Photo Vincent Mouchel.
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This
time the tent in the forecourt of the Théâtre de Cornouaille was packed.
4-500 people welcomed Mairtin O'Connor, the renowned Irish accordion
player. This concert was a real treat for traditional music lovers,
with Mairtin's humour and likeableness an added bonus.
The Festival organisers are to be congratulated for their decision to
put two specialists - Alain Pennec and Yann-Fanch Perroches - in charge
of organising the accordion concert programme. Each evening at 18.30pm
in the theatre forecourt brought a new and pleasant surprise. The Bulgarian
player Neno Koytchev, the Basque Joseba Tapia : this voyage through
the accordion universe came to an abrupt halt in Ireland last night,
with Mairtin O'Connor. The spectators knew what they were about, and
the queue grew to 50 metres in front of the tent before the doors opened.
Mairtin started playing accordion when he was 9, and bubbled onto the
Irish music scene at the end of the 1970's. He has played with the great
names, from the Chieftans to the Dubliners, and has brought out several
solo albums, for example "Chatterbox", a collection of his own compositions.
He started the evening with a funny Irish story before sweeping the
audience away with him in a whirlwind of dances, the excellent Nicolas
Quéméner at his side on guitar. Nicolas is Servat's accompanist, and
a member of Skeduz. During the evening he also demonstrated his skill
as a flautist - long live the bagpipes!
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