In any field of life, there are those who stand out and shine — people with abundant gifts and abilities that serve to inspire us all. In the realm of Irish traditional music and particularly Irish flute playing, one such player is Matt Molloy. To my mind, Matt is not only a brilliant player from a technical point of view, but also — and perhaps more importantly — he is a great example of someone who has all the heart and passion for the music that anyone could ever want. He quite simply seems to love what he is doing and has been doing it for a long time now. This from his website:
Matt Molloy was born in Ballaghadereen, County Roscommon, an area well known for flute players. He began playing the flute at age 8 and by the age of 18, he had won the All-Ireland Flute Championship and had a string of successes in National Fleadh Cheoil and Oireachtas. He moved to Dublin in the mid 1960’s where he started playing in the music scene and became acquainted with Paddy Moloney. During the burgeoning folk scene of the 1970’s, Matt was a founding member of the famous folk group, The Bothy Band. He was invited to join The Chieftains in 1979.
In September of 1997, the Montreal flute player Sean McCutcheon interviewed Matt Molloy shortly after the release of Matt’s Shadows on Stone CD. It’s a great insight into a man who comes from a long line of flute players and who grew up in a part of Ireland that is known for it’s flute players — the South Sligo/Roscommon area. Here’s a couple of excerpts from the interview:
Q: Why the flute?
A: Well, whatever insanity is involved, I don’t know; I just got hooked on it and I suppose my father did and my uncle and my grandfather. It’s just the sound of the instrument that appeals to me. Well, if you like, I like the sort of expression that one can give. The flute does it for me. I can express what I feel best on that instrument.
Q: Is the Irish tradition rich enough for you?
A: All I need is there. It’s just part of me. It’s just an extension of myself. It’s who I am. What can I say: it’s part of who I am.
The following piece is a prime example of Matt’s prowess with the flute — technical brilliance matched with a passion for the music. He is accompanied by another immortal from the realm of Irish traditional music — fellow Bothy Band member Donal Lunny on Bouzouki. (They are watched by non other than James Galway.) The tune is Bucks of Oranmore and this clip was recorded in 1977.
If you want to hear Matt playing at a slower pace, the first item on the KiwiCelt Music page is one of my favourites. An Gaoth Aneas (wind from the south) is a lovely slow air from The Chieftains’ Water From The Well album (2000) that offers a chance to listen to Matt Molloy playing in what I would term a soulful mode — so expressive and full of feeling. This piece really helped me realise how expressive the wooden flute could be when I first began playing a few years ago.
Once I was walking through Dublin and ended up on Grafton Street — as you do when walking through Dublin. Anyway, it was a particularly sunny day in July and Dublin’s famous mall was teeming with people; office workers out for lunch; tourists shopping, snapping, absorbing the sights and sounds; packs of ebullient Spanish youth that seem to descend upon Dublin during the northern summer; the best dressed beggars in the world carrying chubby babies and trying to look pitiful; street vendors and performers — all the fun of the fair and all the colours of the rainbow! And the music — ah yes, the music…
“Grafton Street’s a wonderland, there’s magic in the air…”
— from Dublin Saunter by Noel Purcell
There was a young guy playing an electric violin that who had a large crowd around him. He was a real entertainer and had his audience eating from the palm of his hand. “Yer man’s hat is full of coin!” the fellow standing next to me observed. And it was… He was telling funny stories and playing classical music on a wild looking violin — a dark blue hybrid of some kind that was unencased and skeletal looking. And boy could he play that thing — he was really good! He reminded me of the great Victor Borge with his special blend of piano music and comedy.
It’s pretty hard to come across someone who doesn’t like a good story. And I think that if some ‘genius’ did a survey (an activity that seems to be very popular these days), I’m sure we would find that real life stories are the most popular — the life-incidents and words of real people offer us much to reflect upon, laugh about and to learn from. Perhaps we also get joy in the comparison of threads and themes that run through our lives and connect us with others in various ways — small commonalities that create a feeling of community and kinship on some level.
Personally, I’m a huge fan of biographical and personal stories by and about inspiring people past and present. In re-building this site, I naturally read the interviews that we have on KiwiCelt with two New Zealand Irish flute players. One is with Pat Higgins and the other is with Brendyn Montgomery — both great players in their own right and both very involved with the Irish traditional music scene here in New Zealand. They are however from different backgrounds.
In celebration of completing KiwiCelt, I’ve prepared a little treat! Seamus Tansey is one of Ireland’s all-time most respected flute players who hails from Gorteen in County Sligo. In her interview on A Guide to the Irish Flute, Catherine McEvoy, another Irish flute playing legend, comments that Seamus Tansey was among the flute players that she listened to alot for inspiration.
