Description

A specially re-mastered 3 CD boxset containing the best-loved tracks from the Arthurian series. This music remains as fresh as the day it was first recorded. Uplifting, powerful, emotional, beautiful. Wonderfully covers the entire King Arthur legend. An ideal gift and collectors set.Main instruments: Dulcimer, Flutes, Cello, Fiddle, Guitars, Mandolin, Keyboards.Price: £9.99ReviewThis compilation presents itself as �A specially re-mastered 3 CD boxset containing the best-loved tracks from the Arthurian series; Uplifting, powerful, emotional, and beautiful. Wonderfully covering the entire King Arthur legend.�Now that�s quite a tall order to live up to; Being somewhat of the history student especially the area of Medieval and Arthurian legends not to mention a professional writer of historic role play games I was a little sceptical when I saw Medwyn Goodall�s offering on the subject.The dangers with this kind of musical project are firmly centred in the realms of cliché. The stories of Arthur Pendragon have been done and interpreted through music, cinema and literature time and time again. This leaves very little room for scope and creative originality. As with any great works of art, adaptations and interpretations are always open to comparison with that which has gone before. Could Medwyn Goodall, a man renowned for his originality, interpret these legends accurately whilst at the same time breaking new ground on an already well established genre?The first disc in the trilogy entitled �Tintagel & Excalibur� makes an impressive initial impression. Track one entitled �Merlin�s Cave� begins more akin to a movie soundtrack than a mere audio CD; As such the intent behind the composition is revealed; Sounds of water dripping and echoing present an atmospheric and enticing introduction to the music drawing you into the world and daring the imagination to create images of the surroundings. The Music begins as a mix of what could only be interpreted as new age jazz accurately giving us a mental picture of the organised clutter that one would expect to find in the cave of the greatest wizard in history. The style eventually settles down to a more ordered ensemble accurately depicting the man himself.The second disc, �The Grail & Guinevere�, has a lot to live up to. The outstanding music of the first disc made me wonder how Medwyn could possibly produce another CD with the power and eloquence of the first. Part of a trilogy they might be, and even if the second disc did not match the quality of the first I was already delighted at having forked over my hard earned cash for the pleasure of �Tintagel & Excalibur� alone. I really should try to stop being so sceptical; the first track of disc 2 entitled �The Grail� delivers all you could expect and more. The perfect use of keyboards that accompanies the other instruments interprets the divinity of the sacred cup perfectly. Not 20 seconds into the first disc and my spine was tingling already. It didn�t stop tingling until the disc ended.So, we come to the third disc called �Arthur and the Round Table�. Pulling my scepticism from my mood as Arthur did Excalibur from the stone I was willing and wanting to be impressed.I was not impressed� I was blown away!!!! If it was the composers� intention to present a finale of a final disc he has succeeded. Take all that you have heard about the previous two discs, amplify the audio pleasure factor by ten and grab onto your armchair. The first track on the third disc is �The Path of Merlin�. It�s a road I wish was considerably longer for no other reason than the music would never have to stop.What is true of every track in this collection and in part what makes this such a joy to listen to is that you can almost guess what each track is representing without even looking at the song title. Medwyn�s interpretation and ability to express his desire through instruments paints a vivid picture of this era and the saga which unfolds within it.I should greatly like to expand upon the use of the instruments used but they have been so wonderfully harmonised that after a few minutes of listening your content to simply let the music wash over you and forget the finer details. Rest assured that all the tools wielded by Medwyn including the Dulcimer, Flutes, Cello, Fiddle, Guitars, Mandolin and Keyboards are as keen as the blade of Excalibur itself.Throughout the collection the quality only gets better and you quickly find yourself submerged in the world which is presented to you. The continued use of actual sound effects at crucial points in the music gives a depth to the collection which would not have been possible with instruments alone. It would have been easy to over do the use of such sounds but Medwyn, true to his style, balances the two nicely.I had few doubts that the composition would be superb, the sound of the music pleasing and I was sure that true to form, Medwyn would grace us with yet another masterpeice; The question was could Medwyn accurately capture the true mood and history of these legends without falling into the old and tierd typical cliches?YES HE CERTAINLY CAN!!!