Adiemus IV: The Eternal Knot

On this CD: 1. Cú Chullain (from the soundtrack for "The Eternal Knot")
Composed by Karl Jenkins
Performed by Adiemus Orchestra with Pamela Thorby, Mary Carewe, Miriam Stockley
Conducted by Karl Jenkins

2. The eternal knot (from the soundtrack for "The Eternal Knot")
Composed by Karl Jenkins
Performed by Adiemus Orchestra with Pamela Thorby, Mary Carewe, Miriam Stockley, Davy Spillane
Conducted by Karl Jenkins

3. Palace of the Crystal Bridge (from the soundtrack for "The Eternal Knot")
Composed by Karl Jenkins
Performed by Adiemus Orchestra with Pamela Thorby, Mary Carewe, Miriam Stockley
Conducted by Karl Jenkins

4. The wooing of Étaín (from the soundtrack for "The Eternal Knot")
Composed by Karl Jenkins
Performed by Adiemus Orchestra with Pamela Thorby, Mary Carewe, Miriam Stockley, Martin Taylor, Davy Spillane
Conducted by Karl Jenkins

5. King of the Sacred Grove (from the soundtrack for "The Eternal Knot")
Composed by Karl Jenkins
Performed by Adiemus Orchestra with Pamela Thorby, Mary Carewe, Miriam Stockley
Conducted by Karl Jenkins

6. Sain Declan's Drone (from the soundtrack for "The Eternal Knot")
Composed by Karl Jenkins
Performed by Adiemus Orchestra with Pamela Thorby, Mary Carewe, Miriam Stockley, Davy Spillane
Conducted by Karl Jenkins

7. Salm o "Dewi Sant" (from the soundtrack for "The Eternal Knot")
Composed by Karl Jenkins
Performed by Adiemus Orchestra with Pamela Thorby, Mary Carewe, Miriam Stockley
Conducted by Karl Jenkins

8. Connla's Well (from the soundtrack for "The Eternal Knot")
Composed by Karl Jenkins
Performed by Adiemus Orchestra with Pamela Thorby, Mary Carewe, Miriam Stockley, Davy Spillane
Conducted by Karl Jenkins

9. The Dagda (from the soundtrack for "The Eternal Knot")
Composed by Karl Jenkins
Performed by Adiemus Orchestra with Pamela Thorby, Mary Carewe, Miriam Stockley
Conducted by Karl Jenkins

10. Children of Dannu (from the soundtrack for "The Eternal Knot")
Composed by Karl Jenkins
Performed by Adiemus Orchestra with Pamela Thorby, Mary Carewe, Miriam Stockley
Conducted by Karl Jenkins

11. Ceridwen's Curse (from the soundtrack for "The Eternal Knot")
Composed by Karl Jenkins
Performed by Adiemus Orchestra with Pamela Thorby, Mary Carewe, Miriam Stockley, Martin Taylor
Conducted by Karl Jenkins

12. Hermit of the Sea Rock (from the soundtrack for "The Eternal Knot")
Composed by Karl Jenkins
Performed by Adiemus Orchestra with Pamela Thorby, Mary Carewe, Miriam Stockley, Davy Spillane
Conducted by Karl Jenkins

13. Isle of the mystic lake (from the soundtrack for "The Eternal Knot")
Composed by Karl Jenkins
Performed by Adiemus Orchestra with Pamela Thorby, Mary Carewe, Miriam Stockley
Conducted by Karl Jenkins

14. Math was a wizard (from the soundtrack for "The Eternal Knot")
Composed by Karl Jenkins
Performed by Adiemus Orchestra with Pamela Thorby, Mary Carewe, Miriam Stockley, Martin Taylor
Conducted by Karl Jenkins

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
When British composer Karl Jenkins launched Adiemus with the Songs of Sanctuary album in 1995, it was a fresh and exhilarating take on global music. Jenkins used choral vocals similar to Enya's, but spiked with a language of the imagination (merging African and Latin phonemes) and stoked by Jenkins's pastoral arrangements. Never wholly original--Lisa Gerrard and Elizabeth Fraser had already worked out fantasy vocal designs and the 1960s African mass "Missa Luba" effected a similar choral/African/Latin sound--Adiemus nevertheless found a new take on English composers' penchant for choirs. However, after six years and four albums mining this vein, Jenkins's sound rings more hollow with each recording.

