Cora smyth biography

Cora Smyth Breda Smyth

Own label CSBS01; 39 minutes;

If ever an album set out its stall in the opening bars, then it’s this self-titled debut as a duo by the sisters Cora and Breda Smyth. Its opening track, Winkles Waltz, consisting of Michel Faubert’s Valse de Jouets and Charlie Lennon’s The Handsome Young Maidens (an apposite tune considering what’ll come later in this review), informs the listener right from the outset that this is not a typical traditional music album. Indeed, though there are plenty of traditional tunes, it’s doubtful whether it could really be termed a ‘traditional music album’ at all.

The reason for the above comment is simple. Fiddler Cora and whistler Breda have opted for a head-on, rock-oriented approach to their music which, at times, is reminiscent not only of Lúnasa’s wilder moments (a band in which, of course, their elder brother Seán plays a key role), but of the Solas semi-electric album The Edge of S

Artist Profiles: Cora Smyth | World Music Central