Performer: Daniel Hope, Air Ensemble
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Catalogue: 4865806
Release: 2024
Size: 1.45 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. trad.: Morning Nightcap
02. trad.: Codladh an Óigfhir
03. trad.: Follow Me Up to Carlow
04. trad.: Irish Tunes I: Cooley’s – Seán Frank – Fair and Forty
05. Boyle: Phantasy for Violin and Chamber Orchestra
06. trad.: The Minor Bee
07. Purcell: A New Irish Tune in G Major “Lilliburlero”, Z. 646
Kusser: Erindo oder Die unsträfliche Liebe
08. Gavotte
09. Menuet
10. Branle de village
11. Bourrée I
12. Aria
13. Bourrée II
14. Daly: Makrinitsa
Vivaldi: Concerto for 2 Violins in A Major, Op. 3 / 5, RV 519 (L’estro armonico No. 5)
15. I. Allegro
16. II. Largo
17. III. Allegro
18. Roseingrave: Introduction to Scarlatti’s Lessons
Roseingrave: 8 Suites of Lessons / Fifth Sett
19. Gavotte
20. Geminiani: Auld Bob Morrice
21. trad.: Irish Tunes II: The One-Horned Cow – Patsy Jouhey’s – Killavil Jig
22. O’Carolan: O’Carolan’s Concerto
23. trad.: Molly Malone
24. trad.: The Red-Haired Boy
25. trad.: The Waterford Waltz
26. trad.: Danny Boy
27. trad.: Ladies, Step Up to Tea
28. O’Carolan: O’Carolan’s Farewell to Music
One may not think of violinist Daniel Hope as Irish, but he actually holds an Irish passport and has some Irish background, as well as South African, Jewish, and more. So he has as much right as anyone to play traditional Irish music, and his comments about this album show that he approached his task with the proper seriousness. After several albums featuring contemporary music of various kinds, he may have intended Irish Roots as a crossover crowd-pleaser, and perhaps that is what the audiences who put the album on classical best-seller lists in the summer of 2024 expected to get. Indeed, Danny Boy, a.k.a. the Londonderry Air, is here for those who want to hear it one more time. Hope and a variety of star collaborators led by the Irish ensemble Lúnasa do offer traditional tunes, some familiar and some less so, but Hope’s curiosity seems to have gotten the better of him, and he includes some really unusual material here. He programs not only Irish traditional music but that of classical composers who worked in Ireland or whose music was played there. Thus, one gets Vivaldi’s Concerto for two violins in A minor, Op. 3, No. 5, and dances from Erindo oder Die unsträfliche Liebe by the impressively named composer Johann Sigismund Kusser. A lovely ensemble transcription of O’Carolan’s Concerto brings things back down to earth, and in general, Hope’s program is splendidly varied. He is equally good in limpid traditional tunes and in some of the odder music. It is not only confirmed Hope fans that will enjoy this music.
Daniel Hope’s latest album, “Irish Roots” due for release on July 5, 2024, embodies his deep connection to Ireland, inherited from his paternal great-grandfather who left Waterford for South Africa in the 1890s. Although never residing in Ireland, Hope’s fascination with its culture led to the creation of the documentary “Celtic Dreams: Daniel Hope’s Hidden Irish History”. Supported by musicologist Olivier Fourés and experiences with award-winning Irish band Lúnasa, Hope explores the intersection of folk and classical music. “Irish Roots” reflects this journey, featuring compositions by Ina Boyle and Turlough O’Carolan alongside classics like “Danny Boy” and Vivaldi’s L’estro armonico concertos. Daniel Hope is joined on his new album by a stellar line-up of guest artists, including Lúnasa, harpist Siobhán Armstrong, flautists Sir James and Lady Jeanne Galway, singer Rea Garvey, multi-instrumentalist and folk musician Ross Daly, fellow violinist Simos Papanas, and the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Daniel Geiss.