''Return of the Guardians'' is an album by

David Arkenstone David Arkenstone (born July 1, 1952) is an American composer and performer. His music is primarily instrumental, with occasional vocalizations. Most of Arkenstone's music falls into new age category; however, he also worked in other genres, inclu ...

, released in 1996. It is the final album in a trilogy that includes '' In the Wake of the Wind'' and ''

Quest of the Dream Warrior ''Quest of the Dream Warrior'' is an album by David Arkenstone, released in 1995. It is the second album in a trilogy that begins with '' In the Wake of the Wind'' and concludes with ''Return of the Guardians''. The album is based on a fantasy s ...

''. The album is based on a fantasy story by Arkenstone and

Mercedes Lackey Mercedes Ritchie Lackey (born June 24, 1950) is an American writer of fantasy novels. Many of her novels and trilogies are interlinked and set in the world of Velgarth, mostly in and around the country of Valdemar. Her Valdemar novels include i ...

that appears in the booklet. It revolves around the characters of Andolin from ''In the Wake of the Wind'' and Kyla from ''Quest of the Dream Warrior''. The album also comes with a fold-out map of the world in which the story is set. Of note is the prominent violin in several tracks. Unlike the previous album in the series, there are no songs sung by Arkenstone.

Track listing

#"Border Journey" – 4:16 #"Trail of Tears" – 4:59 #"Chosen Voices" – 6:29 #"Winds of Change" – 5:12 #"The Forgotten Lands" – 5:13 #"Two Hearts" – 4:21 #"City in the Clouds" – 6:27 #"Mask" – 5:45 #"Water of Life" – 8:52 #*"Out of Darkness" #*"Transformation" #"Reunion" – 4:16 * All tracks composed by David Arkenstone except "Trail of Tears" by David Arkenstone and Dan Chase

Personnel

– acoustic and electric guitars,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

flutes The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

, Turkish saz,

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...

cittern The cittern or cithren ( Fr. ''cistre'', It. ''cetra'', Ger. ''Cister,'' Sp. ''cistro, cedra, cítola'') is a stringed instrument dating from the Renaissance. Modern scholars debate its exact history, but it is generally accepted that it is d ...

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

, sound design * Danny Chase –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

, additional engineering, sound design * Sid Page –

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

* John Klemmer –

soprano sax The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third-smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo, sop ...

* Wayne Lothian –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

* Jay Leslie – flute * Abdou M'boup – bugarabu, shakere, tama, sabar 'ndeer, bongo * Carlos del Puerto Llera – bass on "Chosen Voices" * Dash Arkenstone,

Mark Isham Mark Ware Isham (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician and film composer. A trumpeter and keyboardist, Isham works in a variety of genres, including jazz and electronic. He is also a film composer, having worked on numerous films and t ...

, David Evans – additional guitars on "Reunion" * Val Arkenstone – drums on "Reunion" *

Diane Arkenstone Diane Arkenstone is a multi-genre musician. Career Arkenstone, who grew up in California, wrote her first song at the age of three and started playing guitar at the age of seven. She is trained as an opera singer. In her early career, she co ...

–

synthesizers A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

* Church of Scientology Choir – Marcia Powell, director; Carol Worthey, vocal arrangements

References

{{Authority control 1996 albums David Arkenstone albums Narada Productions albums