The Irish Low Whistle

The Irish Low Whistle

• Irish
• Mckenna, Joe
• Bass

The Irish low whistle, which is basically a bass version of the standard tin whistle, was introduced into traditional Celtic music in the late 1970s. Joe McKenna, who both plays and builds uilleann pipes, made his first low whistle from a mouthpiece he found in a London junkshop, a piece of brass tubing from his workshop, and a liberal application of duct tape. On tracks like "Colonel Fraser/Ril Gan Anim" McKenna shows the mellow, almost wooden flute-like tone of the low whistle is well suited to traditional dance tunes, while selections like his own composition "Echo's Calling" prove it is equally suited to more contemporary music as well. McKenna's accompanists include his wife Antoinette on harp and John Doyle--the guitarist from Solas--as well as tin whistle player Mary Bergin. The low whistle may be a newcomer to Irish music, but in the hands of players like McKenna it should soon take its place alongside "foreign" instruments like the fiddle and the flute that have long since become accepted in the kitchen and pub sessions where Irish music is at its most traditional. <I>--Michael Simmons</I>