Reviewed by Brendan O'Regan

This album features a marriage of two ancient traditions - the Psalms and some old Irish and Scottish melodies. The songs are enhanced by some beautiful acoustic playing on guitar, harp, flute, fiddle and even cello. It's all very pleasant and relaxing, more than fit for facilitating personal reflection. I'm not entirely comfortable with very familiar songs like "Carrickfergus" or "Down By The Sally Gardens" having their words changed like this - it's a subjective thing I know, but it didn't always work for me. For example, the pain expressed in "My God, My God" just doesn't come across in the lovely lilting melody. Perhaps these same words and the tasteful Celtic instrumentation would work better with new or less familiar melodies? For that reason the tracks I liked were the ones with less familiar melodies - like the beautiful "The Lord Is My Light" (Psalm 27) and "Sing To The Lord" (Psalms 98-100), with its fine acapella singing. Sometimes the vocals could be stronger but they shine at their best in the harmonies of "You Have Turned My Sorrow" (Psalm 30). This time the melody does suit the sense of relief expressed by the psalmist.

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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