"In Journey Of The Celts, Will Millar and Paul Horn successfully collaborative to produce a superb, 47 minute compilation of ethnic music that portrays the dramatic story of the Irish exodus to the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Featured are traditional Irish whistles, fiddle, harp, Uillean pipes and hammered dulcimer, along with banjo, guitar, cello, drums, flute, and a "Didjeridoo". Journey Of The Celts features Passing Of The Gael (7:27); Farewell To Erin (6:48); Their Spirit Unbroken (3:30); Ships Are Sailing (3:44); A Fighting Race (5:37); Music Box Memories (4:57); Iron Paddies (4:08); Distant Horizons (7:00); and Island Of Tears (3:36)."
GREAT STUFF!!
John Rossi | Somers Point, NJ United States | 04/27/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I just got home from picking this up at a local music store, and all I have to say is WOW! I don't want to go into a song-by-song description here, but I will tell you this. This collection of tunes, done largely with the usual Celtic instruments (Harp, fiddle, flute, bodhran drum, Uilleann pipes, etc) does a PERFECT job of exploring the spirit of the Irish people. Piano, didjeridoo and other instruments appear as well, but they do not distract. In fact they fit nicely, and they show how the Irish culture musically influenced other ones throughout the centuries. Tenderness, sorrow, joyousness, melancholy beauty, ethereal loveliness, and the adventure-loving determination of a people determined to survive despite incredible hardships. It's all here. This is one of the BEST instrumental Irish music CD's I have heard in YEARS. Pick it up, and you just might grow to love it as much as I do. Peace, and God bless you and yours, always."
Wonderfully evocative!! A Must
Deborah MacGillivray | US & UK | 05/17/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This CD was sent to me as part of my work for Rambles, a Celtic Web-magazine where I am on staff. We are sent a list and we pick by title - books and music - that we will review. I selected this by name only, so you can imagine my surprise at finding how beautiful, haunting....well words do little justice to Will Millar and Paul Horn's masterpiece.This marvellous compilation of songs follows the Irish people at the time of the Great Hunger, the potato famine that killed so many in Ireland, and sent many more overseas trying to find a new life. It was a terrible time, a time of uncertainty, touched with fleeting moments of joy, and all these emotions are captured with the subtle work of these gentleman. They fall back heavily on traditional Celtic music, without going over old ground. It is a stunning work that weaves moods and nuances, the sorrow, the fear, the hopes.The history is never to be forgotten, and this amazing album spins a potent magic that serves those memories well.Anyone who enjoys Celtic music such as Leahy, Clannad or even more traditional works will want this for their collection and play it often.Pure Celtic Magic!"
A complex, richly voiced journey from the old world to the n
Brianna Neal | USA | 10/01/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Will Millar, of Irish Rovers fame, created this musical saga about the flight of the Irish to America during the potato famine of the mid-1800s. Suitably wistful and sentimental, spiced with dashes of jaunty spirit, and flavored with more than a touch of the cinematic, Millar's suite blends arrangements of traditional tunes with his own, original compositions. Featuring Millar on Irish whistle and Paul Horn on flute, the pieces are grouped into topical sections and flow from one to another like chapters in a story. I especially like the sad, weighty opening section, the fusion of American and Irish influences in some of the pieces, and the lively, traditional jigs scattered throughout the album. Although the moods vary, and the musical styles range from traditional pub music to jazz to modern, orchestrated film-score, the consistently lush, stylish, multi-layered arrangements tie all the selections together. The roster of instrumentalists involved in this production is as long and far-ranging as the migration that inspired the project: Will Millar, on whistle, percussion, mandolin, banjo and lute, and New Age flutist Paul Horn are joined by Daniel Lapp on fiddle, coronet and Fluegel horn, guitarists David Sinclair and Dennis Donnelly, harpist Mary Murphy, hammered dulcimer player Rosemary Beland, pianist David Walker, conga player Charlie Wade, piper Bill Poppy, accordion player Sandy Jasper, cellist Ellen Himmer, and Neil Burnett on harp, low whistles and Irish flute. For other well-orchestrated Irish music, try Joanie Madden's "Song of the Irish Whistle I and II," and "Two Horizons" by Moya Brennan. And for more traditional American fare, you might enjoy "A Song of Home: An American Musical Journey" by James Galway, Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, "ForeignLander" by Lydia McCauley, "American Angels" by Anonymous 4, or anything by the group Simple Gifts.