''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, formed in 2004 for a one-time event held in Dublin, Ireland. They started touring internationally as a group after multiple airings on PBS helped to boost the group's popularity. Celtic W ...

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 old Box Mill building in the village of Box, Wiltshire, England, near to the city of Bath. It is closely associated with the Real World R ...

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

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

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 current 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 an ...

Éabha McMahon Éabha McMahon (pronounced ''AY-va'') is an 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 fluent Ir ...

, and Megan Walsh 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 Johnstown Castle is a Gothic Revival castle located in County Wexford, Ireland. Location Johnstown Castle is located on the Johnstown Castle Estate, a estate, located off the road between Murntown and Rathaspeck, southwest of Wexford town ...

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

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 broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

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 of her homeland. She was one of the original soloists in the musical ensemble Celtic Woman, whic ...

. * 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 * Megan Walsh – 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 referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

* 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 ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

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

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

* 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