MASTERS OF TRADITION Double CD

Masters of Tradition is a new release on the RTÉ lyric fm label featuring forty-two of Ireland's finest traditional musicians, recorded in concert between 2003 and 2007 in the Library, Bantry House, West Cork.

"The force exerted by the past on the present" - a definition of the word 'tradition' taken from Webster's dictionary and, in the context of traditional music, a powerful and pithy analysis of the strength and potency of this magnificent art.

The Masters of Tradition Festival is all about acknowledging this force: in a world of encroaching shallowness and vacuity, the music is allowed to declare itself purely and proudly in the glorious acoustic of the Library in Bantry House, West Cork. The musicians are indeed true Masters, keepers of the flame, bringing their virtuosity, wisdom, and heart to share with us in this unique music making experience. They come from all corners of Ireland and further afield. There are representatives of the elder statesman generation, playing alongside much younger musicians; their common ground is a passion and commitment to keeping tradition alive and sending it on through generations to come, with the touch of the present upon it.

Two of the musicians featured on this collection are no longer with us - Frank Harte and Kitty Hayes - and it is truly an honour to be able to include them in this collection, an outstanding document of some nights of extraordinary music-making, reminding us that the traditional lodestar is steadfast and true.

Ellen Cranitch, June 2008

Available at www.rte.ie/shop.