Music of Celtic Legends: The Bard & The Warrior

Description

Music of Celtic Legends: The Bard & The Warrior is an instrumental album by the American singer, songwriter, keyboardist and producer Jeff Johnson & Brian Dunning, released on Windham Hill Records in 1997, manufactured and distributed by BMG. The album was produced by Jeff Johnson. The album is a soundtrack inspired from two ancient tales of Celtic adventure written by best-selling fantasy author Stephen Lawhead. Two of the most important figures of Celtic legend are Taliesin, the bard and cuChulainn, the warrior. Their deeds, remembered and recorded by the monks of Britain and Ireland, have been handed down to us as a legacy of a now-vanished world.

From a time cloaked in legend comes the story of ‘The Bard and the Warrior’ – Taliesin and cuChulainn – both heroic and romantic figures from an era that began with the twilight of classical antiquity. They come from an age where the miraculous was accepted without question, where the supernatural intersected with the bleak reality of everyday life on a regular basis.

Jeff Johnson has self-produced over two dozen solo releases, with music ranging from conventional contemplative to the wildly eccentric. And if you’ve followed the career of the composer, then his fascination with all things of Celtic history comes as no surprise. His partner on this project, flutist Brian Dunning, previously collaborated with Johnson on three releases inspired by Steven Lawhead’s ‘Song of Albion‘.

This new release on the Windham Hill label weaves together an instrumental tapestry somewhat reminiscent of groups like Arkangel or Iona, or the music of Enya, as well as the aforementioned ‘Albion’ releases. For sheer ethereal beauty, it is hard to match tracks like «The Raven Stone» with its enchanting blend of flute, wordless vocals, wind chimes and bird songs. It is music that rises like incense. «cuChulainn’s Last Battle» brings to mind the movie soundtracks of ‘Highlander’ and ‘Braveheart’.

Spiritually, this is not a Christian album per se, although it is suggestive with spiritual themes. Those offended by references to magic and pre-Christian superstition should be forewarned: “The Dream of Taliesin,” a story contained in the liner notes, is a mystical fable – with a happy ending, of course. After all, as the title says, this is music inspired by Celtic legends. It doesn’t claim to teach history or theology; it only passes along the stories of the heroes of old through the wonderfully compelling combination of flutes, pipes, whistles, keyboards and vocals. As such, ‘The Bard and the Warrior’ is a sonic banquet too rich and satisfying to turn down. [Scott Thunder, CCM, May 1997]

CD tracklist:

01. The Bard & The Warrior – 4:48
02. The Dream Of Taliesin – 4:18
03. Tylwyth Teg (Fair Folk) – 4:55
04. The Crossing – 2:24
05. The Fortunate Isle – 4:09
06. Lady Sovereignity – 4:16
07. cuChulainn’s Last Battle – 2:54
08. The Raven Stone – 3:52
09. Ways Of The Warrior – 4:00
10. Isle Of The Everliving – 5:42
11. The Ancient Song – 2:36

Note: There is a fourteen page booklet which includes “The Dream of Taliesin” among other writing by Steve Lawhead. Available at Bandcamp: https://jeffjohnsonarkmusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-bard-the-warrior