Micho Russell (25 March 1915 – 19 February 1994) was an Irish musician and author best known for his expert

tin whistle The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, putting it in the same class as the recorder, Native American flute, and other woodwind instruments that meet such criteria. ...

performance. He also played the simple-system

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

and was a collector of traditional music and

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging fro ...

Biography

Russell was born in Doonagore,

Doolin Doolin () is a coastal village in County Clare, Ireland, on the Atlantic coast. It is southwest of the spa town of Lisdoonvarna and 4 miles from the Cliffs of Moher. It is a noted centre of traditional Irish music, which is played nightly in ...

, County Clare, Ireland.Vallely (1999), p324 Russell came from a musically renowned family, his mother played the

concertina A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It consists of expanding and contracting bellows, with buttons (or keys) usually on both ends, unlike accordion buttons, which are on the front. The ...

,Michio Russell Family Weekend biography and his father was a sean-nós singer. He had two brothers, Packie and Gussie, who were also musicians. He also had two sisters. He never married.

Music

Russell taught himself to play the tin whistle by ear starting at age eleven. The 1960s revival of

Irish traditional music Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland. In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there w ...

brought him attention and performance opportunities. In 1973, Russell won the All-Ireland tin whistle competition,The Russells
/ref> which further increased demand for his performances. Like Séamus Ennis, Russell was also known for his spoken introductions to tunes in his live performances, which incorporated folklore and legend. His knowledge of tradition extended past music to language, stories, dance, herbal lore, and old country cures.Piggott

Death

Russell died in a car accident on 19 February 1994 on his way home from a gig just prior to going back into the studio to record another CD.

Works

Original music

"Micho Russell's Reel," his only known composition, is a variant of an older tune he called "Carthy's Reel." He told Charlie Piggott, "...So Carthy was beyond anyway and he heard the old tune from a piper playing it and he had the first part but only three-quarters of the second part. So when Séamus Ennis came around collecting music, I put in the last bit. That's roughly the story of the tune." The reel has been recorded by other artists such as Mary Bergin. His best-known songs were ''John Phillip Holland'' and ''The Well of Spring Water''.Vallely (1999), p. 325

Discography

Books

References

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External links

Biography at Micho Russell Festival Weekend
Includes biographical abstract and select bibliography / discography.

Publisher's site.

in Musical Traditions Internet Magazine

Includes

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...

sound clips and extensive commentary on Russell's style
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann biography

Old Photos of Micho Russell and Doolin

Micho Russell biography and four of Russell's albums available from this site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Micho Irish flautists Irish tin whistle players Musicians from County Clare 1915 births 1994 deaths 20th-century flautists