''Ancient Land'' is the twelfth studio album and eleventh home video release by the group

Celtic Woman Celtic Woman is an all-female Irish musical ensemble conceived and created by David Kavanagh, Sharon Browne and David Downes, a former musical director of the Irish stage show ''Riverdance.'' In 2004, Downes recruited five Irish female music ...

Background

The album was recorded at

Real World Studios Real World Studios is a residential recording studio complex founded by Peter Gabriel and situated in the village of Box, Wiltshire, England, near to the city of Bath. It is closely associated with the Real World Records record label, Real Wor ...

, Herbert Place Studios, Beechpark Studios, and Jam Studios in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in July 2018. The digital album was released on 28 September 2018 and the CD was released on 26 October 2018, with a digital deluxe edition following on 6 September 2019.Celtic Woman Limited, Liner Notes, ''Celtic Woman: Ancient Land''. Manhattan Records. 2018. CD. The album is produced, arranged, and orchestrated by Gavin Murphy and includes a mixture of traditional Irish songs and contemporary arrangements. The lead performers are vocalists

Mairéad Carlin Mairéad Carlin is an Irish singer. She is a former member of the ensemble Celtic Woman and was the first-ever member of the group that was born in Northern Ireland. Early life Carlin was born in Derry. "Derry, my hometown, is a very cultured and ...

Éabha McMahon Éabha McMahon (pronounced ''AY-va'') is a contralto Irish singer and a former member of the ensemble Celtic Woman. In 2020 she began recording music under the name AVA. Early life Éabha was born in Dublin, Ireland on 9 December 1990. She is a ...

, and

Megan Walsh Megan Ruby Walsh (born 19 February 1997) is an Irish singer who joined the singing group Celtic Woman in 2018. Biography Early life and education Megan Ruby Walsh was born on 19 February 1997. Her middle name "Ruby" comes from her maternal gran ...

as well as instrumentalist

Tara McNeill Tara McNeill (pronounced ''TAR-a'') is an Irish violinist, harpist, and soprano singer from Antrim, Northern Ireland. Early life and career McNeill comes from a family that is musically inclined. All her siblings play musical instruments. At S ...

. ''Ancient Land'' was Walsh's studio debut and live debut with the group. An accompanying concert special of the same title was recorded live outside of Johnstown Castle in

County Wexford County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí Ceinns ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

on 13 and 14 September 2018 in front of an invited audience. It was the group's first outdoor special since '' Songs from the Heart'' was recorded nine years prior. The special began airing on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

in November 2018, and was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 25 January 2019. Both the album and concert special were both dedicated to Dave Kavanagh, one of the founders of Celtic Woman, who died on 6 April 2018, and was, according to the group, "our founder, our leader, our guiding light. Sé mo laoch mo ghile mear."

Track listing

Notes * Tracks 17 and 18 were not available on the digital album, only on the physical CD and digital deluxe edition. * Tracks 1, 4, 6, 15, 17 and 18 were original tracks written by Gavin Murphy. * Tracks 4 and 18 were co-written by

Méav Ní Mhaolchatha Méav Ní Mhaolchatha ( , ), mononymously known as Méav, is an Irish singer, songwriter and recording artist specialising in the traditional music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary ...

. * Track 14 was written by

and Ciarán Byrne. * Track 15 was co-written by Johnny B. Broderick.

Personnel

Per the liner notes: Celtic Woman *

– vocals *

– vocals, tin whistle *

– fiddle, harp *

– vocals Musicians * Bill Shanley – guitars * James Blennerhassett – bass guitar, double bass * Paul Clarvis – drums, percussion * Noel Eccles – percussion * Liam Bradley – drums * Alex Vann – mandolin bouzouki * John O'Brien – uilleann pipes, whistles * Darragh Murphy – uilleann pipes, whistles * Cormac DeBarra – Irish harp * Peter Browne – accordion * Declan Aungier – accordion * Anthony Byrne – bagpipes * Glenn Murphy – background vocals * Ronan Scolard – background vocals * Simon Morgan – background vocals * Paul McGough – background vocals * Daryn Crosbie – tap dancer * Alan McGrath – tap dancer * Gerald Peregrine – solo cello * Gavin Murphy – piano, keyboards, programming, string arrangements The Orchestra of Ireland * Joe Csibi – orchestra contractor * Ken Rice – leader * Lynda O'Connor –

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 ...

* Lydia J. Clarke – violin * Anita Vedres – violin * Cillian Brackin – violin * Sylvia Roberts – violin * Jane Hackett – violin * Emily Thyne – violin * Aoife Durnin – violin * Aoife Dowdall – violin * Paul O'Hanlon – violin * Rachel Grimes – violin * Leanne Melchoir –

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

* Adele Johnson – viola * Karen Dervan – viola * Carla Vedres – viola * Anthony Mulholland – viola * Gerald Peregrine –

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

* Martin Johnson – cello * Una Ni Chanainn – cello * Jane Huges – cello * Anna Marcossi – cello

Charts

References

{{Celtic Woman Celtic Woman albums 2018 live albums 2018 video albums Manhattan Records albums