REVIEWS OF RAINING NOTES (2018)
Irish Music Magazine
Tom Keller, Folkworld
REVIEWS OF SÍOCHÁIN NA TUAITHE:PEACE OF THE COUNTRYSIDE (2013)
"Síocháin na Tuaithe" is a another milestone recording from Westmeath man Enda Seery. Unmistakably himself from the first notes of the opening reels which include two of his own compositions "Sam's Delight" and "The Night Owl Time", this album is a natural yet mature progression following his excellent debut CD "The Winding Clock".Controlled, smooth and articulate playing on both the tin whistle and flute throughout the sixteen tracks showcase a man at the top of his game musically and highlight the love and respect he has for this music of ours.
KEVIN CRAWFORD (LÚNASA, THE TEETOTALLERS)
The instrument may be dubbed a penny whistle but albums featuring it are certainly not ten a penny. So there is always with a sense of expectation when a new album on what is the humblest but often the ablest of Irish traditional instruments appears. So will Mr Seery step up to the pale and show us what he can do?
Well what he can do is play his whistle very well indeed, we knew that already from his debut album The Winding Clock, so is this new work more of the same? Yes and even more, his playing has matured over then past two years, no doubt due to his association with the giants of the genre Mary Bergin and also Kevin Crawford. His time at the University of Limerick has given him a finer edge without destroying his essential joie de vivre. He hasn’t mined his new found skills in a race to the finish, the finer points of playing are just that with Enda, finesse without stress.
The prevailing feel of the album is a series of sets of tunes paced so we can hear everything that is going on. Consequently this is an album that will be listened to by whistle players who are looking for inspiration. They’ll find a wealth of new material here as Enda, a confident tunesmith, provides nine new pieces within the thirty tunes on the CD.
Backed by on guitar, by John Byrne and Tom Delany, their playing is understated, simple, never running a way with itself, it lets the whistle shine, particularly so on Enda’s own Night Owl. Another bird is The Nightingale braced with a preceding The Castle, on this track Enda plays a duet with a gorgeously earthy fiddle from James Hughes. Add in a song or two, including A Working Man I Am from the late Rita MacNeil of Cape Breton on which Enda over dubs keyboards and flute and this album begins to grow on you with each playing.
The sleeve notes are essential reading. Full marks to Enda for noting which key of whistle he is playing on each selection, a real bonus for anyone playing along with him and learning his new tunes and the classic old ones like The Hag with The Money and Tatter Jack Walsh. His new compositions have a patina of ancient authenticity about them also. Sneak then into a session and you’d have great fun when the other lads start guessing how old
they are.
In short a lovely second album from a stylish player who thinks deeply about the music. It has variety and intensity, with songs and sensitive backing, it is worth every penny of the price.
SEAN LAFFEY, EDITOR, IRISH MUSIC MAGAZINE, WWW.IRISHMUSICMAGAZINE.COM
Peace of the Countryside is the second album from Enda Seery and follows very much in the footsteps of his debut The Winding Clock which he released over two years ago. We spoke to him recently and he confirmed that he learned a lot from his debut album and has channelled all that learning back into this release. It’s a great follow up with his playing still retaining all the essential ingredients that makes him one of the most exciting talents on whistle to emerge in some time. His playing is strong, expressive and contains the self assured confidence of a musician on the rise. Some small additional ornamental techniques have been added to his playing style in a continuing development of his music. A lot of this he picked up on the Masters course in Traditional Irish Music Performance in Limerick University last year where he found inspiration from some seasoned professionals like Kevin Crawford and Mary Bergin. With regard to this release Enda has given a lot of thought to the overall product and not just the music. This for the listener is very important and can sometimes get overlooked by musicians.
