Mary Ann Kennedy played a track from this album on Radio 3 a couple of years ago. She mentioned that, when the promotional copy arrived, her "other half" had promptly borrowed it before she had a chance to give it a listen. I don't know quite why I remember that detail, though it could be that what struck me was the injustice that someone already blessed with being Mary Ann Kennedy's other half should also be afforded the fringe benefit of free CDs into the bargain.
The boxes that the track ticked for me were: an instrument, the tambal, that combines percussion and strings (a bit like the prepared piano, see video below); repetition; and, to a lesser extent, speed.
As it turns out, there isn't as much repetition on the album as I was hoping for — no raga-like playing, as with James Blackshaw, for example. But, by God, there's plenty of speed. The sleeve notes claim he struck the strings at 25 beats per second. 25 beats per second: almost unbelievable. True, he plays notes faster than my ears can hear them. But the images in film and TV run at 24 or 25 frames a second, so, on that basis, you wouldn't be able to see his hands move on film. Or at least, you'd get an effect similar to the wagon wheels on old cowboy films, where the spokes appear to be rotating backwards. Have a look at this video, and, towards the end it is indeed pretty difficult to see the movement of his hands.
I'd never heard of Iordache before Mary Ann's introduction, but the sleeve notes (see excerpt) go on to say he was one of the three most feted Romanians of his era, alongside the wicked Nicolae Ceausescu and the mischievous Ilie Nastase. Nastase, eh? Haven't thought about him for a long time, but he had something about him, for sure. Remarkably, there appear to be more decent YouTube videos of Iordache than of Nastase, so again the sleeve notes are acquitted of hyperbole.
These notes also tell the story of Iordache being sentenced to hard labour for the petty crime of having some foreign currency to buy his wife a hard coat. he was so revered that fellow inmates carried out his duties for him, lest he damage his hands and be unable to continue playing after his release.
As the title suggests, the CD is one of a series, focusing on Romanian and gypsy music, though the term "bygone age" seems a little harsh for a man born the year after Bob Dylan.
Toni Iordache played mostly at Romanian weddings, and here, as a final treat to send you off, is Mary Ann Kennedy singing some "mouth music", including some Scottish wedding music.
MusicBrainz entry for this album
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