Celebrating Spirit of Irish Music on CD

It’s no accident that any given list of the best-selling world music albums will include a healthy set of Irish music recordings. The reasons are obvious: The language (except for songs sung in Gaelic) is familiar, and the rhythms and melodies of Ireland continue to resonate in bluegrass and country.

Equally important, Irish music has an extraordinary emotional range, from spirited jigs to passionate ballads. And it has an almost unrivaled capacity to blend and fuse with other musical forms without sacrificing its own essential identity.

With St. Patrick’s Day rapidly approaching, it’s a good time to take a quick look at a strikingly wide array of recently released Irish music CDs.

* Altan. “The Best of Altan,” Green Linnet. Altan is perhaps the finest of the contemporary Irish groups devoting itself to traditional music. Originally founded by the husband-and-wife duo of fiddler and vocalist Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh and flutist Frankie Kennedy, the ensemble produced some extraordinary music in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Included in this two-CD set are selections from some of Altan’s best albums, as well as a superb live performance by the group’s original lineup, recorded in 1989.

* Karan Casey. “Songlines,” Shanachie. Casey is the singer in the Irish American group Solas. Her dark, intimate sound mixes traditional sounds (featuring most of the members of Solas) with the jazz that, surprisingly, is deeply rooted in Casey’s style.

* Cathie Ryan. “Cathie Ryan,” Shanachie. The Detroit-born Ryan, daughter of Irish parents, was the lead singer with the acclaimed group Cherish the Ladies. Her debut album as a soloist is an appealing juxtaposition of traditional songs sung in ancient sean nos style with Casey originals. And her lilting Irish soprano brings a convincing, multicultural quality to tunes such as her own poignant “When Detroit Was Burning.”

* John Whelan. “Celtic Crossroads,” Narada Lotus. Whelan, a winner of several Irish and English button accordion championships, was a featured musician in the spectacular Irish music and dance show “Riverdance,” as well as two previous, well-received Narada albums, “Celtic Odyssey” and “Celtic Legacy.” His soulful playing revives an instrument unnecessarily reviled for too long. But the centerpiece of the album is a gorgeous rendering of “There Were Roses,” Tommy Sands’ tragic plea for peace in Northern Ireland, by country music star Kathy Mattea.

* “Celtic Mouth Music.” Ellipsis Arts. It’s called diddling, lilting, jigging and port-a-beul, but for U.S. audiences, it’s probably best identified as Irish scat singing. Often, but not always sung for dancing, the practice--in which an unaccompanied singer (or singers) creates a rich, rhythmic tapestry via the use of rapid-fire syllables--dates back hundreds of years in Gaelic culture. This attractive package includes 37 examples of mouth music from Ireland, Scotland, England, Canada and other lands, as well as an informative, hardcover book describing and illustrating this unusual but compelling musical expression.

* Milladoiro. “Castellum Bonesti” and “Galicia No Tempo,” Green Linnet. Milladoiro, a constantly fascinating group that features Celtic music’s uilleann pipes and bodhran (frame drum) as well as the ocarina, accordion, birimbau and other percussion, is the best-known exponent of Galician music, best described as the Celtic music of Spain. These are two superb albums, filled with enchanting musical surprises and a rich, atmospheric sense of place, in which floating Gaelic melodies drift over subtle Spanish rhythms.

* “The Wheels of the World, Vols. 1 and 2.” Yazoo. At first glance, this collection of Irish American music from the ‘20s and ‘30s, with its cover dominated by period photographs, appears to be something for the archivist. But the music contained in the two CDs is remarkably alive. Among the best-known Irish musicians represented here are flutist John McKenna, piper Patrick J. Touhey, fiddlers James Morrison and Michael Coleman, and entertainers Frank Quinn and Dan Sullivan.

Around Town: Saturday night at the Cinegrill, singer-dancer Christiane Callil, the Southland’s most versatile and appealing Brazilian artist, opens a four-Saturday run with a new Brazilian revue, “The Girls From Ipanema and Tropical Samba,” (213) 466-7000. . . . UCLA at the Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center features Mika’ele McClellan, singing and playing traditional Hawaiian music, March 15, 2 p.m., and the Larry Karush jazz and world music group, March 22, 2 p.m. (310) 443-7000. . . . LunaPark showcases Mango Bang’s Afro-Cuban mambo music, March 15, (310) 652-0611. . . . And don’t overlook the many Irish music shows over the St. Patrick’s Day weekend.