Renaissance of the Celtic Harp

1	Ys 8:40
2	Marv Pontkallec 3:27
3	Ap Huw and Penllyn 2:56
4	Eliz Iza 2:54
5	Gaeltacht 18:54

Barnes & Noble

Long before Riverdance or Clannad or Loreena McKennitt; long before every record label felt compelled to offer a goblet of Celtic elixir, there was Breton harper Alan Stivell. It's safe to call him the Godfather of Celtic New Age music, the one who rediscovered ancient sounds and repackaged ancient symbols for a myth-hungry world. He almost single-handedly saved the ancient bardic small harp from extinction, rekindling an interest in its trad repertoire and simultaneously showing it to be a versatile vehicle for improvisatory excursions. He drew around him a circle of gifted musicians, including guitarist Dan Ar Bras and singer Gabriel Yacoub (who went on to found Malicorne). RENAISSANCE OF THE CELTIC HARP is a watershed, revealing entirely new possibilities for traditional music. On "Gaeltacht," tunes from Ireland, Brittany, and Scotland flow through Stivell's hands in a haunting, continuous slipstream of impeccable playing. His ethereal arrangement of "Eliz Iza," an old Breton folk melody, is still striking in its shimmering beauty, even to ears jaded by the countless lesser talents that have since then tromped through Stivell's gauzy Middle Earth on their way to New Age Valhalla. Erik Goldman

All Music Guide

People who hear this record are never the same again. Renaissance of the Celtic Harp, one of the most beautiful and haunting records ever made by anybody, introduced the Celtic harp to many thousands of listeners around the world. To call this music gorgeous and ravishing would be the height of understatement--indeed, there aren't words in the English language to describe this record adequately. The opening work, "Ys," ais a piece inspired by the legend of the fifth century capital of the kingdom of Cornwall, which was engulfed by a flood as punishment for its sins. (Debussy wrote one of his finest works, "The Engulfed Cathedral," later adapted by the group Renaissance into "The Harbor" on Ashes Are Burning, based on the same legend). The reflective "Marv Pontkellec" is every bit as sublimely beautiful, but the highlight of this record is "Gaeltacht," a 19 minute musical journey by Stivell's harp across the Gaelic lands of Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. Bruce Eder