Daire Bracken & Lorcán Macmathúna: Preab Meadar | Album Review

Take a metre from old Irish poetry, distil its alliterative syllabic playfulness and exploit its harmonic possibilities with fiddle, and what you might get is Preab Meadar. Singer, Lorcán MacMathúna and fiddler, Daire Bracken describe it as a meta- morphosis from strict metre poetry rooted in the period of the 10th-16th centuries into music. Four years in the making, this is a layered, mysterious collection that resists the casual mining of early listening, but over time, its sparse patterns reveal them- selves. This is music unburdened of decorative flourishes, favour- ing the spare lines suggested by both historical texts and original work (by both MacMathúna and Bracken). Far from easy listen- ing, and at times dryly academic, Preab Meadar rewards return visits with a compelling marriage of rhythm and harmony. preabmdr.com