A Dossan of Heather

This is not just another book of Irish session tunes. It represents the relatively unknown repertoire of a single Irish traditional musician, Packie Manus Byrne of Donegal. There has been considerable interest in the music of Donegal over the past 10 years or so, especially with the rise of groups such as Altan. Packie Manus Byrne is a familiar name to traditional-music lovers in Ireland and the UK, where he enjoyed a successful career as a folk performer for more than 20 years. Almost all these tunes were being played in Packie's home area between 1925 and 1935; the collection is thus something of a "time capsule" with a unity of origin and style that sets it apart from other collections. The 85 genuine old traditional tunes are being made public for the first time. This unique collection, with all the background information and stories, gives the reader a real sense of the community out of which the music came and the characters who played it. Suitable for fiddle, tin whistle, flute and other traditional instruments. The online audio download includes 33 of the tunes performed by Jean Duval, Stephen Jones, Johanne St. Laurent, Lynda Dowker, and Reinhard Görner on a variety of instruments.