“I listened a lot also to Seamus Tansey and Roger Sherlock. I loved Tansey’s vibrant music and Roger’s subtle variations in the tunes. Also older players like Tom Morris (Morrison), John McKenna, and Packie Duignan from Leitrim.” Read more:Bio & Interview with Catherine McEvoy
And that’s about all I could find out about the man! Well I’d like to let his flute playing do the talking anyway and he certainly is a lively player! Enjoy the stuff below as well — especially the samples of Seamus reading and playing flute. Cheers…
The statement above begs the question, “Is a web site ever finished?” Well, the journey that began on Mayday is over — at least for a little while. 23 days has at times seemed like three months (as you might be able to tell by the photo on the right), but the job is essentially done and KiwiCelt is into it’s second incarnation. Thanks to the folks that have offered encouraging comments recently — on and off-line — and an especially big thank you to my friend John G over at A Sensitivity To Things for his patient advice and help. John’s heading for sainthood and I do hope he remembers how I helped himto achieve it when that great day arrives…
A little about WordPress: Awesome! (Sorry, was I yelling?) If you’re like me (and I sincerely hope you’re not) and don’t have the necessary skills or time to go ahead and build a website from the ground up, or just want to have a nice looking blog/web site so you can strut your stuff on the net, I have to say that WordPress is pretty darn cool. Free, simple to use, tons of good advice on the net, plenty of great themes, plugins and widgets available — the list goes on. I’m sure there are plenty of other great products out there for blogging, but I feel pressed to say that I am very impressed with WordPress!
My final point is to say welcome to the new-look KiwiCelt Wooden Flutes and to encourage folks involved in the wonderful world of wooden flutes and Irish traditional music that might have something to say to let me know about it. Always happy to spread the word if it’s relevant to the above. We hope to have a web site up for Martin Doyle soon — will let you know about that when that happens.
I received mail this morning from the woodenflute.com digest and was delighted to see an old wooden flute offered for sale by Jem Hammond of Wales. He lists it as being a 19th century 8 key flute in D and of French origin although there is no maker’s stamp on it. It was a treat to look at all the photos he has posted of this fine old instrument and to hear it being played.
There are, no doubt, dozens or even hundreds of really good Irish flute and whistle players around the world. Some of them probably choose to remain in relative obscurity and are known and heard by very few. Many you will find at sessions small and large, or on CD’s, and touring around the world. They all have something unique to offer and are commonly just regular people with a gift and a yearning to play music. By all accounts, this is often how musicians express themselves best.
One flute player who seems to have found his way on to the big stage, and who was in New Zealand with the band Lunasa a few years ago, is Kevin Crawford. Kevin plays the Irish flute, tin whistle, low whistle, and bodhran — and was offering a flute master class at New Zealand’s Ceol Aneas in 2004. By all reports, Kevin and the other members of Lunasa enthralled the 120 or so participants of Ceol Aneas and the subsequent concert in Nelson that year with their warmth, talent and enthusiasm for passing on their knowledge of Irish traditional music and their individual instruments.
Here’s a clip of Kevin playing the whistle — watch the fingers fly…
Good huh? After watching that clip, it’s hard to believe that he doesn’t practice in his sleep! I find players like Kevin inspiring because they are usually the product of many years of practice and effort — their dedication to their art is something that is easy to overlook when we see them on the stage. What they have accomplished is an encouragement for the rest of us.
... a web site dedicated to the simple system wooden flutes (aka 'Irish' flutes) that are so much a part of Irish traditional and Celtic music, and to the excellent wooden flutes produced by the Irish flute maker Martin Doyle. Read more: About
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We are very happy to present a brand new Martin Doyle 3 keyed flute for sale, a 'D' flute made of African Blackwood with a brass tuning slide. The keys are post mounted and were added here in New Zealand by Maurice Reviol. Details, images and price here: Wooden Flutes For Sale.
Visit: Martin Doyle Flutes Since 1983, Martin Doyle has been producing high quality simple system wooden flutes that are used predominantly in Irish traditional music. His flutes, both with and without tuning slides and keys, have become renowned for their ease of playing and quality of tone.
In any field of life, there are those who stand out and shine — people with abundant gifts and abilities that serve to inspire us all. In the realm of Irish traditional music and particularly Irish flute playing, one such player is Matt Molloy. To my mind, Matt is not only a brilliant player from a technical point of view, but also — and perhaps more importantly — he is a great example of someone who has all the heart and passion for the music that anyone could ever want. He quite simply seems to love what he is doing and has been doing it for a long time now. This from his website:
It’s pretty hard to come across someone who doesn’t like a good story. And I think that if some ‘genius’ did a survey (an activity that seems to be very popular these days), I’m sure we would find that real life stories are the most popular — the life-incidents and words of real people offer us much to reflect upon, laugh about and to learn from. Perhaps we also get joy in the comparison of threads and themes that run through our lives and connect us with others in various ways — small commonalities that create a feeling of community and kinship on some level.
In celebration of completing KiwiCelt, I’ve prepared a little treat! Seamus Tansey is one of Ireland’s all-time most respected flute players who hails from 
The statement above begs the question, “Is a web site ever finished?” Well, the journey that began on Mayday is over — at least for a little while. 23 days has at times seemed like three months (as you might be able to tell by the photo on the right), but the job is essentially done and KiwiCelt is into it’s second incarnation. Thanks to the folks that have offered encouraging comments recently — on and off-line — and an especially big thank you to my friend John G over at 
There are, no doubt, dozens or even hundreds of really good Irish flute and whistle players around the world. Some of them probably choose to remain in relative obscurity and are known and heard by very few. Many you will find at sessions small and large, or on CD’s, and touring around the world. They all have something unique to offer and are commonly just regular people with a gift and a yearning to play music. By all accounts, this is often how musicians express themselves best.
... a web site dedicated to the simple system wooden flutes (aka 'Irish' flutes) that are so much a part of Irish traditional and Celtic music, and to the excellent wooden flutes produced by the Irish flute maker 
