Ancient Land

Ancient Land
Studio album by Celtic Woman
Released	26 October 2018 (2018-10-26)
Recorded	July 2018
Studio	Real World Studios
Genre	Celtic, world, adult contemporary, folk, vocal, traditional
Length	64:28 99:13 (deluxe edition)
Label	Manhattan Records, Universal Music Group
Producer	Gavin Murphy
Celtic Woman chronology
Homecoming – Live from Ireland (2018) Ancient Land (2018) The Magic of Christmas (2019)

Ancient Land is the twelfth studio album and eleventh home video release by the group Celtic Woman.

Background[]

The album was recorded at Real World Studios, Herbert Place Studios, Beechpark Studios, and Jam Studios in July, 2018. The digital album was released on 28 September 2018 and the CD was released on 26 October 2018.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

The music was produced, arranged, and orchestrated by Gavin Murphy and includes a mixture of traditional Irish songs and contemporary arrangements. The lead performers are vocalists Máiréad Carlin, Éabha McMahon, and Megan Walsh as well as instrumentalist Tara McNeill. Ancient Land was Walsh's studio debut and live debut with the group.^[6][7]

The PBS special and DVD were recorded at Johnstown Castle in County Wexford, Ireland on 13 and 14 September 2018, in front of an invited audience. It was the group's first outdoor special since Songs from the Heart was recorded nine years prior.^[8][9] The concert began airing on PBS in November, 2018.^[10] The DVD and Blu-ray were released on 25 January 2019.^[11]

The album and concert special were both dedicated to Dave Kavanagh, one of the founders of Celtic Woman, who died in April, 2018: "our founder, our leader, our guiding light. Sé mo laoch mo ghile mear."^[5][12]

Album track listing[]

CD[]

^[13][14]

No.	Title	Performer(s)	Length
1.	"Ancient Land"	Máiréad Carlin, Éabha McMahon, Tara McNeill, Megan Walsh	2:43
2.	"Homeland"	Carlin, McMahon, McNeill, Walsh	4:19
3.	"Moorlough Shore"	McMahon	4:05
4.	"Follow Me"	Carlin, McMahon, McNeill, Walsh	3:38
5.	"County Down"	Carlin	3:43
6.	"Love & Honour"	McNeill	4:04
7.	"Mná na hÉireann (Women Of Ireland)"	Carlin, McMahon, McNeill, Walsh	4:00
8.	"Sive"	Carlin, McMahon, McNeill, Walsh	3:10
9.	"Shenandoah"	Walsh	4:07
10.	"Long Journey Home"	Carlin, McMahon, McNeill, Walsh	3:13
11.	"Tara's Tunes"	McNeill	4:14
12.	"Ae Fond Kiss"	Carlin	3:59
13.	"Faith's Song"	Walsh	4:03
14.	"Garden of Eden"	McMahon	3:23
15.	"Be Still"	Carlin, McMahon, Walsh	1:35
16.	"Going Home" (from Gods and Generals)	Carlin, McMahon, McNeill, Walsh	4:02
17.	"The Enchanted Way"	McNeill	2:51
18.	"Ballroom of Romance"	Carlin, McMahon, McNeill, Walsh	3:15
Total length:			64:28

Deluxe edition[]

No.	Title	Performer(s)	Length
19.	"Newgrange" (from Intermission)	Máiréad Carlin	3:46
20.	"Orinoco Flow"	Carlin, Éabha McMahon, Tara McNeill, Megan Walsh	3:52
21.	"Fields of Gold"	Walsh	3:36
22.	"Bean Pháidín"	Carlin, McMahon, McNeill, Walsh	3:17
23.	"Over the Rainbow" (from The Wizard of Oz)	Carlin, Walsh	3:24
24.	"Siúil a Rúin"	McMahon, McNeill	3:15
25.	"Amazing Grace"	Carlin, McMahon, McNeill, Walsh	5:33
26.	"Danny Boy"	Carlin, McMahon, McNeill, Walsh	3:32
27.	"The Parting Glass"	Carlin, McMahon, McNeill, Walsh	4:31
Total length:			99:13

Notes

• Tracks 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27 were only available on the digitally-released deluxe edition of the album.^[15]
• Tracks 17 and 18 were not available on the digital album, only on the physical CD and digital deluxe edition.^[16][17]
• Tracks 1, 4, 6, 15, 17 and 18 were original tracks written by Gavin Murphy.
• Tracks 4 and 18 were co-written by Méav Ní Mhaolchatha.
• Track 14 was written by Éabha McMahon and Ciarán Byrne.
• Track 15 was co-written by Johnny B. Broderick.

