Welcome Here Again (Green Linnet)

On Welcome Here Again, their first release in nine years, fiddler Martin Hayes and guitarist Dennis Cahill brilliantly demonstrate their skill at drawing out the emotional essence of Irish instrumental music. Most of the tunes are performed at a more leisurely tempo than is commonly heard, allowing plenty of room for the duo to focus on rhythm and melody. They lean on notes, contract or extend phrases, and add traditional ornamentation with flair and imagination.

The album opens with slowed-down versions of “The Clare Reel” and “The High Jig”, revealing strains of wistfulness beneath the jauntiness of these old dance tunes. Hayes’s light and lyrical style is complemented by the spare and delicate accompaniment of Cahill, the master of a range of techniques from fingerpicking to harmonics. Highlights of Welcome Here Again include the achingly lovely airs “The Dear Irish Boy” and “The Wind Swept Hill of Tulla”, and a sparkling medley of reels, “The New Post Office/The Pigeon on the Gate/The New Custom House”, played fast and loose. If your head is still spinning after your St. Patrick’s Day bash, Hayes and Cahill offer the perfect sonic cure.