Music of Altan

Last updated September 25, 1998

Altan is widely regarded as one of the finest Irish musical groups to have appeared in the last 10 years. While I only own four of their CDs, as far as I'm concerned they are the best "Celtic" music group in existence.

What makes them so special? Several strands weave together to create a superior fabric.

• Most importantly, they have superb taste in music. The group doesn't create many of the songs on their CDs so if they don't choose good songs, they are in trouble. However, Altan's choice of songs, and their subsequent arrangements of their songs is often perfect. Learning songs and passing them from one generation to the next has been a part of Irish culture for many hundreds of years. Altan is well connected and the result is one CD after another of wonderful music.
• Secondly, the group is composed of very talented musicians. Over time they have learned how to record and as a result their music sounds lovely. It has a clarity that I can only compare to the best of the recordings by Windham Hill.
• Finally there is Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh's voice. She only sings on half (or fewer) of the songs but when she sings, it is as beautiful a sound as you could hope to hear. On several of her songs the music brings tears to my eyes. I can not say why her voice is so evocative, perhaps it is my Irish blood calling to me?

Altan's records all share common traits. There are a number of fast Irish jigs, reels, highlands, and strathspey's. These are pure instrumentals generally played on fiddles, flutes, and guitars. Then, interspersed between these rollicking tunes are the "songs" sung by Mairead and accompanied usually by guitar or flute. I should point out that Mairead usually sings in Gaelic, the ancient language of the Celts. Some people who need to hear singing in a language they understand will not like this. For me, the Gaelic adds an enchantment to the music. While some of the reels are quite good, the songs are the high points of the CDs.

Despite the fast that I like the songs more than the other tunes, I'm not at all sure that I want to lose the reels and jigs. They add an element of authenticity to the recording. This is one of the nice things about Altan, though their music must stand or fall on its own merits, by all accounts Altan is "the real thing" and they have made almost no compromises in their musical journey. The obvious comparison here is with Clannad. While I like some of Clannad's music, I like their traditional music more than I like their "pop" music. Altan is largely unchanged from when it was started, even though they signed a deal with a major label for their latest CD and even though one of the founders of the group has died an untimely death (Mairead's husband, Frankie Kennedy, of throat cancer).

Here are the records that I have from Altan.

• The Red Crow. This is the weakest and earliest of the CDs that I own. It has some nice moments but I wouldn't recommend this record highly. I've been putting off buying their even older records because of this CD.

• Harvest Storm. 1992. Wow! This is their finest CD. Just about everything on this CD is exceptional, the reels, the jigs (especially The King of the Pipers), and the songs (especially Mo Choill). Of all the Celtic music I have heard, this CD is the best.

• Island Angel. 1993. Also a super CD. This recording features the best songs sung by Mairead: An Mhaighdean Mhara, Dulaman, and The Jug of Punch. The reels aren't quite as good as Harvest Storm but this is still a CD that stands above nearly all others.

• Blackwater. 1996. This CD, released after Frankie Kennedy's death and by a major label, shows that the group has survived. I like the record a great deal especially the songs Ta Me 'Mo Shui, Molly Na gCuach Ni Chuilleanain and Blackwaterside.

• Runaway Sunday. 1997. This gets better with repeated listening. At first I was not impressed with the music, but over time, I have discovered that songs Caide Sin Don Te Sin?, A Moment in Time and Gleanntain Ghlas Ghaoth Dobhair are truely beautiful, equal to the best of the songs Altan has recorded. The reels jigs are nice enough, but I must confess that they tend to sound the same to me.

1. Harvest Storm
2. Island Angel
3. (tie) Runaway Sunday and Blackwater
4. The Red Crow

Altan now has an offical web site. It is nice looking but has no links to other Altan resources -- like my page :-(

More information can be found about Altan on the Ceolas web site. This fine site is devoted to "Celtic" music in general and I have learned a great deal from my visits here. As of 9/98 Ceolas has not been updated in about one year, so it seems dead.

There is a new site devoted to Altan. It is good and can be found here.

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