Customer Reviews

The Blossom and The Rain

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Lord has blessed Carol Thompson's fingers in unimaginable ways. I first fell in love with Mrs. Thompson's music on her previous recording, "Carolan's Welcome"; which has ever since been one of my most prized CDs. This new recording, "The Blossom and the Rain" is even better. Such beauty is rarely found. Splendor streams forth from every song. These songs are raised to life by Mrs. Thompson; A glowing, almost spiritual life. "The Wild Rose of the Mountain" and "Scot's Lamentation" are now two of my favorite tunes of all time. So is this disc. If you have the chance, buy it.

This cd fully lived up to my expectations. It is melodious and artistically executed. Even a baby would enjoy it as lullaby music! It reminds me of shimmering water...

Perhaps some day Dorian Recordings will turn out a poor CD, but that is unlikely, considering one of their latest releases is yet another 5-star offering. It features harpist Carol Thompson and is titled <The Blossom and the Rain> (DOR-90273). This fifth entry in a series of such music by this artist gives us 21 selections, played on the Celtic harp, that last 67 minutes and are drawn from the traditional music of Scotland, Ireland, Cornwall, and Wales. Personally I find it difficult on occasion to tell one from the other--except for the omnipresent "Derry Air" without the "Danny Boy" vocal part and the lovely "Salley Gardens"--and this can possibly become a problem for one who decides to sit down and give a close hearing. This is not because of the solo instrument, since I find similar programs with ensembles have a certain cloying effect that suggests the CD be heard a bit at a time the first time through and then as radiant ambient music thereafter.

By the way, Ms. Thompson was born in this country of Anglo-Welsh-Irish background (as the copywriter tells us). Part of her technique is to let her ornamentation come out of the melody rather than merely appending it, and to execute her chords with a "downward roll" rather than an upward as in classical harp playing.

Included in the program are "Foggy Dew," "Watching the Wheat," "Pull Down the Shade," and "Cailin O Chois tSure Me" ("Cailin" means "girl" from which the Irish begat "colleen"; and that fourth word is not a typo!), which is mentioned by Shakespeare in "Henry V" in a garbled form and which is sung by Alfred Deller on an old set of Shakespeare songs. On the whole as good an account of this material as you will ever hear. Notes about each individual song are thoughtfully provided as well as general comments on the music.

This was a second hand purchase and I'm very happy with the condition of the CD and its packaging and it arrived in a timely manner. I love the harp and this artist is a wonderful performer. I'm happy to find a CD that was difficult to find in Australia. Thank you.

Carol Thompson is a jewel and her Celtic harp performances are exquisite! They are sensuous, romantic, and dare I say sexy! This recording is beautiful and moves me to tears with its soul-stirring melodies. This album is so intimate that I almost feel guilty listening to it. It is a wonderful album to play during heartfelt times with friends and loved ones or to relax and fall asleep to. My sleep-time dreams have literally been influenced in the most delightful ways by this recording. I can't recommend it enough! I perceive Carol's playing to be quite gentle, soft, and yet very expressive with well-chosen tempos and shadings. Her frequent, and apparently unusual, use of downward rolls makes her harp chime and resonate in the most pleasurable ways! Furthermore, I love how Carol allows the ending of each tune to naturedly fade away by letting the last notes resonate and fully decay on their own, taking up to 30 seconds to do so. I see it as being synonymous with God's use of the word `Sela' in the Holy Bible to express how we should quietly contemplate what we have just taken in. Worth its weight in gold, this CD is brilliant! All of her albums are terrific!

Thompson's skill on the harp is simply incredible. In my opinion, this is the best of her 5 CDs on the Dorian label, not including compilations. The technical quality of the recording is also superb, although of course this would apply more to the CD version than the compressed electronic version.

I thought this would have had more of a variety, but every song sounds the same. I finally turned it off after 20 minutes of the same thing.