Altan
Altan has revitalized the Irish music scene both here and abroad. Renowned for its dynamic twin fiddling and haunting renditions of old Gaelic songs in the sean nos unaccompanied style, Altan specializes in tunes in the powerful Donegal style that is marked by a strong Scottish influence.
Mairead’s father, Francie Mooney, was a leading figure in preserving and promoting Donegal fiddle music, which Mairead and the rest of Altan have helped popularize around the world. The traditional sounds of Donegal have a distinctive Scots flavor, the result of both Donegal and Scots workers historically migrating back and forth and intermingling musically. The quick, single-stroke bowing and staccato triplets favored by Donegal fiddlers lie at the heart of the propulsive twin fiddling by Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh and Ciaran
Tourish. That core Altan sound, in turn, is enhanced by the accordion playing of Dermot Byrne and the dynamic rhythm accompaniment of Ciaran Curran, and Daithi Sproule.
