The Celtic Lute

Ronn McFarlane

20,9922,99
Clear
Original Recording Format: DXD
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There are Celtic Music Specialty radio shows and on-demand audio channels. Celtic Music albums are sold in health food and yoga stores. We know it when we hear it. Right?

So, what is it? There’s a loose definition (or maybe tacit agreement) that Celtic Music is found in those European cultures where the Celtic tribes invaded. Aside from Ireland and Scotland, Wales qualifies, as does Brittany, the Galician part of Spain, the Isle of Man. If we focus just on the Gaelic language group and fine-tune it to just Scotland and Ireland, we really know what we are hearing, right?

Do we? While there is plentiful cross-pollination between these two nations and ancient shared heritage, they are not the same place, and their music is not a single common recipe using slightly different ingredients. Irish stew is not haggis.

Tracklist

Please note that the below previews are loaded as 44.1 kHz / 16 bit.
1.
Carolan's Welcome
00:01
2.
Banish Misfortune
00:01
3.
The Battle of Harlaw
00:01
4.
Pipe on the Hob
00:01
5.
Cliffs of Moher
00:01
6.
Hey My Nanny - Guzzle Together
00:01
7.
O'Carolan's Dream
00:03
8.
Sheebeg and Sheemore
00:02
9.
The Flowers of Edinburgh
00:03
10.
Miss Noble
00:01
11.
Fanny Power
00:02
12.
The Flaggon
00:01
13.
The Stool of Repentance
00:01
14.
The Lone Vale
00:02
15.
Flee Over the Water
00:01
16.
Hoop Her and Gird Her
00:01
17.
If I Had a Bonny Lass
00:01
18.
Lady Athenry
00:02
19.
The Seas Are Deep
00:01
20.
Tune Without Title, No. 172
00:02
21.
The Monaghan Jig
00:02
22.
The Kid on the Mountain
00:02
23.
Blind Mary
00:03
24.
George Brabazon
00:01
25.
Separation of the Body and Soul
00:02
26.
The Butterfly
00:02

Total time: 00:00:41

Additional information

Label

SKU

DSL92225

Qualities

, ,

Channels

Artists

Composers

, ,

Genres

,

Digital Converters

Merging Technologies Horus (Recording) and Hapi (Mastering)

Editing Software

Pyramix

Loudspeakers

Legacy Audio

Mastering Engineer

Daniel Shores

Mastering Room

Legacy Audio

Awards

Instruments

Original Recording Format

Producer

Dan Merceruio

Recording Engineer

Daniel Shores, Allison Noah

Recording location

Sono Luminus Studios, Boyce, Virginia

Recording Software

Merging

Recording Type & Bit Rate

DXD

Release DateJuly 27, 2018

Press reviews

Positive Feedback

The lute is an ancient instrument with its forebearers having been traced back to 3100 BCE in Mesopotamia. Though a popular instrument during the Middle Ages, the lute reached its zenith during the Renaissance. While gradually falling out of favor after the Renaissance, the lute was still being widely used during the Baroque period. By the late 1700s the lute had pretty much disappeared from the music world. It did not reappear until the early music movement started in the second half of the 20th century.

The Celtic Lute contains music of Irish and Scottish origins from the 18th century. Ten of the tracks are the performer’s arrangements of the harp music of Turlough O’Carolan (1670 – 1738). One track is the music of James Oswald (1711-1769). The other fifteen tracks are arrangements of traditional Irish and Scottish music that have come down through the centuries.

For those of you who have followed the Dorian and Sono Luminus labels since the 1980s you will recognized the name of Ronn McFarlane as his lute playing talent has been recorded on 36 albums from these two labels. Most of these albums were either duets with other early music musicians or with ensembles such as Ayreheart or the Baltimore Consort. Of these 36 albums The Celtic Lute is his 9th solo album. His previous solo album was released in 2007. It has been a long drought for those of us who love and are mesmerized by his phenomenal mastery of the lute. The album contains 26 tracks totaling 56 minutes.

So what is the album like? Sonically, it is a typical Sono Luminus release. This means the recorded sound does not get much better than this. Sono Luminus prides itself on the quality of their recording, mastering and production and they have the awards to show for it. If I close my eyes while listening, Ronn is seated fifteen feet in front of me. If I could hear him breathing it would be a near perfect illusion of the real thing. I can think of only a couple of other albums, also recordings of solo instruments, in my music collection that invoke with this kind of realism.

Music-wise, this is not a head-banging album. No surprise there. The lute does not do LOUD, though some of the tracks, such as Pipe on the Hob and The Stool of Repentance, will get your toe to tapping. However, most of the tracks are listening music. The soft, mellow sound of the lute is woven into intricate music patterns by a master lutenist. Sit back and relax. Let the music captivate you. Let it wash over you and leave the world behind. I find the music very relaxing. Just the thing to listen to after fighting your way home through rush hour traffic.

Music of this sort is not for everyone. But if you are into early music or the lute, you will love this album.

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