Carol Thompson - The Enchanted Isles (1989)

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Born in America of Anglo-Welsh-Irish-Austrian heritage, with relatives who fought in the American Revolution, Carol Thompson comes from a family rich in musical talent. Carol's paternal grandfather, Frank Horscroft Sr., was a percussionist who played with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra and the Warner Brothers Studio Orchestra. Her father, Frank Horscroft Jr., once a multi-instrumentalist, was still in demand as a big band trombonist up until his death, at age 89, in January of 2004. Her mother, Ruth, was a popular coluratura soprano who sang with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, and at many weddings. Carol, one of America's foremost players of the Celtic harp, began playing the pedal harp at age thirteen with classical instruction from Dorothy Knauss of Allentown, PA, a student of Alfred Holy. After years of playing classical music, she allowed her lifelong interest in medieval and renaissance history to take to the fore, and learned to play several variants of her instrument. During this period, she also discovered the music of her heritage and fell in love with it. Carol plays the familiar orchestral pedal harp, the bright sounding neo-Celtic harp, and the difficult triple harp made popular in Wales but also played in Italy and Spain. Carol is currently under contract with Dorian Records in Troy, NY, but is often in demand as a side musician by other artists. In the not too distant future, Mel Bay will publish her arrangements. She has performed in much of the United States, and in England and Ireland; she has been on the teaching staff at Augusta Heritage Workshops in Elkins, West Virginia, for more than a decade, and currently teaches harp privately, and at the Eastern Conservatory of Music and Arts in Oldwick, NJ. The tunes chosen for this album include traditional pieces both anonymous and by composers whose names are known. Among them are some of the loveliest melodies of the British Isles, many of them notable for their richly Celtic flavor. When rendered on the harp, they reveal a wealth of unforgettable qualities: here a resonance of windswept grandeur, there a strain lilting with a haunting lyricism and elsewhere still, a magical shimmer of earthy humor. The harp, with its tones floating into the stillness of space, gives voice to a primal poetry. It is the perfect bringer of enchantment from the isles.

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IRELAND
01. Women of Ireland
— S. O'Reada - Neo-Celtic Harp
02. Brian Boru's March
— Anonymous - Neo-Celtic Harp
03. Father Brian Mac Dermot Roe
— Turlough O'Carolan - Neo-Celtic Harp
04. Lord Inchiquin
— T. O'Carolan - Neo-Celtic Harp
05. Miss Hamilton
— Cornelius Lyons - Neo-Celtic Harp
06. Lord Mayo
— David Murphy - Neo-Celtic Harp
07. Planxty Murphy
— T. O'Carolan - Neo-Celtic Harp
08. Irish Lullaby
— Anonymous - Neo-Celtic Harp
09. Hugh O'Donnell
— T. O'Carolan - Neo-Celtic Harp

SCOTLAND
10. Jenny
— Thomas d'Urfey - Neo-Celtic Harp
11. Joy to the Person of My Love
— Anonymous - Neo-Celtic Harp
12. Over the Hills and Far Away
— T. d'Urfey, arr. L. Lipkis - Neo-Celtic Harp

ENGLAND
13. The Irish Lady, or Anniseed-water Robin;
Parsons Farewell; Nonesuch
— John Playford - Neo-Celtic Harp

WALES
14. The Royal Dream
— Anonymous, arr. S. Milligan - Triple Harp
15. Winter has Come
— Anonymous, arr. S. Milligan - Triple Harp
16. Maid from the Parish of Penderyn
— Anonymous, arr. L. Lipkis - Triple Harp
17. All Through the Night
— Anonymous - Pedal Harp
18. The Ash Grove
— Anonymous, arr. S. Milligan - Triple Harp
19. David of the White Rock
— Anonymous - Pedal Harp