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/

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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.

Féileacán na Saoirse received a lovely review in the Boston Irish Reporter  (p.14)… http://www.bostonirish.com/sites/default/files/issue/BIR%204_15web.pdf

Here’s the text in the post:

Anna Falkenau, “Féileacán na Saoirse” • A native of Germany, Falkenau has spent a good chunk of her adult life in Ireland, at University College Cork (during that time she was a member of Liz Doherty’s Fiddlesticks ensemble) and, for the past decade, in Galway; in between, she pursued a graduate degree right down the road at Wesleyan University. So perhaps it’s not a surprise that she’s equally at home with Irish and American fiddle styles, and “styles” is indeed the key word here, because Falkenau shows herself capable of playing in a variety of settings, whether Sliabh Luachra and other Irish regional traditions, American old-time, and modern – including her own compositions as well as a couple by Liz Carroll.

Falkenau’s modus operandi on “Féileacán na Saoirse” – which is Gaelic for “Butterfly of Freedom” – is astute and appealing. Except for one track in which she’s joined by guitarist Kevin Hough and Mary Shannon on tenor banjo, a solo on a pair of hornpipes, and another in which she accompanies herself on viola – a gorgeous, intense rendition of the air “The Wounded Hussar,” as popularized by Sliabh Luachra legend Padriag O’Keeffe – the CD is a series of duets between Falkenau and different instrumentalists. Guitarist Ged Foley, late of the Battlefield Band and Patrick Street, plays on four of the tracks, and the rest are one-offs: Lena Ullman on five-string banjo, Holly Geraghty on harp, Steve Swee- ney on accordion and the indubitable Johnny “Ringo” McDonagh on bodhran.

The effect of this is to focus attention on her fiddling while at the same time providing a variety of moods and contexts. Her collaboration with Sweeney on a trio of classic session jigs (“The Sporting Pitchfork/High Part of the Road/Connachtman’s Rambles”) is fun, loose and easy-going; Geraghty underscores the gentleness of “Ivan’s Waltz,” a Falkenau original; the American tune “Richmond,” with its crooked phrasing and style of bowing that is markedly distinct from Irish fiddling, gets a fine lift from Ullman’s five-string; and McDonagh provides his characteristically spot-on rhythm for a medley that is arguably the album’s highlight – it begins with Falkenau playing the Irish reel “The Jolly Tinker” at a slow pace, then changes key and tempo and finally segueing into the Scottish pipe tune “The Little Cascade,” full of accents and tricky transitions. Her stints with Foley include “Sally Coming Through the Rye,” an otherworldly West Virginia tune Falkenau plays in open A tuning, and her own “Vodka & Chocolate,” a moody, moderately-paced reel, and a pairing of “Caoineadh Ui Néill (Lament for O’Neill)”—from the repertoire of another Sliabh Luachra swami, Denis Murphy—she plays solo before Foley escorts her into Carroll’s gloriously sublime “That’s Right, Too!”

The butterfly, as science teaches us, is not only lovely in its appearance, but also quite hardy, what with the long distances it migrates – rather like the music Falkenau champions. (Sean Smith)

Looking forward to gigs with Murray & Falkenau in Germany over Easter. On Thursday, April 2, we are playing in the Peißnitzhaus Halle, a venue that came highly recommended. On April 4th we are looking forward to returning to the Geleitshaus Weißenfels and Uwe and the gang. Always a pleasure. And on Sunday April 12th we’ll be playing a concert in a lovely medieval church in Panitzsch, part of the little town Borsdorf. The concert there starts at 17:00. But beforehand, tomorrow eve I am delighted that we’ll be playing a session in Padraigin’s in Furbo with Ged Foley and Steve Sweeney. Just a great night of music ahead, if the last couple of nights are anything to go by. A cracker! www.murrayandfalkenau.com

A busy weekend ahead around Galway, with two charity gigs (Enable Ireland and Chroi) and four session gigs. Sunday will see me a tune or two later :- Ged Foley and myself very much enjoyed the DC Music Club gig in Dublin. We’ll be in Padraigin’s in Furbo this Saint Patrick’s Day with the one and only Steve Sweeney between 4-7. And the weather is promising to be nice! Spring is in the air!

playing at DC Music Club tomorrow eve, Friday Feb 20 with Ged Foley, very much looking forward to it. Here’s a video clip from The Phil-Murphy-Weekend, Wexford last July.

you can now watch the video/interview from Custy’s music shop/Ennis. some chat about the CD and the title track… Continue reading Custy’s video →

English radio presenter John Stannard will feature music of Féileacán na Saoirse tomorrow from on his program between 1-3pm . Listen on www.blast1386.com

Wishing you all a Very Best New Year. We had a great gig in the Crane, Ged Foley, Steve Sweeney and myself, and I ll have some video clips up soon.

Meanwhile, Féileacán na Saoirse is listed for Album of the Year on Tradconnect.com …. to vote for it, please  go to http://tradconnect.com/profiles/blogs/traditional-irish-album-year-2014-1

Happy about a lovely review from FolkWorld.

“Féileacán na Saoirse” – Butterfly of Freedom – is not just the title but a fair description of the fiddle player’s at the same time rhythmic but gentle style. Anna Falkenau grew up in east Germany but made her home in Ireland. She studied for a Bachelor of Music Degree at University College Cork, being a member of Liz Dohertys Fiddlesticks group. The past decade saw her in Galway City, playing regularly with Johnny Connolly, Mary Shannon, and Johnny Moynihan. With her duo Murray & Falkenau she has toured internationally. So now this is Anna Falkenau’s first solo album, featuring tunes from the Irish and American traditions (e.g. the old-time tune “Richmond” which evolved from “Cuckoo’s Nest”) but also new compositions from herself and others, just to mention the prolific Irish-American fiddler and composer Liz Carroll. Anna is joined by a stellar cast: accompaniment by guitarist Ged Foley (Patrick Street) harpist Holly Geraghty and bodhrán veteran Johnny McDonagh, embellishment by banjo players Lena Ullman (Buffalo in The Castle) and Mary Shannon (Bumblebees, Sharon Shannon Band). However, Anna Falkenau’s rootsy playing is always in the centre. Her personal style lends itself equally to swinging jigs, fiery reels and emotional slow airs. The Butterfly of Freedom has started its journey, and we will probably learn more of Anna’s art in the coming years. (Tom Keller, Folkworld)