Sonda

Several times All-Ireland Champion uilleann piper Richard Neylon sets his stall out as a multi-instrumentalist on his first long-player by also showing off his skills on flute, whistles, saxophone, bodhrán and drums. Sonda translates as ‘sonorous’ or ‘a voiced sound’ and in a fluidly assembled recital of agreeably contrasted moods, Neylon gets off to a cracking start with a trio of animated reels (‘Moving Beauty’) and the lyrical, whistle-led, Stockton's Wing-favoured waltz, ‘Catalina’. There's an infectiously jaunty playfulness to ‘Lucy & Jimmy’, which finds a nimble Neylon on piping, saxophone and whistle duties, and the brace of hornpipes that is ‘Independence’ offers a thorough work-out for his flexible finger skills.

The self-penned title-track is an atmospheric dialogue for low whistle and pipes, and there's some superbly nuanced technical piping on ‘An Spéic Seoigheach’, an ancient Irish air also known as ‘The Cry of the Joyce’, collected by Edward Bunting in the 1790s. ‘Cumha Mhíchíl Bhreathnaigh’, Tomás Mac Domhnaill's lilting lament, honouring a prominent Gaelic revivalist, is dispatched with dexterous dignity. Sterling support throughout – from Fiachra Hayes' fiddle, Stephen Doherty's accordion, the concertina of James Frawley and Conal Early's guitar, keyboards and bouzouki – adds to the pleasure of an accomplished debut.