Name: Traveler's Prayer
Brand: Shanachie Records
SKU: 64589
Price: 18.89 USD
Availability: InStock

Traveler's Prayer

Rating

Album: Traveler's Prayer
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Bunyan's Hymn (Monks Gate)	More Info...	0:03
2)	When The Wind Begins To Sing	More Info...	0:06
3)	Wexford Lullaby	More Info...	0:04
4)	I Saw Three Ships/Newgate Hornpipe	More Info...	0:07
5)	Planxty Llanthony/Loftus Jones	More Info...	0:05
6)	Fagottanz	More Info...	0:04
7)	At The Break Of Day	More Info...	0:03
8)	Travellers' Prayer	More Info...	0:02
9)	South Wind/Feathered Nest	More Info...	0:09
10)	Estampie	More Info...	0:05

Album: Traveler's Prayer
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Bunyan's Hymn (Monks Gate)	More Info...	0:03
2)	When The Wind Begins To Sing	More Info...	0:06
3)	Wexford Lullaby	More Info...	0:04
4)	I Saw Three Ships/Newgate Hornpipe	More Info...	0:07
5)	Planxty Llanthony/Loftus Jones	More Info...	0:05
6)	Fagottanz	More Info...	0:04
7)	At The Break Of Day	More Info...	0:03
8)	Travellers' Prayer	More Info...	0:02
9)	South Wind/Feathered Nest	More Info...	0:09
10)	Estampie	More Info...	0:05

Performer Notes

Personnel: John Renbourn (acoustic guitar); Mairead Ni Dhomhnaill (vocals); Maire Breatnach (fiddle); Connor Byrne (flute); Joe McKenna (whistle, Uilleann pipes); Dick Lee (clarinet, recorder); Bill Kemp, Nick Turner (percussion).
The Voice Squad: Gerry Cullen, Phil Callery, Fran McPhail (vocals).
Engineers: Paul Ashe-Browne, Trevor Hutchinson, Nick Turner.
Recorded at The Works, Irishtown, Dublin, Ireland; Marguerite Studios, Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland; Watercolour Music, Ardgour, Locaber, Scotland. Includes liner notes by John Renbourn.
Personnel: John Renbourn (acoustic guitar, fiddle, flute, pipe, recorder, clarinet, percussion); Fran McPhail, Phil Callery, Gerry Cullen, Maighread N Dhomnaill (vocals); Joe McKenna (whistling, Uilleann pipe); Mire Breatnach (fiddle); Dick Lee (recorder, clarinet); Nik Turner, Billy Kemp (percussion).
Recording information: Marguerite Studios, Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland; Watercolour Music, Lochaber, Scotland; Works, Irishtown, Dublin, Ireland.
Unknown Contributor Role: Joan Pelosi.
Arranger: John Renbourn.
Celtic music was quite popular in the late '90s. Blame that faux-Irish RIVERDANCE business, if you must. The fact is that a lot of folk artists made obligatory Irish albums, most of which were pretty forgettable. John Renbourn's A TRAVELLER'S PRAYER is not one of those. It's not the guitarist's most inspired work; of his solo releases, THE LADY AND THE UNICORN retains that honor. But Renbourn's personal style is close enough to traditional Irish music that A TRAVELLER'S PRAYER doesn't sound like too much of a stretch.
Renbourn's preferred field is Renaissance and medieval music, meaning that his music is less exclusively British than that of folk artists working in more recent vintages. He therefore has fewer stylistic tropes to unlearn and re-learn. Though some of the Celtic-ized arrangements are a bit soppy, A TRAVELLER'S PRAYER is mostly very pleasant.

Professional Reviews

Dirty Linen (8-9/99, p.64) - "...marrying Irish melodies with English harmonies, and pushing beyond the boundaries of both traditions to create an intricate, multi-colored whole..."