The First Snow

Ronan le Bars plays the cornemuse Irlandaise – better known as uilleann pipes – and he's brought their distinctive timbre to the heart of many Breton bands exploring their Celtic heritage, and on several albums for artists as diverse as Didier Lockwood and Johnny Hallyday. Le Bars’ own band begins on home turf, with an original number invoking a pilgrimage between the seven palaces of the founders of Brittany, represented by the fluid seven-to-a-bar time signature (plus a tasty swirl of Hammond organ).

A traditional fast gavotte and a brisk hop around the islands off the Brittany coast highlights the core of the group – pipes and whistles, violin, guitar and double bass. Then comes the title-track, allowing le Bars the freedom to explore the full range of his instrument with orchestra; it would make a memorable theme for a movie with Celtic connections. A medieval tune from the era of the crusades becomes a hypnotic processional, then there's a le Bars original in memory of a fellow piper, a keening lament over a string drone showing the breadth and beauty of the uilleann pipes. A traditional Bulgarian dance makes a spirited pay-off for a piper who's at his best when he allows himself the freedom to soar.