【新世紀音樂】Llewellyn 2004 - Mysts of Avalon

 

【專輯名稱】: Mysts Of Avalon
【專輯藝人】: Llewellyn
【發行公司】: New World Music
【發行日期】: 2004
【專輯類型】: Downtempo, New Age, Celtic

【專輯介紹】:

Inspired by Marion Zimmer Bradley's Arthurian legend novel MISTS OF AVALON, Llewelleyn's MYSTS OF AVALON is a similarly mythic journey. As he did on his popular MOONLORE, Llewellyn creates a dreamy, drifting world of sound with synthesizer, guitar, light percussion, and various instruments all working together to create a mystical world that envelops the listener. Yet the song titles--"Merlyn and the Crossing;" "The Dragon's Breath"--recreate the Arthurian story, conjuring images to go with the swirling, imaginative music. Fans of Llewellyn won't want to pass this up, but MYSTS OF AVALON should appeal to anyone with a soft spot for mythology or for mystical New Age ambient music.

Personnel: Llewellyn (vocals, various instruments); Juliana (vocals); Chris Conway (flute); Lorraine Wyse (whistle); Kevin Kendle (keyboards).

Lighter in tone and with more selections in a major key than some of Llewellyn's previous releases ("Ghosts," "Moonlore," etc.), "Mysts of Avalon" serves as a shimmering, magical and mysterious soundtrack for a story (summarized in the liner notes) about a young woman, Merlyn, and the queen of the moon. The keyboards and other instruments of Llewellyn are enhanced by the ethereal vocals of Juliana, the Celtic flutes of Chris Conway, the Celtic whistles of Lorraine Wyse, and the additional keyboards of Kevin Kendle. Llewellyn is one of those talented, nuanced composers who can create music that lacks a distinctive, memorable melody, but is still highly melodic. I'm not sure if that makes any sense, and perhaps there are more accurate words I could use, but a lot of New Age composers do this, and many of them end up producing trite and boring music. Not the case with Llewellyn, though! While most of his songs are based on fairly repetitive chord progressions with ever-changing descants and improvisations weaving in and out above them, his sense of musical flow, his lush layerings of sound and the emotion conveyed in the performances fill the senses of a listener and satisfy the heart. Despite being a person who's oriented towards melodies, I find that I don't miss them here. And maybe the absence of clear, sustained melodies is one of the things that this music so mysterious--intangible and undefinable, like a mist. For more music in his signature style, you'll also enjoy any of Llewellyn's other releases. For other musical interpretations of Arthurian legend, try "The Merlin Mystery" by Alkaemy and "Avalon: A Celtic Legend" by Enaid (aka Diane Arkenstone). And you might also warm to "Celtic Legend" by Bruce Huron, "A Trilogy of Fantasy" by Trammell Starks, "m'Anchelli" by Enam, and the work of David Arkenstone and John Adorney.

【專輯播放】:

• 01. llewellyn-silver-moon-woods
• 02. llewellyn-merlyn-and-the-crossing
• 03. llewellyn-through-the-mysts
• 04. llewellyn-the-summerlands
• 05. llewellyn-queen-of-the-moon
• 06. llewellyn-the-dragons-breath
• 07. llewellyn-the-calling
• 08. llewellyn-the-crystal-castle
• 09. llewellyn-seeking-the-candle

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