VA - Faces Of The Harp: Celtic & Contemporary (1997)

This collection runs from the engaging to the sublime, but occasionally becomes cloying or claustrophobic. It's harp music of various musical styles and for various kinds of harps, from large concert grand harps to the clarsach, a Gaelic harp strung with brass wires. Some tracks, such as Kim Robertson's "Dance of the Lambs," hint at jazz, while the music of Sileas owes more to folk. Sometimes it can get a little tiresome on the ears, as on "Waterdance/Gay-feather" by Katie LaRaye Waldren and Candace Kreitlow, when it seems as if they are hitting the same sonic frequencies over and over and over again. Perhaps the most beautiful cut on the disc is Ani Williams' "Eclipse." ~ Ross Boissoneau