" and "Eibhlín a Rúin," in particular). Read More