Tour setlists[]

DVD, Blu-ray & PBS special (2018)[]

Act 1

1. "Ancient Land" (All)
2. "Homeland" (All)
3. "Moorlough Shore" (Éabha)
4. "Ae Fond Kiss" (Mairéad)
5. "Amazing Grace" (All)
6. "Long Journey Home" (All)
7. "Sive" (All)
8. "Shenandoah" (Megan)
9. "County Down" (Mairéad) - DVD and Blu-ray exclusive
10. "Love and Honour" (Tara)
11. "Ballroom of Romance" (All) - Céilí dresses

● Intermission - Gown change

Act 2

1. "Follow Me" (All)
2. "Mná na hÉireann" (All)
3. "Over the Rainbow" (Mairéad and Megan)
4. "Tara's Tunes" (Tara)
5. "Danny Boy" (All)
6. "Garden of Eden" (Éabha) - DVD and Blu-ray exclusive
7. "Faith's Song" (Megan) - DVD and Blu-ray exclusive
8. "Siúil a Rúin" (Éabha and Tara, former singing and playing whistle and latter on harp)
9. "Be Still / Going Home" (All)
10. "The Enchanted Way" (Tara and dancers)
11. "The Parting Glass" (All)

Additional tour setlist (2019)[]

Act 1

1. "Ancient Land" (All)
2. "Homeland" (All)
3. "Moorlough Shore" (Éabha)
4. "Follow Me" (All)
5. "Newgrange" (Mairéad)
6. "Sive" (All)
7. "Fields of Gold" (Megan)
8. "Love and Honour" (Tara)
9. "Amazing Grace" (All)
10. "The Enchanted Way" (Tara) – Céilí dresses
11. "Danny Boy" (All, with Tara on harp)
12. "Ballroom of Romance" (All)

● Intermission - Gown change

Act 2

1. "Long Journey Home" (All)
2. "Shenandoah" or "Faith's Song" (Megan)
3. "Mná na hÉireann" (All)
4. "Orinoco Flow" (All)
5. "Siúil á Rúin" (Éabha and Tara, former singing and playing whistle and latter on harp)
6. "County Down" or "Ae Fond Kiss" (Mairéad)
7. "Garden of Eden" (Éabha)
8. "Over the Rainbow" (Mairéad and Megan)
9. "Tip Tap Toe" (Drummers and dancers)
10. "Tara's Tunes" (Tara)
11. "Bean Pháidín" (All)
12. "Going Home" (All)
13. "The Kesh Inn" (All, using instruments)
14. "The Parting Glass" (All)

Notes[]

• "Long Journey Home" was slightly re-arranged for the tour and concert special, omitting the pipes from the original album version and with an extended intro by McNeill.
• "Ancient Land" was slightly re-arranged for the tour, with an slightly different extended intro than the one heard on the album.
• This is the second Celtic Woman concert tour since the first year of the Believe tour to not feature "You Raise Me Up" in its setlist.

Tour dates[]

