Track Listing

1. Prophecy
2. Child Deirdre
3. Sons of Uisnach
4. Under High Branches
5. Loch Etive
6. Vision
7. South by Sail
8. Defeat of the Red Branch
9. Druid
10. Drowning Plains
11. Lament
12. Two Trees

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8493 in Music
• Released on: 1996-05-21
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

Inspiring and breathtakingly beautiful!
This lush, evocative "soundtrack" by the Brothers Danna brings to life the legend of Deirdre with mystery, excitement, sorrow and Celtic flare. Mychael and Jeff's melodies for whistle, fiddle, soprano, harp and plaintive pipes penetrate the heart and linger on in memory long after the CD player has been turned off. And unlike many folk and new age compositions, this music has real complexity and depth. No excessive repetition here--the harmonies move and change, percussion varies, themes emerge and fade, and the melodies travel onward from beginning to end. This is a true symphony of sound, featuring sixteen talented solo-musicians backed by the Utah Orchestra. "A Celtic Tale: The Legend of Deirdre" actually comes in two versions: music only, and the same music as background for "The Thistle and Shamrock's" Fiona Ritchie while she narrates the story in her delightful brogue. If you like this recording, try the very lovely and complimentary "A Celtic Romance: The Legend of Liadain and Curithir", also by the Danna brothers, and also the surprisingly similar "The Merlin Mystery" by Alkaemy.

Very beautiful and melancholy
I have listened to this CD so many times since I bought it. It is absolutely the most beautiful piece of work I have heard in a long time. Each piece of music has it's own mood, and each mood is appropriate for that part of the story. The use of sound effects in some of the songs is very effective, and I think this is one of the few CD's I own where the bagpipes didn't end up dominating all of the other instruments in the orchestra. I can imagine the story of Deirdre and Naoise as the CD plays along, and I find this to be a good musical retelling of one of my most favorite stories. My only concern here is that the story included with the CD is not an accurate translation of the story of Naoise and Deirdre. Rather, it seems to be like so many of the edited versions of the tale I've read where the author takes out what he doesn't like and makes the story to suit his own personal taste. This is the version that the music of the CD is based on, and since it doesn't mar my experience as long as I don't read it, I think it would have been better to go with the original tale instead of a "Hollywood" version. (Deirdre kills herself in the original tale, she doesn't simply die from grief).

I knew nothing about this before.
Really. I had never heard anything about Mychael Danna, nor Jeff Danna. I knew nothing about Deirdre. Just I saw a beautiful cover, so I asked to the dealer for a chance to listen to samples of this CD. It was not possible, as it was sealed and it was the only one they had. So I bought it and run to my home to listen the music. It was wonderful, even now is one of my favorites and I can dare to anybody: listen those beautiful sounds with celtic flavour, full of emotions, melancholy as strenght. You will never forget it.