Positive number one is the mixture of traditional tunes and self compositions. Nine new compositions out of just over 30 tunes on the album. This is just about right. New is definitely good, but the audience also like to hear what can be done with the old standards like Tatter Jack Walsh, The Hag with The Money and The Scholar for instance. These tunes are managed in a restrained and finely crafted manner with nice touches of variation. Positive number two, three and four are the inclusion of a couple of songs, some flute tracks and a duet with James Hughes on fiddle. This provides a nice variety and a break from the whistle itself. Enda's singing is the surprise package because there is a voice in there. Slightly more subdued than necessary on It's A Working Man I Am but still surprisingly good. There are many more positives including John Byrne on guitar who provides some stellar accompaniment. John is a long time musical partner of Enda's and it shows on the tracks in question. There are some beautifully arranged sets including a tune learned from Sean Ryan called Peggy in the
Settle paired with a self composition called Day Trip to Galway which is a great reel. Santa Cruz/Friends from the States are a pair of new compositions as well, played on flute with piano accompaniment. A Peadar O' Riada composition called Jearóid is also a standout tune for its mellow tone and feel, played again on flute by Enda.
Peace of the Countryside is a very rewarding and accomplished recording featuring not only some great music but also a composer of real worth. We have not had that many whistle albums of late and this is a very welcome addition, especially for whistle players, making it well worth the investment.
TONY LAWLESS, EDITOR, WWW.TRADCONNECT.COM
REVIEWS OF THE WINDING CLOCK (2010)
KEVIN CRAWFORD (LÚNASA, THE TEETOTALLERS)
The instrument may be dubbed a penny whistle but albums featuring it are certainly not ten a penny. So there is always with a sense of expectation when a new album on what is the humblest but often the ablest of Irish traditional instruments appears. So will Mr Seery step up to the pale and show us what he can do?
Well what he can do is play his whistle very well indeed, we knew that already from his debut album The Winding Clock, so is this new work more of the same? Yes and even more, his playing has matured over then past two years, no doubt due to his association with the giants of the genre Mary Bergin and also Kevin Crawford. His time at the University of Limerick has given him a finer edge without destroying his essential joie de vivre. He hasn’t mined his new found skills in a race to the finish, the finer points of playing are just that with Enda, finesse without stress.
The prevailing feel of the album is a series of sets of tunes paced so we can hear everything that is going on. Consequently this is an album that will be listened to by whistle players who are looking for inspiration. They’ll find a wealth of new material here as Enda, a confident tunesmith, provides nine new pieces within the thirty tunes on the CD.
Backed by on guitar, by John Byrne and Tom Delany, their playing is understated, simple, never running a way with itself, it lets the whistle shine, particularly so on Enda’s own Night Owl. Another bird is The Nightingale braced with a preceding The Castle, on this track Enda plays a duet with a gorgeously earthy fiddle from James Hughes. Add in a song or two, including A Working Man I Am from the late Rita MacNeil of Cape Breton on which Enda over dubs keyboards and flute and this album begins to grow on you with each playing.
The sleeve notes are essential reading. Full marks to Enda for noting which key of whistle he is playing on each selection, a real bonus for anyone playing along with him and learning his new tunes and the classic old ones like The Hag with The Money and Tatter Jack Walsh. His new compositions have a patina of ancient authenticity about them also. Sneak then into a session and you’d have great fun when the other lads start guessing how old
they are.
In short a lovely second album from a stylish player who thinks deeply about the music. It has variety and intensity, with songs and sensitive backing, it is worth every penny of the price.
SEAN LAFFEY, EDITOR, IRISH MUSIC MAGAZINE, WWW.IRISHMUSICMAGAZINE.COM
Peace of the Countryside is the second album from Enda Seery and follows very much in the footsteps of his debut The Winding Clock which he released over two years ago. We spoke to him recently and he confirmed that he learned a lot from his debut album and has channelled all that learning back into this release. It’s a great follow up with his playing still retaining all the essential ingredients that makes him one of the most exciting talents on whistle to emerge in some time. His playing is strong, expressive and contains the self assured confidence of a musician on the rise. Some small additional ornamental techniques have been added to his playing style in a continuing development of his music. A lot of this he picked up on the Masters course in Traditional Irish Music Performance in Limerick University last year where he found inspiration from some seasoned professionals like Kevin Crawford and Mary Bergin. With regard to this release Enda has given a lot of thought to the overall product and not just the music. This for the listener is very important and can sometimes get overlooked by musicians.
