Dermot Byrne and Floriane Blanckeindie release ****

Bare-boned, spare arrangements that leave nowhere to hide: a brave choice for Altan accordionist Dermot Byrne and Parisian harpist and vocalist, Floriane Blancke, on their duo debut. There's a natural yin and yang to the pairing of box and harp: the muscular core of the former finding a natural foil in the latter. Musettes, waltzes and slow airs are balanced alongside select hornpipes and jigs, with Blancke contributing fine-boned, pristine vocals on the sole French song, La Clairière. This fresh collection embraces the baroque in Chris Newman's Sore Point and the panoply of suantraí, geantraí and goltraí (lullabies, happy and sad songs) that form the backbone of traditional music. Byrne and Blancke manage to cleanse palates long jaded by the overdrive of ensembles on full throttle. dermotandflo.com.

Download tracks: La Clairière, La Valse des Jouets