Reviewed by Richard Toller

There are plenty of compilations of Celtic music available; from my experience this is probably one of the better ones, though surely no collection of any genre can ever be called "the ultimate"? Quibbles over the title aside, this is a 2CD collection made up mainly from the series 'Celtic Worship', 'Celtic Christmas', 'Celtic Praise', etc. Add two from 'In Christ Alone: New Hymns Of Prayer And Worship' and three from different Iona albums, and you get a beautifully-played and sung collection of restful worship. None of the up-tempo dance-worthy music that is equally Celtic, and Celtic music fans may already have many of these songs in their collections, but this is a good collection for anyone looking for something at the same time soothing and fresh, or to start exploring Celtic-style worship - with the drawback that, like many compilations, information on the original releases is inadequate: you get the title of the album, producer and copyright information, but no other artist information. No printed lyrics either, but with crystal-clear singing they're hardly necessary.

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