The Eternal Knot is drawn from Jenkins's soundtrack to a BBC documentary called The Celts. You might recall that Enya also evolved her sound in the late 1980s doing a soundtrack for another documentary called The Celts. Taking his titles from the Celtic legends that populate the documentary, Jenkins orchestrates cinematic landscapes full of swelling crescendos and dynamic cadences. Less oppressive than the heavily orchestrated Adiemus II, The Eternal Knot still wears thin. He casts Miriam Stockley's voice into a boys-choir register, turning her staccato phonemes into incessant prattle. But when she's in her warmer middle range, her layered voice is enveloping. Despite the theme of the album, Celtic music is only used as an occasional touchstone, with uilleann piper Davy Spillane, a few bodhran-style percussion grooves, and harpist Catrin Finch providing some relief from Jenkins's string-laden classical pretensions. --John Diliberto

Adiemus IV: The Eternal Knot,Karl Jenkins,Karl Jenkins,Martin Taylor,Adiemus Orchestra,Pamela Thorby,Mary Carewe,Miriam Stockley,Higher Octave,Celtic New Age,Film,Film Music,Meditation,New Age,New Age / Meditation,Pop

Tracks:

Cu Chullain
The Eternal Knot
Palace Of The Crystal Bridge
The Wooing Of Etain
King Of The Sacred Grove
Saint Declan's Drone
Salm O 'Dewi Sant'
Connla's Well
The Dagda
Children Of Dannu
Ceridwen's Curse
Hermit Of The Sea Rock
Isle Of The Mystic Lake
Math Was A Wizard

Amazon.com

When British composer Karl Jenkins launched Adiemus with the Songs of Sanctuary album in 1995, it was a fresh and exhilarating take on global music. Jenkins used choral vocals similar to Enya's, but spiked with a language of the imagination (merging African and Latin phonemes) and stoked by Jenkins's pastoral arrangements. Never wholly original--Lisa Gerrard and Elizabeth Fraser had already worked out fantasy vocal designs and the 1960s African mass "Missa Luba" effected a similar choral/African/Latin sound--Adiemus nevertheless found a new take on English composers' penchant for choirs. However, after six years and four albums mining this vein, Jenkins's sound rings more hollow with each recording.

The Eternal Knot is drawn from Jenkins's soundtrack to a BBC documentary called The Celts. You might recall that Enya also evolved her sound in the late 1980s doing a soundtrack for another documentary called The Celts. Taking his titles from the Celtic legends that populate the documentary, Jenkins orchestrates cinematic landscapes full of swelling crescendos and dynamic cadences. Less oppressive than the heavily orchestrated Adiemus II, The Eternal Knot still wears thin. He casts Miriam Stockley's voice into a boys-choir register, turning her staccato phonemes into incessant prattle. But when she's in her warmer middle range, her layered voice is enveloping. Despite the theme of the album, Celtic music is only used as an occasional touchstone, with uilleann piper Davy Spillane, a few bodhran-style percussion grooves, and harpist Catrin Finch providing some relief from Jenkins's string-laden classical pretensions. --John Diliberto

Customer Reviews:

Adiemus IV.......2007-05-07

This is another celtic cd which stirs the blood to your core. It has great melodies and wonderful arrangements to compliment the vocals. I will look forward to purchasing more of Adiemus in the future.

whaaaaaat?????.......2007-01-06

that was the first thing that popped into my head when i heard this album. i loved `songs of sanctuary' and was heartily disappointed not to also love this album. while it is obvious that the music is celtic-inspired, it is *only* the music that is so. the vocals seem to float along on their own with no relevance to the instrumentals beneath them. the language, which is the same play-language as `sanctuary', is blatantly out of place here. while with `sanctuary', despite the make-believe quality of the words, the quality of the vocal sound was instantly recognizable as south african. but those nasal tones and front-of-the-mask, brassy notes don't translate well to a celtic sound. (in fact, the whole album sounds like a clash of two cultures. as if a south african choir accidentally got routed to the shannon airport and collided with the chieftans.) on the whole, a disappointing album. if you want celtic music, buy a putumayo collection or *anything* by narada, clannad, celtic woman, etc. don't buy this album.

