Search - Dronolan's Tower :: Legends of Kitholan Vol. 1

A truly epic Medieval fantasy music CD. A great job!!!

John Rossi | Somers Point, NJ United States | 05/05/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'll try not to be to 'fancy' here, but I will say this. This CD is wonderful and a truly pleasurable listening experience.



1 Charge Of The Valiant- A real blood pumper. A distant horn call builds into a frenzy of urgent strings, percussion and horns. A real enegy booster for me.







2. The Return To Krangar- This starts with a beautiful oboe passage, swirling strings and great chorus. A tolling bell is a nice touch in spots of it. It has a heroic feel. In particular I like the feel imparted by the deep bass drums combined with a snare drum, but I love the sweetness of the choir and the strings. The horn passages are nice and majestic too.







3. The Traveller's Song- A very pastoral piece. I love the terrific interplay between the flute, harp, strings and other winds (the oboe once again I think.) I picture travelling through a forested area near sunset on horsback. Really beautiful. Plucked strings and soft percussion in the middle make it a bit exotic in sound too. The flute at the end is a tender touch.







4. Tales Of The Long Forgotten- For me this track was a weeper. It was one of a couple times I cried during this CD. The beginning in particular is HEARTBREAKING, with beautiful but mounful harp, flute and very soft female chorals. I was bawling during this. Deep drums and soft strings and horns meet the harp in the middle to enhance the mournful feel That is enchanced further by tolling bells and gripping male and female chorus and strings. Bottom line, I REALLY love this one.







5. Allendale Square- I love the festive feel of the beginning of this, given by energetic drums, plucked strings and winds, like a flute of some type. It feels like an ancient Medieval dance. Later we get some nice soaring strings to give a 'cozy' feel, like we've come home to our village. Great piece. I love what sounds like a pennywhistle in the middle, floating over the top of a bed of strings, before the stirngs come back to the front, with horns under them. Nice flute ending to this.







6. Balisaar's Great Beast- One word for this one. Tense. Mid-tempo, dominated by brooding strings and bassoon. Horns add a bit of a punch, Snare drums add a martial touch. Winds add an interesting flair to it for me.







7. The Empire Of Nosokru- I love the feel of this. Begun with sweeping strings that soar by, like a bed of sound, this piece features great plucked strings and flute that very much reminds me of the feel of Japanese or Asiatic music in places of it. I just love the inclusion of the shakuhachi (the Japanese bamboo flute) in here. Great percussion and horns as well.







8. Attack Of The Wraiths- Another tense piece. Begun with tense piano and strings, it builds into a quick chase dominated by pounding drums and urgent chorus. Run!!! :)







9. Lady Elowyn- Two words. Regal elegance. It's one of my favorite pieces on the disc, and very beautiful. The beginning is a beautiful blend of lovely harp and strings. Terrific flute soars through it in places, and the female chorals are very touching. It's another tear-jerker. Violin and cello do wonders for this piece.The harp and bassoon dance terrificly in the 'second' part, along with plucked strings. I LOVE the "pure" harp section in the 'middle' of this. The 'strength' of the Lady is conveyed by heroic and royal sounding horns and drums near the end. The end is a beautiful choral passage drifing back to tender harp and strings for a lovely closure.







10. Night Of The Dagger- I love the feel of this. For some reason the soft percussion and bell-like (xylophone) sounds remind me of African music. Tense and brooding strings and exotic percussion give the piece a punch, along with occasional choral bits. A great piece.







11. Sylvan Dreams- Harp and strings dance for us, with high winds. The feeling of this is restful, and very serene. Really really nice. Almost like a tender waltz in tempo. I love the flute in this that just glides over the top. Wonderful music.







12. Voyage Of The Defiant- This puts me in mind of a sea voyage. It has an adventurous feel dominated by horns and soft strings. Deep bass drums give us a nice undercurrent. Again, the feel is one of great courage and valor. The 'middle' part stars great dancing between a harp, a flute and strings. Then the horns and drums come back and build up again, coming to a great close.







13. The Redemption Of Lord Michael- Deep bass drums and brooding strings start us off. A tolling bell is a great touch. This feels almost tragic in tone sometimes. It still has a beauty all its own, as if the 'redemption' is a quest the title character undertakes. The harp and flute and female chorals in the middle add a beautiful touch before regal horns hit us with a really dramatic epic punch. Near the close, the horns and chorals and snare drums impart a heroic feel. Mission accomplished.







14. The Ruins Of Norgaard Keep- Tense harp, tolling bells and strings start us off. It's a beautiful blend of music. The violin, soft flute and female chorals give us even more poignancy. Wistful beauty dominates the piece, especially the blend of female chorals and harp in the middle. I just love the balance of tension and ethereal loveliness in this one.







15. The Battle Of Shadow Pass- The "showpiece' of the disc, it is a masterwork. Urgent snare drums and deeper percussion combine with compelling male and female chorals to drive us on towards heroic battle to forge the destiny of the realm. I love the galloping strings and horns that come through in parts of this. The stings and percussion get faster in the second part, carrying tense horns and choral work as we build towards the end of the epic clash. Frenzied horns and percusion dance for us, as we build towards the end of the "middle". Soaring female chorals are a very brief rest. The last part is a furious attack by horns, drums, strings, and choir before the 'battle' is finally complete. There is a celebratory passage of horns and choir and deep percussion at the very end of this. This piece alone would make the CD an epic work unto itself but it is one of 16 great works.







16. Journey's End- The beginning of this made me weep yet again. It's a beautiful blend of tender harp and terrific violin work. It is as if we have bonded with our adventure mates, and now we must bid them farewell. The piece brims with longing, courtesy of great horns and strings for a while. After a little, the strings and percussion take on a gentle, pastoral, heroic feel, as if we are returning home to our loved ones. The middle of the piece returns to the tender, tear-jerking blend of harps and strings, before the melody once again turns joyful as soft harp, horns and strings combine with flute to close out this number in gentle but grand fashion. We are home again.







In closing, this is one of the best CDs of epic Medieval Fantasy music I have ever had the pleasure to hear. If you like this genre of music at all, you owe it to yourself to get this. It is... in a word, terrific. An epic musical work that could rival any epic fantasy movie soundtrack. Great job! Get it, and enjoy it to the fullest.

"

Exciting, high quality fantasy music

Shannon Piesinger | 06/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is truly some of the best music I've heard in the genre in a long time. Even though it is technically an album designed specifically as accompaniment music for RPGs, it will appeal equally I think to non-gamers like myself who enjoy film soundtrack and fantasy music. There are many very inspiring, beautiful melodies. There is a mixture of exciting and exhilarating music, as well as softer, more introspective melodies. There are suspenseful tracks and there are tracks that have what I refer to as goosebump quality - ones that evoke powerful, deeply felt emotions. And the musical quality - both in terms of production and artistic value - are very high throughout.



Some of my favorites are Lord Michael's Redemption(goosebumps), Voyage of the Defiant, and Lady Elowyn's Theme. Each one is very distinctive and the qualities for which I like each one are different - which is I think, a fitting description of my thoughts on the album as a whole. Whether you're a gamer or a fantasy music fan, you're bound to enjoy it."

Exactly what a gaming session needs.

S. Dreyfus | 05/20/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I've enjoyed my share of role-playing games in the past, and something that any good GM will do is try to set a mood. Choosing the right background music is one of the best ways to do this. With this album one can set a scene for just about any coneivable fantasy event; dungeon crawling, combat, or just exploring a new kingdom.



The production quality is wonderful and the musical pieces are expertly crafted. You won't find yourself being distracted by music that sounds out of place or tinny."