Martin Hayes &Dennis Cahill
Two is the Lonesome-est Number
by Maureen Brennan
W
hat is "the lonesome touch" and what makes Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill the lonesome-est duo that you’ll ever want to hear? In the album liners, Hayes describes the lonesome touch as "the intangible aspect of music that is both elusive and essential." It is a quality that allows both tremendous sadness and great joy to exist within the same piece of music. The melodies that Hayes and Cahill charm audiences with are the same melodies that have traveled and been felt by generations of players in Ireland. And as you sit in the audience, you can feel something like a lonesome touch sending shivers down your backbone.In the wide world of folk music, there are many duos and trios. None, however, poses the musical intuitiveness and intimacy of Irish fiddler Martin Hayes and guitarist Dennis Cahill. When these two play together, the individual notes they are playing bend and reach toward each other like wild vines ascending the trunk of a tree. They share not just a few good tunes played remarkably well, but a musical vision that encompasses life, the universe, and every nuance that can possibly be discovered in a timeless, traditional piece of music.