The way the traditional Irish folk song “O’Sullivan’s March” fades in is a thing of delicate beauty. Minimalist piano notes and violin drones gradually enter the mix, an ambient overture befitting an experimental artist like Oren Ambarchi and not a traditional Celtic musician. A few plaintive notes on fiddle start, though, and Bostonian Jenna Moynihan slowly works her way into a heart-wrenching rendition of the classic track. It’s but one of many exquisite moments on her latest album Woven.
“I learned “O’Sullivan’s March” at a fiddle camp in the Redwood forest,” Moynihan tells PopMatters, “and I still hear that tune like I did then: walking towards it, it comes into focus – and I can stay and live in that moment for a while before I wander away. Now when it’s time to play it, I choose to imagine that it’s still been going somewhere in those trees, and I’m just picking it up again. Maeve Gilchrist, who produced the record, arranged the string trio, and I was joined by Duncan Wickel and Alex Hargreaves – two of the most beautiful fiddle players you’ll ever hear.
Woven is out now and is available here.