As promised here is a live clip from my recent tour with Murray & Falkenau in Germany

www.annafalkenau.com/video

I ll post a couple more shortly. And looking forward to tunes in Padraigin’s tonight with Ged Foley and Steve Sweeney; always a treat!

The Germany Tour with Murray & Falkenau www.murrayandfalkenau.com was a great success. The concerts received fantastic reception; some wonderful venues…the beautiful Petri-Kirche in Niendorf / Ostsee /Baltic Sea with its crystal clear acoustics and enthusiastic audience and the Waldhause Kiel e.V. for its intimate,  house concert type atmosphere were amongst my favourites. I’ll post some photos/videos soon.

Was treated to some brilliant sessions back here in Galway. Friday night saw the amazing Grant Dermody pop by and play a few of his stunning harmonica tunes. His new release is a gem!

Looking forward to tunes in Spiddal and Furbo with Steve Sweeney and Johnny Connolly. Please check the gig schedule.

Super happy about this review in the English fRoots Magazine:

“Hugely impressive debut recording by a German Galway-based fiddler who’s thoroughly immersed herself in both the Irish and old-timey traditions. Her tone is ever evocative and often captivating-imagine Denis Murphy meets Martin Hayes and both win!”

After two great nights of music, one in Spiddal in An Droighnean Donn and one in Padraigin’s in Furbo. Looking forward to a special Tradphicnic session tomorrow night at An Droighnean Donn with great fiddler Bríd Harper and Steve Sweeney and friends. Off in the morning to Ballymote, where two of my students are competing at the Connacht Fleadh. Fingers crossed!

It’s been a whirlwind with the gig for Prince Charles and Camilla, the wonderful concert at The Westport Bluegrass Festival with Lena Ullman, the solo concert in Leipzig and the Galway Sessions Festival concert with Steve Sweeney and Ged Foley. All highly enjoyable. Kinvara Farmer’s Market in the morning, 10am-2pm, with Johnny Moynihan and Lena Ullman. Haven’t seen Johnny in a long time, very much looking forward to it. More soon!

Big congrats to three of my fiddle students for great results in the Galway Fleadh: Ruairí O Cinnaide (2nd in U9), Sinead Duggan (2nd U12 fiddle & slow airs) and Mary Duggan came first slow airs 12-15. Beautifully played!

It was a lovely bank holiday weekend with some great sessions! After a very nice afternoon session at The Cookoo Fleadh in Kinvara with John Faulkner and Steve Sweeney, we are looking forward to John joining us again so soon: in Furbo this Friday night at Padraigin’s. Start is at 10pm, so don’t miss it if you are in the area. Also, Steve and myself will play the second Thursday night session in the Droighnean, we had lovely tune last Thursday and enjoyed the musical company of some fine guests.

Delighted about this latest review by Rob Weir in SingOut!

The Irish-to-English translation of Anna Falkenau’s solo fiddle album is, roughly, “Butterfly of Freedom,” an apt descriptor. It reminds me of Kevin Burke projects in the ways in which tunes are freed by putting composition and emotion at the fore instead of virtuosity. The trick, as Burke once patiently explained to me, is to make the music sound simple and easy flowing – like a butterfly’s flight – even when it’s hard to play. Falkenau does precisely this. Her tone and control are glorious, but the overall feel is that of a late-night session when the bar patrons have left and the remaining musicians are playing for each other.

This collection consists mostly of traditional Irish and American fiddle tunes inspired by the playing of such renowned old masters as Paddy Killoran, Tommy Peoples, and Pádraig O’Keefe, and recent ones the likes of Liz Carroll and Bruce Molsky. Aside from a few well-traveled tunes such as “Sally Coming through the Rye” and “The Jolly Tinker,” though, Falkenau chooses material suited to her quiet and expressive style rather than ones that sound familiar. (Over-familiarity can be a curse on solo projects.) She does let her hair down on several pieces, including “The Coolea Jig” set, the American old-time selection “Richmond,” her tour de force thump-out with bodhrán artist Johnny McDonagh on “The Little Cascade,” and her note-for-echoing-note duet with accordionist Steve Sweeney on the wonderfully titled “The Sporting Pitchfork” set. But among the many things Falkenau does well is mix tempos and moods. “The House on the Hill/The Leading Role” is lilting and smooth, her take on hornpipes “Fitzgerald’s/Bushmills” is stripped down and raw, and the lullaby effect of “Ivan’s Waltz” is enhanced by her tasteful collaboration with harper Holly Geraghty.

One of my favorites, though, was the only original on the album, “Vodka & Chocolate.” Falkenau’s liner notes say that it came to her after a Cork session in which she had been overly imbibing in the aforementioned items. The next morning she fashioned a gorgeous piece that sounds faintly like a Breton an dro. Who says excess is a bad thing? — Rob Weir

http://singout.org/2015/03/24/anna-falkenau-feileacan-na-saoirse/

R

on the way home from some lovely, lovely concerts in Germany. highlight was a full-capacity concert in the beautiful, medieval church of Panitzsch. Murray & Falkenau was thrilled to be part of an otherwise exclusively classical concert series and to receive a fantastic response from the audience. We also very much enjoyed our gigs at the Geleitshaus Weißenfels, which has seen some wonderful musicians appearing there of late, including Gerry ‘Banjo’ O’Connor, Alan Reid and Alan Doherty. The Peißnitzhaus in Halle is another really cool venue, have a look if you’re round Halle, especially in the summer. Murray & Falkenau will be back there as part of their August Germany Tour.