KiwiCelt Wooden Flutes

Catherine McEvoy is one of the leading flute players in Irish music today and a very popular teacher of that instrument. In more recent years, Catherine has been one of the senior flute tutors at the Willie Clancy Summer School in Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare. Like Kevin Crawford and Bob Bickerton, Catherine is originally from Birmingham, England, and she is considered to be one of finest contemporary exponents of the Sligo-Roscommon style of flute playing. From 1984-1988 Catherine was a member of Macalla, the first all female Irish traditional music group. She now lives in Co. Meath with her husband, Tom, and three children, Jane, Ruairí, and Fergus.

Here’s samples of four delightful tunes from Catherine’s 1998 album, ‘Catherine McEvoy: Traditional Flute Music in the Sligo-Roscommon Style’ – accompanied by Felix Dolan on piano:

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Tunes: Katie Taylor (reel), Tonra’s Jig (jig), The Haunted House (jig) and Catherine McEvoy’s (reel) – 4 files approx 6 MB in total.
Composers: Respectively: Paddy Taylor, Brendan Tonra, Vincent Broderick, Unknown
Musicians: Catherine McEvoy – Irish flute with piano accompaniment by Felix Dolan
Album: Samples from the album Catherine McEvoy: Traditional Flute Music in the Sligo-Roscommon Style – with piano accompaniment by Felix Dolan. (1998)

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There is some biographical information and a great interview with Catherine McEvoy on Brad Hurley’s A Guide to the Irish Flute web site. Here’s an excerpt from the interview that I find particularly interesting and very topical given the pace that much of the Irish music is played at these days.

Q: Many listeners (myself included) have been struck by the pacing of the dance tunes on your CD with Felix Dolan – these tunes have a wonderful laid-back lift to them that is a welcome contrast to the hard-driving speed that you hear so often on recordings today. Could you comment a bit about the benefits of playing tunes at a more relaxed pace?

A: In some ways it can be harder to play slower – it requires more breath control – but it really has to come from within. You have to be able to feel a tune to appreciate it. Each tune has its own mood – some are naturally slow and others fast. I think the music has to be lively, but that does not necessarily mean faster. It’s the rhythm that you put into the tune and how it is phrased and ornamented that gives the tune the lift. If the music is “churned out” at speed it loses all meaning and just becomes a string of notes.

The speed that I play at does vary according to mood, and who I am playing with. If I was playing with Peter Horan or Patsy Hanly I would be inclined to play slightly faster. In Dublin I play with some musicians from a Clare background and so I’d be inclined to play slower. When I play by myself I tend to play at a relaxed pace, because that’s what I find most comfortable. Many groups who record commercially would feel the need (especially playing to live audiences) to make an immediate impact with their music – I suppose the best way to do this is hit them hard with a fast pace. Once you start fast its hard to slow down – like driving a car!!! I still prefer the horse and cart!

When you play tunes more relaxed you have time to think of the beauty of it, the phrasing, maybe who you learnt it from, who it reminds you of etc. Felix Dolan who accompanied me on the CD is a relaxed sort of person as well – so we played comfortably together.

The full interview is here: An Interview with Catherine McEvoy

Asides from the 1998 album featured above, Catherine released a second CD in 2004 called Catherine & John McEvoy: The Kilmore Fancy with her brother John on fiddle and Felix Dolan on piano. You will also find links to other albums that she has featured on at Celtic Grooves.

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