Irish fiddle player Martin Hayes is a frequent performer at Celtic Connections, and there’s no better way to begin the annual trip to this great winter festival than watching his Common Ground Ensemble in the stunning surroundings of The Barony Hall in Glasgow. There was a suitably gentle start with lone fiddle as Martin nibbled away at the edges of what I think was The Glens of Aherlow, Kate Ellis’s cello and Cormac McCarthy’s piano gradually and subtly joining the tune as the snatches of the melody were pieced together. The band ebbed and flowed through that first lengthy set of unpredictable tunes – some calm, some more edgy – bringing in Brian Donnellan’s concertina and Jim Higgin’s bodhran (Jim joining the Ensemble for the evening in place of guitar player Kyle Sanna).
The Longford Tinker in the middle of the second set of tunes moved along like an express train, bodhran accentuating the rhythmic mode before closely intertwined fiddle and concertina saw the tune out. Introducing O’Carolan’s Farewell To Music and Garret Barry’s Jig, Martin talked about there being a lot of in-between notes in Irish traditional music, some of which are played accidentally, some intentionally, which introduces an essential element of dissonance into the music. Both tunes were a perfect demonstration of how slowing down a tune can bring out the mournful beauty of the melody, and the jig both began and ended with notably dissonant, experimental sounds from the cello and piano.
Another unhurried jig, Cá bhfuil an Solas? (Where Is The Light?), morphed into a driving version of the reels Toss The Feathers and The Magerabaun, complete with a very effective brushed snare drum from Jim and a jazzy piano interlude between the two tunes from Cormac, Martin’s flowing, animated, entrancing fiddle always drawing your attention. An air/lament, Peggy’s Dream, the title track from the Ensemble’s album released early last year – which provided the majority of the evening’s tunes – was a fittingly reminiscent, calming encore, fiddle and concertina sharing the melody. It was an altogether captivating concert, shifting in tempo and intensity, stretching the melodies, with ever-innovative accompaniment – the standing ovation more than deserved.