Customer Reviews

Old Hearth: Welsh Music on Triple Harp to Fire the Soul

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Perhaps you've listened to performances on the pedal/symphonic harp or the folk harp, but if you've never heard the Welsh triple harp, you have a wonderful surprise awaiting you with this CD. Robin Huw Bowen's playing is spectacular - the only thing better is being at one of his live performances. The tracks that are my personal favorites include The Day, The Thread of Life, The Bells of the Old Country, and Farewell to the Days of my Youth. So put your feet up, close your eyes, and release the cares of the day as this lovely music washes over you.

This is one of the best albums of Welsh triple harp music out there. Bowen plays with warmth and with passion (in a Welsh sense). The tune selections are great and his playing is superb. Highly recommended for those who like the Welsh triple harp or those exploring this old tradition. (Wales is the only celtic country with an unbroken tradition of harp music). I have another album of his, but this one is definitely much better, being recorded far better and having a great selection of tunes.
If you are interested in the harp, and especially harp music from the various celtic-speaking countries, then this is a must have album. Highly recommended.

I am fairly new in Celtic (should it, really, be Keltic?), music I found the playing magnificent. The warmth he gets from his intrument the sonority are really great. Songs in themselves are very attractive. As a beginer, I do not see what better introduction to this wonderful world, there could be.

For the most part, I might call this album rather good, but not great. However, one track brings the album to a higher level: Y Llinyn Arian/The Thread of Life. This has to be one of the most amazing pieces of music I've ever heard. The melancholy passages at the beginning and the end and the light-hearted dance in the middle provide a wonderful contrast and perfect symmetry. This track alone makes the album worth the purchase.