Terry Riley in C Irish

1960s’ minimalist guru Terry Riley’s quixotic masterpiece ‘In C’ filtered through the prism of Irish traditional music? On paper it shouldn’t work. It really shouldn’t work. Anarchic but stringent American avant-garde – fractured into 53 musical phrases lasting from half a beat to 32 beats and entrusted to the improvisatory whims of its performers – is treacherous quicksand compared to the clear liquid streams of Ireland’s ancient, melody-laced folk music. But the two blend here with hypnotic, intoxicating immediacy in this thrilling live recording.

Hosted in Dundalk in 2023 by Louth Contemporary Music Society, steadfast champions of making cross-genre, trans-global connections and Ireland’s best-kept musical secret, it’s a wondrous exercise in musical miscegenation. Riley is blessed by a crack Irish ensemble: fiddlers Zoë Conway and Paddy Glackin, accordionist Máirtín O’Connor, Dónal Lunny (bouzouki), Mick O’Brien (uilleann pipes), siblings Louise and Michelle Mulcahy (flute and Irish harp). All respond to Riley’s invitation to invention, gloriously glossing ‘In C’ with traditional Irish tropes.

Heard in binaural sound on headphones, it is as trippy and mesmeric as Riley intended, approving audience responses inking in the sense of occasion. A brace of encores, the jig ‘The Golden Ring’ and reel ‘The Old Bush’, are delectable cherries on a rich, rewarding cake.