Tony McManus and Julia Toaspern – Celtic Connections – Mackintosh Church –January 31, 2026 

The last time we saw Tony and Julia playing was at a house concert in Castle Douglas, in the garden.  Now we had come to the intimate setting of the Mackintosh Church, to enjoy the music of two of my most favourite musicians.

Tony is acknowledged as The World, and Paisleys, Number One Celtic Guitarist, but he is so much more than that. He’s equally adept playing classical music and jazz. Don’t take my word for it. Check out his interpretation of Goodbye Pork Pie Hat, the legendary 1959 Jazz instrumental composed by Charles Mingus, and his 2013 album Mysterious Boundaries which features work by Bach, Satie and other classical composers and grew out of a challenge to learn Bach’s E-major Prelude. When he contacted me to tell me he was sending me a copy he said ‘This will confuse the bejesus out of the critics.’

It was over a conversation about Bach that Tony first met Julia Toaspern, a German, classically trained multiinstrumentalist, singer, and composer equally at home playing anything from jazz to baroque, and traditional music.

Now to the performance. They came on stage and launched straight into a guitar duet, demonstrating the conversational interplay which is a main feature of their playing, moving seamlessly from melody to accompaniment with both intricate parts being woven together to create a single musical fabric from two guitars.

They followed that with sets of reels, then Jigs, including the Seanamac tube station Connemara, composed by  Irish fiddler John Carty.  Of course there are no tube stations in Connemara. It’s founded on a popular joke and was introduced by Tony in his trademark style of dry, understated, humour.  He’s not stand-up, just incredibly funny, entertaining, and full of self-mockery.

Next were a couple of Breton Waltzes, one called the Shepherd’s Waltz and we learned that Julia goes to Tain every Summer to work for a short time as a shepherd. Then a beautiful rendition of her song Kentucky, about the travels she made through America with an Irishman. A bunch of states are mentioned and if you can name them all, you get a free CD. ‘One of Julia’s’, says Tony.

I particularly enjoyed the haunting, 17th century Irish slow air, Limerick’s Lamentation.   Tony is a guest tutor each year at Limerick University’s, Irish World Academy of Music and Dance.

More jigs were followed by a Greek tune that Tony first heard in Melbourne  and a song about family, called Apart, written by Julia. Then Tony told his story of being asked by Dougie Maclean to play guitar on a song he would be singing at Celtic Connections in the early 90’s. Tony asked what one and was told that it hadn’t been written yet. It turned out to be We Sailed The Seven Seas.

Tony arrived back late in Scotland, missed the soundcheck, heard the chorus in the dressing room and the first verse on stage.  I’ll wager no one noticed. Their arrangement, with Julia on fiddle and singing harmony, was outstanding.

The Brazilian Jazz standard Manhã de Carnaval was next, then a set of Breton Tunes to finish. The level of applause demanded their return for an encore, one last set, which included their arrangement of Janine’s Reel.

This was our final concert bringing a fabulous two-week extravaganza to a close. I plan to sleep until September.

HUGH TAYLOR