Each year at A Christmas Celtic Sojourn, I get to recite a poem by my late friend and Celtic fiddle phenom, Johnny Cunningham. Thru his work with Silly Wizard and brilliant solo career, Johnny had a huge influence on the current state of Celtic music. He died suddenly in 2003 at the age of 46. His short poem here, The Dark of Winter, pays tribute to his own memories of a Scottish Christmas and often leads into a playful interplay of musicians and dancers, like it might have in the parlours, kitchens or sitting-rooms of old at Christmas time.

In this sequence, Kevin Doyle has fun trading off steps and rhythms, musical jokes, and jibes with percussionist Ben Wittman. Brilliant stuff.