Latest releases reviewed

VARIOUS
Masters Of The Irish Guitar
Shanachie
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These days the guitar is the most frequent accompaniment instrument of choice, but there was a time when Arty McGlynn's calculus-like arrangements were anathema to diehard purists who preferred their musical accompaniment washed, ironed and starched by neat-as-a-pin pianists. Though its title is a tad misleading (coaxing the guitar into traditional music, rather than reinventing the instrument itself), Masters Of The Irish Guitar is a bone china gathering of our best stringsmiths. Garry Ó Briain navigates the densely thicketed terrain of Carolan's Mrs Waller with his customary perfectionism; Donogh Hennessy's own Home by the Fire careens with freewheeling ease, while Dónal Clancy, Randal Bays, Arty McGlynn and Dennis Cahill stretch and bend our notions of "tradition" in the true spirit of the boundary-breakers that they are. www.shanachie.com

MICK MCAULEY & WINIFRED HORAN
Serenade
Compass Records
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Solas are responsible for spawning a rake of superb musicians, from singer Karan Casey to guitarist John Doyle. Current members, fiddler Winifred Horan and box player and vocalist Mick McAuley, sidled out of the band for sporadic recording sessions, and Serenade is the happy accident that ensued. At its best, it soars high on the back of Horan's magnificent fiddle lines, particularly on her reading of The Joyous Waltz and on her own air, A Daisy in December. McAuley's box playing is a fair match, his lateral-thinking rhythms complementing Horan's fluid fiddle style. Guitar accompaniment from Dónal Clancy is at times overly zealous, but their inclusion of Neil Young's After The Goldrush is a bold move that'll rattle cages impishly. As will their take on Dylan's Feel My Love. www.compassrecords.com