Dave Flynn: Irish Minimalism
First Hand Records

Naturally the first thing that invites scrutiny is the title of this collection of material by composer Dave Flynn (b. 1977). As a term, minimalism triggers associations with early Glass, Reich, and John Adams, but there's little on this album that warrants the term's presence in the album title. Yes, certain aspects of the material performed—four works written between 2004 and 2008 for string quartet, two of which also feature uilleann pipes and one spoken word—do suggest a connection between Irish traditional music and classical minimalism; however, qualities such as repetition, propulsion, pulse, and incremental change are present in any number of musical styles.

The Irish roots of the material are very clearly present, on the other hand. That's as apparent in the slips, skirls, and slides that emerge during the works' livelier parts and is just as much a part of the lamenting tone that infuses other passages' drones and wails; Mick O'Brien's pipes and the local Kerry Gaelic dialect with which Breanndán Begley narrates the text in Stories From The Old World make that dimension all the more vivid. For this project, recorded in Ireland in 2012, Flynn's material is performed by Begley, O'Brien, and two string outfits, the ConTempo and IMO Quartets.

Though it's repeatedly subverted, a lively dance undercurrent lends The Cranning powerful momentum in its “Slip” movement, the Irish connection directly referenced in the infectious jig surfacing midway through. In a movement lasting under six minutes, ideas abound, the result an action-packed album intro. When the pace cools for “Slide,” ConTempo proves itself as adept at executing slow glissandos as dance rhythms. A seamless segue into “The Bamako Highland" sees the tempo pick up, however, and we find ourselves again presented with a deftly realized Irish folk-classical fusion. While the driving ostinato figure roaring through the closing “Cran” does exude a too-pronounced heaviness, it doesn't come close to negating the many things that argue on behalf of the work.

Originally intended to be Flynn's fourth string quartet, The Cutting instead became his first quintet with the incorporation of uilleann pipes. The Irish traditional folk character of the work is immediately intimated by the movement titles “Cutting and Rolling,” “Churning and Sliding,” and “Lilting and Reeling.” Sometimes voicing in unison, O'Brien's pipes and the IMO's strings sing gleefully throughout the first and third movements; a lamenting tone informs the second when strings emote over a restrained drone until the pipes move to the forefront for the high-spirited second half.

ConTempo returns for The Keening, its mournful tone instantly conveyed by the titles of the work and its three movements, “Ag Monabhar (Murmuring),” “Reacaireacht (Dirge),” and “Gol (Cry).” Fast tempos are naturally eschewed for a presentation teeming with vocal-like wails and sobs and undergirded by drones, the effect of their combination mesmerizing. The titular quality surfaces most directly in the central movement where the violinist's vibrato-free phrases suggest vocal expression; in contrast to its lyricism, the concluding part more wails than cries and often viciously as it wends its grinding way.

Begley naturally dominates Stories From The Old World when his readings are so resonantly delivered; even if the words are incomprehensible to those not versed in the local Kerry Gaelic dialect, his 'musical' performance still captivates (English translations for the traditional Irish texts appear in the release booklet). The tone here is light, irreverent, and even cheeky, as shown by the work's second movement “Más Le Gigeog A Mheallas í... (If It Was With a Fart I Won Her…).” Like before, O'Brien and the IMO excel, and the combination of narration, strings, and uilleann pipes makes for a memorable end to the album.

As the co-founder of the Dublin Guitar Quartet and founder and artistic director of the Irish Memory Orchestra, Flynn's long been interested in merging elements of Irish traditional and classical music and is highly regarded as a guitarist dedicated to the performance of traditional Irish music. Whatever reservations one might have about the title of Irish Minimalism, none pertains to its musical content, which constitutes an ambitious and largely successful attempt to fold Irish folk elements into a string quartet framework.

February 2022