[caption id="attachment_70678" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Dylan Foley."]
For close to two decades, Msgr. Charlie Coen – one of Irish music’s shining lights – held an influential concert series and session at the Rhinecliff Hotel in Dutchess County, New York. Before its recent and extensive renovation, the hotel’s less than opulent appointments were the stuff of legend. Those who went speak uniformly of the caved in ceilings, the graffiti, the rodentine “livestock,” the single light-bulb around which everyone huddled and a bar clientele wholly unfamiliar with the expression “céad míle fáilte.” By all accounts, it was a dismal place.
The music, however, was a different story. For his concerts, Msgr. Charlie attracted the finest around (Mick Moloney, Joanie Madden and James Keane, to name but a few) and steered a dynamic session that was known for its excellent music. In doing so, he fostered an environment in which traditional music could – and did – thrive. For evidence, one need look no further than fiddle player Dylan Foley and button accordionist Dan Gurney – two of the music’s finest young talents, both of whom developed at the Rhinecliff.
Brendan Dolan – one of Irish music’s top piano players and teachers – was a Rhinecliff regular when Gurney and Foley (who is four years younger) were starting out and remembers them both as “wunderkinds,” the youngest and perhaps best musicians at the hotel’s already well-stocked sessions. Now Gurney and Foley both have a new album out.
Gurney took up the accordion when he was 7, found a mentor in Msgr. Charlie and quickly developed his gift under Coen’s direction. Gurney then honed his musical sense in Ireland, where he lived and played music for a year after graduating college. Today, he’s the chief technology officer of Concert Window, a company that streams HD video of live music events.
Foley, on the other hand, was initially influenced by family members and by the flute and whistle playing of Mike McHale, but refined his formidable talents under Rose Flanagan, the legendary teacher from Pearl River, who taught him to find his own voice in the vaunted Sligo style and guided him to three All-Ireland fiddle titles before turning 18. He’s currently a sophomore at SUNY New Paltz.
Foley’s “Hup!” is a brilliant debut. Each track overflows with rich ornamentation and tasteful variations, backed masterfully (and alternately), by Brendan Dolan on piano and Josh Dukes on guitar. Standout tracks, like the reel set “Humors of Castlefinn/High Road to Glin/Cavan Reel” the slip jigs “Cathal McConnell's/Come Under My Dimity” and the slow air “Dark Eyed Susan,” are simultaneously laid back and fiery and showcase Foley’s prodigious ability well.
Gurney’s album “Traditional Irish Music on the Button Accordion” is equally brilliant, but with a different sort of charm. Gurney’s tunes breeze along thoughtfully with an energetic elegance that Brian McGrath’s piano accompaniment complements perfectly. Dan has given us an excellent selection of tunes and pays outstanding tribute to Msgr. Charlie’s influence on three of the album’s outstanding tracks, the march version of “Princess Royal”; the slow air “Sliabh Geal gCua” and; the jig set “Driving the Cows Home/The Bowlegged Tailor.”
On both of these recordings, it’s easy to see not only the incredible feel Foley and Gurney have for the music, but the powerful respect they have for the tradition. They will be playing throughout the Northeast – together and individually – this summer, and are definitely names to keep an eye open for the future.
