Not only was Seamus Ennis one of the great masters of the uilleann pipes, he was also a highly regarded singer, storyteller, and folklorist. As you might expect from the title, the bulk of Forty Years of Irish Piping is devoted to his skillful playing, but it also includes some of Ennis's versions of old songs and stories, including "Don Niperi Septo," which was said to be a favorite of the blind harper Turlough O'Carolan. Ennis used a set of pipes made in Dublin in the early 1800s that sound at a lower pitch than is common in modern sets. The old flat set, as it is called in piper's circles, has a sweeter, mellower tone than a set of new pipes, and when played by a musician of Ennis's ability, they are capable of a sound that is both mournful and thrilling. Unlike many contemporary players who mix the uilleann pipes with other instruments, Ennis always played the old dance tunes and slow airs the old way, alone and without accompaniment. The sound quality on some of the earlier tracks is not up to current standards and the pipes occasionally let loose with an unexpected squawk, but the magic of the music more than makes up for the shortcomings. --Michael Simmons