Olaf Sickmann - Whistle Man (CD)

The eighth solo CD by composer, guitarist and tin whistle player Olaf Sickmann has it all. With a member and an ex-member of the internationally successful Irish music group Cara, he has gained top-class support that has made his new album Whistle Man a real gem. Rolf Wagels, one of the best European bodhrán players, and Claus Steinort, master of the Irish wooden flute, perfectly refine his wonderfully flowing compositions. Whistle Man has become an extremely lively, varied tin whistle CD, which is mainly inspired by traditional Irish music.
Crisp bodhrán playing meets virtuoso tin whistle melodies and the simple, energetic guitar accompaniments seem like a rolled-out carpet on which the music can unfold. Beautiful quiet pieces (e.g. Cave Music, To Be At Home), played by Claus Steinort and others with a timeless elegance and an unbelievable feeling for the respective composition, let the listener hear the famous pin drop and think of films like Braveheart and Lord of the Rings , before the action starts again (e.g. Whistle Reels) and you immediately find yourself in a traditional Irish music session. A rarely heard balance of technical perfection, feeling and wonderful, catchy compositions runs like a red thread through Whistle Man.
In pieces like A Morning Tune, the classical music education of his childhood shines through again and again. In the title track, Whistle Man, he sums up the wonderfully relaxed atmosphere of a stay in New Zealand in a film music style. Olaf Sickmann skilfully knows how to create an organic whole in which his passion for composition, tin whistle and traditional Irish music can be felt in every note. The booklet is full of little background stories about the pieces and thus brings the listener a little closer to Olaf Sickmann as a person. In recent years, his music has been heard more and more on radio and television, and one or the other piece by Whistle Man will certainly follow this path.

01 Nick & Leila / The wedding whistle
02 Go! / The autumn jig / The old water mill no. 2
03 Tune for Kevin
04 Bowed glass (flute version)
05 Dancing girls / The german hornpipe
06 My girls / Paul the cat / Yes or not
07 Olaf's No. 2 / Polka on a Thursday morning / Controverse / Coastfire
08 cave music
09 whistle waltz no. 3 / The barber / Joseph
10 Whistle Reel No. 1 / Whistle Reel No. 2
11 White house / Letter from Scotland
12 To be at home
13 Whistle man
14 Early / A morning tune
15 Bowed glass (whistle version)