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Editorial Review:
Adiemus IV is going to make a lot of people very happy, keeping the essential Adiemus approach which has proved phenomenally popular over the three previous Adiemus releases from Karl Jenkin's hybrid folk/classical/new age ensemble. However, the subtitle "The Eternal Knot" refers to the fact that some of this music was originally written for the Scottish television series, The Celts and this aspect is going to draw inevitable comparisons with Riverdance. Play the opening track, "Cú Chullain", and there is just no getting away from it (nor is there any possibility of keeping the feet still), the thunderous, exhilarating Irish sound is irrefutable. The comparison runs throughout the album, particularly in the attractively melodic "The Wooing of Étaín", though in arrangements which mix acoustic instruments and massed voices with electronics there is also an echo of Clanad. Ultimately, though, Adiemus IV has its own sometimes ethereal, sometimes traditionally atmospheric, sometimes barnstorming sound; making for a disc which draws on many styles but can not be fitted into any particular pigeon hole. If the densely packed voices sometimes evoke memories of the Swingle Singers, Miriam Stockley's lead vocals float attractively over the soundscape, binding everything together into an evocative Celtic fairy-tale soundtrack. --Gary S. Dalkin
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
An uncomfortable cauldron of worldbeats For a composer who has produced such timeless tracks (mainly those from his first album, Adiemus) Karl Jenkins seems to have let himself down a bit with his predecessing efforts. The Eternal Knot has an Irish influence running throughout, but I find the often highly tedious vocals rarely blend with the Celtic sound. The styles of some tracks are also unoriginal, with a very blatant method of adding "Irishness" to the cauldron of sounds. If the vocals were not sung by a choir of smurfs (the lead... more info
a fantastic cd I was lucky to see the worldpremiere of adiemus 4 LIVE at the royal albert hall in London on sept 28.It was a great show and they played the whole new cd and also songs from the first 3 adiemus cd's. I am a big fan of them since their first cd in 95. This 4th cd has more variation on the instrumentation(accordion, guitar,uillean pipes, harp). It has also a more celtic feeling but in real adiemus style; Miriam Stockley sings the leadvocals like always and she does it fantastic; I would say: buy this... more info
More of the same... so no problem there then. As an artist releases more records the temptation to go off in a completely new direction must become overwhelming. Karl Jenkins has not done this. His latest album is an evolution rather than a revolution. There is nothing radically different here but it is done so well that the established Adiemus audience will be happy while new comers will find it accessible. One risk with a move into the "celtic sound" is that this music is going to sound a lot like Riverdance (Oh God No! Michael Flatley comes out of... more info
