is a fiddler from County Clare whose sure but gentle touch and deep musical intelligence have combined to produce one of the most satisfying recordings of traditional music in a long time. Accompanied in most cases by only an understated guitar, and in duet on one lovely track with his father, performs a long set of tunes that range from the familiar ( "The Cliffs of Moher") to the more obscure ("Kilnamona Barndance," "Farewell to Milltown"). What is special about this album isn't so much the material has chosen, though it's all lovely; instead, it's his unflagging focus on the tunes themselves rather than on his own virtuosity that makes "Under the Moon" both musically inspiring and emotionally rewarding. In a field dominated by fiery virtuosos, many of whom seeming intent on throwing every fleet-fingered ornament possible into every phrase they play, plays for the tune itself. He interprets and embellishes it, of course, but always in a way that reveals the music rather than obscuring it. There are no barnburners on this album; even the uptempo numbers are played with gentle assurance instead of headlong abandon. When he cuts a note, it is with the quietest, quickest tap of a finger; when he slides into another, it is with the slow, languorous grace of a lover's caress. Yet he never sounds overearnest or academic in his playing, either; he sounds conscientious, not self-conscious. The effect is one of an expatriate speaking after a long exile the native language that he loves, or of a father gently explaining an ancient craft to his child. Stunning. It nearly made me tear up. ~ Rick Anderson