Positive number one is the mixture of traditional tunes and self compositions. Nine new compositions out of just over 30 tunes on the album. This is just about right. New is definitely good, but the audience also like to hear what can be done with the old standards like Tatter Jack Walsh, The Hag with The Money and The Scholar for instance. These tunes are managed in a restrained and finely crafted manner with nice touches of variation. Positive number two, three and four are the inclusion of a couple of songs, some flute tracks and a duet with James Hughes on fiddle. This provides a nice variety and a break from the whistle itself. Enda's singing is the surprise package because there is a voice in there. Slightly more subdued than necessary on It's A Working Man I Am but still surprisingly good. There are many more positives including John Byrne on guitar who provides some stellar accompaniment. John is a long time musical partner of Enda's and it shows on the tracks in question. There are some beautifully arranged sets including a tune learned from Sean Ryan called Peggy in the
Settle paired with a self composition called Day Trip to Galway which is a great reel. Santa Cruz/Friends from the States are a pair of new compositions as well, played on flute with piano accompaniment. A Peadar O' Riada composition called Jearóid is also a standout tune for its mellow tone and feel, played again on flute by Enda.
Peace of the Countryside is a very rewarding and accomplished recording featuring not only some great music but also a composer of real worth. We have not had that many whistle albums of late and this is a very welcome addition, especially for whistle players, making it well worth the investment.
TONY LAWLESS, EDITOR, WWW.TRADCONNECT.COM
REVIEWS OF THE WINDING CLOCK (2010)
Enda Seery is the young man’s name and he is a tin whistle artist the like of which I’ve seldom heard. Now I’ve heard a lot of great tin whistle players but Enda’s style is different, there’s a bubbly quality to his playing that I find fascinating. He has two CDs out, the first “The Winding Clock” is all instrumental with the emphasis on his tin whistle and I love it. It runs for a delightful 50.44 minutes, good measure for your money. This fellow can work on a hornpipe so that even I want to get up and dance. We haven’t had a whistle CD in a while that shows the versatility of the whistle but this one does, in spades.
JACK BAKER, RAMPANT LION CELTIC TRADERS & THE IRISH AMERICAN NEWS, CHICAGO, U.S.A
A respected member of the Comhaltas Community in Westmeath, Irish language teacher Enda Seery has released his debut album The Winding Clock. First thought on listening is that you can tell Enda is involved in the teaching of the whistle as each tune is paced perfectly with every note enunciated clearly which sets the bar for any budding whistle players to absorb and emulate. The other major impression of the Winding Clock is the quality of composition. Enda includes many of his own tunes and they intertwine seamlessly with the more traditional with regards to the quality of workmanship.
Drawing tunes from a variety of stalwarts, The Leitrim Lilter set incorporates I wish I never saw you a tune taken from the album Feadóga Stáin by the renowned Mary Bergin and Seery plays it with a lilting clarity whilst maintaining a steady pace. The rhythm and clarity also shine through on the Colonel Frazer set, which is a traditional favourite with a catchy twist and Seery administers the nuances with ease. The echo of the Bb Generation whistle on Enda’s self composed Fonn an tSrutháin (Tune of the Streams) carries through to another composition of his entitled Friday’s Finest, a slow jig on which he plays keyboards as well as whistle.
Musicality is showcased in the family with Ciaran (box), Siobhan (flute) and Padraig (fiddle) joining their brother to display a flavour of Paddy O’Brien and
Willie Coleman’s jigs with flair on track six. With a mixture of session tunes and instrumentals that have been utilised for competitions in Fleadh
Cheoils‘, The Winding Clock is the ideal enhancement for aspiring whistle players to listen and learn from and no better teacher for it than Enda
Seery.
EILEEN McCABE, IRISH MUSIC MAGAZINE, WWW.IRISHMUSICMAGAZINE.COM
Enda Seery is an Irish language teacher from 9 to 5, but when the clock strikes to pack in he gets out the odd Sindt or Susato. Living in the vicinity of
Streamstown, Co. Westmeath, in the very midst of Ireland he presents traditional Irish music with an unhurried pace, a precise rhythm and a clear expression on his debut whistle album "The Winding Clock". The first set is kicking off with the "Roscommon Reel" and finishing off with the popular "Castle Kelly," Enda's
own "April Sunshine" beautifully sandwiched in. He includes a couple of his own tunes - such as the jig, who gave the album its title, and the air "Fonn an
tSruthain" (Tune of the Streams), relating to his hometown -, blending perfectly in in the traditional surroundings of more or less familiar Irish tunes. Let me mention the "Swallow's Tail" or "Congress" reels regarding the first, the slow air "Cailin na Gruaige Baine" (The Girl with the Fair Hair) and a couple of hornpipes for the latter, especially Paddy O'Brien's "Easter Sunday" hornpipe based on the Lunasa version on "The Kinnity Sessions".[28] Enda added some keyboards where he felt it necessary, he is furthermore backed up by guitarist John Byrne and bodhran player Colin Hogg. The album is not complete without Enda employing his siblings, button accordionist Ciarán, flutist Siobhán and fiddler Padraig Seery on Paddy O'Brien's "Fly in the Porter" and the well-known "Willie Coleman's Jig".
