766397470825

The Gap Of Dreams

Altan

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Format: CD

Cat No: COM47082

Release Date:  02 March 2018

Label:  Compass

Packaging Type:  Digipak

No of Units:  1

Barcode:  766397470825

Genres:  Folk  Irish Folk  

  • Description

    After thirty years of playing on stages all over the world from Dublin to New York, Tokyo to Sydney, the premier traditional Irish band, Altan came back to the hills of Donegal to record their new album, THE GAP OF DREAMS. The 13 tracks transport the listener to the lifestyle of rural Donegal, to a time before electricity when folks would gather together in the mists of winter to tell stories, sing songs and dance into the wee hours of the night. The music lifted the locals' spirits and helped elevate them beyond the hardships of the day like famine, conflict, and emigration. It is this spirit that informed the development of the band through their many phases of growth from a duo performing in pubs to international touring and recording artists.

    The album title, THE GAP OF DREAMS, is borrowed from a poem by Francis Carlin, The Ballad of Douglas Bridge, in which he writes: "The Gap of Dreams is never shut," referring to the gap between this world and the Otherworld. The Otherworld has always exerted a large influence on the fiddling tradition of County Donegal and has served as inspiration for song, music, and folklore.

    The album features many sets of traditional Donegal reels, such as Néilidh Boyle's provocative composition, "Seán sa Cheo" (John in the Mist), as well as original compositions. Martin Tourish wrote two lively reels in the Donegal style: "Tuar," which translates to "omen or sign," and "Oíche Fheidhmuúil," meaning "a spirited night."

  • Tracklisting

      Disc 1

      Side 1

      • 1. The Gap Of Dreams/Nia’s Jig/The Beekeeper
      • 2. The Month Of January
      • 3. Seán Sa Cheo/Tuar/Oíche Fheidhmieúil (A Spirited Night)
      • 4. Bacach Shíl Andaí
      • 5. The Piper In The Cave/An Ghaoth Aniar Aneas
      • 6. Níon A’ Bhaoigheallaigh
      • 7. The Tullaghan Lasses/The Cameronian/The Pigeon On The Gate
      • 8. An Bealach Seo ‘Tá Romham (This Road Ahead Of Me)
      • 9. Dark Inishowen
      • 10. The Templehouse Strathspew & Reel/John Mhosey McGinley’s/The Mermaid Of Mullaghmore
      • 11. Cumha An Oileán
      • 12. Port Alex
      • 13. Fare Thee Well, A Stór