Date	City	Country	Venue
Europe (PBS special / DVD / Blu-ray recording)
13 September 2018	County Wexford	Ireland	Johnstown Castle
14 September 2018
North America
28 February 2019	Nashville	United States	Andrew Jackson Hall
1 March 2019	Huntsville		Smith Concert Hall
2 March 2019	Pensacola		Saenger Theatre
3 March 2019	Sarasota		Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
5 March 2019	Pembroke Pines		Charles F. Dodge City Center
6 March 2019	Daytona Beach		Peabody Auditorium
8 March 2019	Melbourne		King Center for the Performing Arts
9 March 2019	Augusta		William Bell Auditorium
10 March 2019	North Charleston		North Charleston Performing Arts Center
12 March 2019	Fort Myers		Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall
13 March 2019	St. Petersburg		Mahaffey Theater
14 March 2019	Atlanta		Fox Theatre
15 March 2019	Greenville		Peace Concert Hall
16 March 2019	Newport News		Diamonstein Concert Hall
17 March 2019	Baltimore		Hippodrome Theatre
19 March 2019	Pittsburgh		Benedum Center
20 March 2019	Greenvale		Tilles Center Concert Hall
21 March 2019	New York City		St. George Theatre
22 March 2019	Richmond		Altria Theater
23 March 2019	Durham		Durham Performing Arts Center
26 March 2019	Rochester		Kodak Hall
27 March 2019	Syracuse		Crouse Hinds Theater
29 March 2019	Concord		Capitol Center for the Arts
30 March 2019	Albany		Palace Theatre
31 March 2019	West Point		Eisenhower Hall Theatre
2 April 2019	Providence		Providence Performing Arts Center
3 April 2019	Hartford		Mortensen Hall
4 April 2019	Philadelphia		Academy of Music
5 April 2019	Lancaster		American Music Theatre
6 April 2019
7 April 2019	Worcester		Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts
9 April 2019	Akron		Akron Civic Theatre
10 April 2019	Detroit		Fox Theatre
11 April 2019	Benton Harbor		Mendel Center
12 April 2019	Lima		Crouse Performance Hall
13 April 2019	Wabash		Honeywell Center
14 April 2019	Rosemont		Rosemont Theatre
16 April 2019	East Lansing		Wharton Theater for Performing Arts
17 April 2019	Columbus		Palace Theatre
19 April 2019	Louisville		The Louisville Palace
20 April 2019	Memphis		Orpheum Theatre
23 April 2019	Fort Smith		ArcBest Performing Arts Center
24 April 2019	Monroe		Jack Howard Theatre
25 April 2019	Grand Prairie		Verizon Theatre
26 April 2019	Sugar Land		Smart Financial Centre
27 April 2019	Austin		Frank Erwin Center
28 April 2019	Oklahoma City		Music Theater
30 April 2019	San Antonio		Majestic Theatre
1 May 2019	Midland		Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center
3 May 2019	Phoenix		Orpheum Theater
4 May 2019	Long Beach		Terrace Theater
5 May 2019	Thousand Oaks		Fred Kavli Theatre
7 May 2019	San Diego		San Diego Civic Theatre
8 May 2019	San Jose		San Jose Center for the Performing Arts
11 May 2019	Spokane		Martin Woldson Theater
12 May 2019	Calgary	Canada	Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
14 May 2019	Idaho Falls	United States	Civic Auditorium
15 May 2019	Casper		Casper Events Center
17 May 2019	Bismarck		Bismarck Event Center
18 May 2019	Minneapolis		Orpheum Theatre
19 May 2019	Rapid City		Fine Arts Center
21 May 2019	Bozeman		Theatre at the Brick
22 May 2019	Missoula		Dahlberg Arena
23 May 2019	Great Falls		Mansfield Theater
25 May 2019	Salt Lake City		Kingsbury Hall
26 May 2019	Morrison		Red Rocks Amphitheatre
South America
17 August 2019	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	Theatro Municipal
18 August 2019
22 August 2019	Curitiba		Teatro Guaíra
23 August 2019
25 August 2019	São Paulo		Credicard Hall
26 August 2019
Europe (full run)
18 October 2019	Amsterdam	Netherlands	RAI Theatre
19 October 2019	Antwerp	Belgium	Queen Elisabeth Hall
20 October 2019	Paris	France	Le Trianon
21 October 2019	Essen	Germany	Lichtburg
22 October 2019	Mannheim		Mozartsaal
23 October 2019	Zürich	Switzerland	Theatre 11
25 October 2019	Budapest	Hungary	Congress Center
27 October 2019	Vienna	Austria	Großer Saal
28 October 2019	Halle	Germany	Händelhalle
30 October 2019	Vilnius	Lithuania	Compensa Hall
31 October 2019	Tallinn	Estonia	Alexela Concert Hall
3 November 2019	Copenhagen	Denmark	Falkoner Theatre
4 November 2019	Poznań	Poland	Sala Ziemi
5 November 2019	Berlin	Germany	Verti Music Hall
6 November 2019	Zabrze	Poland	Dom Muzyki i Tańca w Zabrzu
7 November 2019	Prague	Czech Republic	Prague Congress Hall
8 November 2019
11 November 2019	Cardiff	Wales	St David's Hall
12 November 2019	London	England	London Palladium
14 November 2019	Glasgow	Scotland	Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
15 November 2019	Manchester	England	Palace Theatre
16 November 2019	Bournemouth		Pavilion Theatre
17 November 2019	Birmingham		New Alexandra Theatre
18 November 2019	Liverpool		Philharmonic Hall

Notes[]

• Mairéad Carlin fell sick during the first half of the performance in Zürich on October 23 and did not participate in the second half. It was later confirmed that she had appendicitis, and therefore she was unable to perform in the rest of the European leg of the tour. Starting from the performance in Vienna on October 27, Susan McFadden stepped in for Carlin.

Album personnel[]

Per the liner notes:^[5]

Musicians

The Orchestra of Ireland

Tour, promotional and production

TV special, DVD and Blu-ray personnel[]

Celtic Woman

Celtic Woman Band

Celtic Woman Choir / Dancers

New Ross & District Pipe Band

Johnstown Voices Choir

The Orchestra of Ireland

Tour, promotional and production

Charts[]

Chart (2018–19)	Peak position
Irish Albums (IRMA)[18]	13
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19]	100
US World Albums (Billboard)[20]	3

References[]