Already a skillful performer, Enda is only in his mid-twenties. So the clock isn't ticking and there's still more time to develop his craft. That's nice to think about.
WWW.FOLKWORLD.EU
JACK BAKER, RAMPANT LION CELTIC TRADERS & THE IRISH AMERICAN NEWS, CHICAGO, U.S.A
A respected member of the Comhaltas Community in Westmeath, Irish language teacher Enda Seery has released his debut album The Winding Clock. First thought on listening is that you can tell Enda is involved in the teaching of the whistle as each tune is paced perfectly with every note enunciated clearly which sets the bar for any budding whistle players to absorb and emulate. The other major impression of the Winding Clock is the quality of composition. Enda includes many of his own tunes and they intertwine seamlessly with the more traditional with regards to the quality of workmanship.
Drawing tunes from a variety of stalwarts, The Leitrim Lilter set incorporates I wish I never saw you a tune taken from the album Feadóga Stáin by the renowned Mary Bergin and Seery plays it with a lilting clarity whilst maintaining a steady pace. The rhythm and clarity also shine through on the Colonel Frazer set, which is a traditional favourite with a catchy twist and Seery administers the nuances with ease. The echo of the Bb Generation whistle on Enda’s self composed Fonn an tSrutháin (Tune of the Streams) carries through to another composition of his entitled Friday’s Finest, a slow jig on which he plays keyboards as well as whistle.
Musicality is showcased in the family with Ciaran (box), Siobhan (flute) and Padraig (fiddle) joining their brother to display a flavour of Paddy O’Brien and
Willie Coleman’s jigs with flair on track six. With a mixture of session tunes and instrumentals that have been utilised for competitions in Fleadh
Cheoils‘, The Winding Clock is the ideal enhancement for aspiring whistle players to listen and learn from and no better teacher for it than Enda
Seery.
EILEEN McCABE, IRISH MUSIC MAGAZINE, WWW.IRISHMUSICMAGAZINE.COM
Enda Seery is an Irish language teacher from 9 to 5, but when the clock strikes to pack in he gets out the odd Sindt or Susato. Living in the vicinity of
Streamstown, Co. Westmeath, in the very midst of Ireland he presents traditional Irish music with an unhurried pace, a precise rhythm and a clear expression on his debut whistle album "The Winding Clock". The first set is kicking off with the "Roscommon Reel" and finishing off with the popular "Castle Kelly," Enda's
own "April Sunshine" beautifully sandwiched in. He includes a couple of his own tunes - such as the jig, who gave the album its title, and the air "Fonn an
tSruthain" (Tune of the Streams), relating to his hometown -, blending perfectly in in the traditional surroundings of more or less familiar Irish tunes. Let me mention the "Swallow's Tail" or "Congress" reels regarding the first, the slow air "Cailin na Gruaige Baine" (The Girl with the Fair Hair) and a couple of hornpipes for the latter, especially Paddy O'Brien's "Easter Sunday" hornpipe based on the Lunasa version on "The Kinnity Sessions".[28] Enda added some keyboards where he felt it necessary, he is furthermore backed up by guitarist John Byrne and bodhran player Colin Hogg. The album is not complete without Enda employing his siblings, button accordionist Ciarán, flutist Siobhán and fiddler Padraig Seery on Paddy O'Brien's "Fly in the Porter" and the well-known "Willie Coleman's Jig".
Already a skillful performer, Enda is only in his mid-twenties. So the clock isn't ticking and there's still more time to develop his craft. That's nice to think about.
WWW.FOLKWORLD.EU