Womad Shop

The Seven Steps to Mercy

Iarla Ó Lionáird

In a language of antiquity - Gaeilge, or Irish - this solitary voice calls to its ancestral spirits. From out of this thin frame comes a voice that climbs a mountainof Gaelic experience - a voice that soars with power and tenderness. In the Irish singing tradition, the singer takes the nearest person's hand, whether friend or stranger, lifting and turning it as the song rises and falls, calling its message over time to its last long note. In this recording, Canadian producer Iarla Ó Lionáird's hand in a weaving, modal spell of drones which carry the songs to a secret space where flames light up the walls of imagination. This is new and unique work. It demonstrates understanding and respect for the tradition out of which it came - majestic, defiant, heart-breakingly beautiful.