Reviewed by Tom Lennie

The 14 tracks that comprise this Celtic collection were not only created by Keith Duke (with occasional text composition by friend and "priest-poet" David Adam), but also features him as the most versatile musician on the project - with his employment of flauto dolce, white-tailed hawk flute, bowed psaltery, Tibetan singing bowls, Balinese temple bell and various other exotic tools! 'Sacred Dance' follows on from Duke's previous 'Sacred Weave' and 'Sacred Pathway', and all pieces are intended to "be used for movement of one kind or another during worship, mostly during the Eucharist." For example, Duke suggests that the two or three upbeat, resounding jig-type tunes are used in finishing Easter Sunday worship. Most tracks, however, fall within the deliberately unhurried, meditative type and, with the aid of the wonderful clarity of Lucy Bunce's lead vocals (she's also a harpist), and Duke's haunting tones, make for a thoughtful and deeply atmospheric whole. Then again, there's "Cuthbert's Beach", a lengthy poem, rendered in spoken rather than musical form. This is a fine and welcome recording (lasting one second short of an hour!), definitely helpful in aiding the listener to draw closer to the heartbeat of the Divine.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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