Good...Although two of the Songs are on my Ipod..........2006-01-24

My favorite songs are "Cu Chullain" and "Math was a Wizard". Cu Chullain is a good song for a ballet performance.

By the way, I own these two songs on my Ipod!

Meghan :)

New Age with an eclectic blend of styles from across the musical map!.......2005-11-23

Some earlier reviewers would suggest that this isn't up to the standards that Karl Jenkins achieved in some of his earlier output. I couldn't respond to that because this is the first Adiemus recording I've ever heard and, frankly, I loved every second of it. I'm thrilled that other listeners think the earlier recordings are better because I've now got something to really look forward to.

For me this recording evinced a blend of emotional responses - quiet contemplation, relaxation, toe-tapping, a satisfied smile, that whole body moving response to a driving rhythm and a joyful sense of participation in an all-encompassing musical experience. The recording is an eclectic blend of styles that cover an enormous range - Celtic rhythms and fiddling tunes in the style of River Dance; hard rock and steady beats that took a page out of Enigma's play book; a beautifully blended chorus of female voices that might well have included Enya, Diane Arkenstone and Loreena McKennitt; orchestral backgrounds that ranged from lush full orchestral accompaniment to pizzicato violin arpeggios that would have done Tchaikovsky proud in The Nutcracker; simple but effective, pleasing blues style acoustic guitar; full-bodied high speed choral sections that might have been penned by Karl Orff as part of the unforgettable Carmina Burana; and, a very effective seven beat piece that reminded me of the rhythms of Dave Brubeck's Unsquare Square Dance or Moe Kaufman's Swingin' Shepherd Blues!

Well, to each their own I suppose. It's certainly possible that this CD suffered by comparison to the quality of his other works but as a first time listener, I've got nothing but praise for it!

Paul Weiss

Unimaginative.......2004-06-14

Unlike 'Songs of Sanctuary', this album lacks imagination and invention. It comes across as somewhat monotonous and overly 'camp'.

Cu Chulain is a reasonable start but even there the urgent contribution by the violins comes too early, and by the end of the 'song', the concept becomes tiresome. The title track seems to be depicting something monumental in its climatic outbursts but if so, the effect is more visual (the documentary itself) than aural. It's odd how there is apparently no language used here yet 'Palace of the Crystal Bridge' manages to sound like some clueless surfer-girl taking herself way too seriously.

'The Wooing of Etain' is a beautiful instrumental and one of the very few pieces on the album that is thought-provoking, as is 'King of the Sacred Grove' (which is mellow and sounds suitably regal)....this is more of what I've come to expect/appreciate in Jenkins. Even so, he could have done more to build a climax towards the end of this, the third longest piece on the album.

'Songs' such as 'The Dagda' would be interesting diversions/fillers for the album if it wasn't for the synthesized, mass-product result of the album overall. Less 'ethnic-sounding' and more towards 'tacky' (e.g., the duo separated by 1 octave sung in unison at the end of 'Hermit of the Sea Rock'), this isn't as moving an experience as some would laud it to be.

Pop Music:

Pop Music

pop music

Recommended Music:

Livin for Lovin [Original recording remastered] [Import]

Three Sonatas for Solo Violin

Under the Spell [Import]

Music: Euro Techno Clubbing

The Transactional Interpretation

Tyrant

Romances Italiennes [Import]

Three Moods of the... [Enhanced] [EP]

Spacebox

Takemitsu: Chamber Music

The Stiff Records Box Set [Box set]

Time Will Tell [Import]

Superbailongo, Vol. 3

Blues, Barrelhouse & Boogie Woogie: 1946-1955

Irreplaceable, Pt. 2