Of late, I have grown weary of Irish flute playing. The new recordings are played at insane speeds, they play in wierdo keys, they play in wierdo rhythms more akin to Brazil, Greece, Lapland than the bogs.  They show off with incredible power and volume with modern flutes with sound holes so big that my fingers would get stuck in them. They play crans.

I have no interest in this. I yearn for the a player who will demonstrate the wonderful melodies of Irish tunes at a tempo that allows me to savor.

Oh joy to stumble across the playing of Brid O’Gorman.

Listen to the tone, listen to the pace, listen to the accuracy of each roll. To the uninitiated, let me assure you that this is wonderful flute playing.

Oh, the irritation of the cran. This is a piping ornamentation that can be played on D. I dislike it. It sounds good on the pipes but has no place in flute playing as it introduces clutter and distracts from the lift that is so essential to drive flute tunes. Look folks. we are playing the flute here, not imitating the pipes.

I think the cran in flute playing was introduced by Matt Molloy, who is a deity,  in the mid 70s. I remember being in Milton Malbay in 1979 where the consensus was that Molloy did not play traditional music because of his overuse of ornamentation. Gosh.

Brid O’Gorman eschews the cran, I think.

Buy Brid O’ Gorman’s recording here and listen to traditional tunes played in the manner  of which I approve.

https://bridogorman.bandcamp.com/album/bluebells-are-blooming

Does anyone care what I approve of?  Not really.