Immortal Memory

by Lisa Gerrard, Patrick Cassidy

Overview

Immortal Memory is a collaboration between vocalist Lisa Gerrard and Irish composer Patrick Cassidy. Billed as a cycle of life and death and rebirth, Immortal Memory is better described as an orphaned film score. Cassidy's warm arrangements allow the former Dead Can Dance singer to step out of the dark medieval world that she's called home for nearly 20 years -- though there is much of that world within these castle walls -- and focus on the simplicity of love, faith, and loss with a grace that's bereft of the icy perfection of her previous work. Gerrard, whose voice has aged like the finest oak, displays an almost supernatural mastery of the material. Her effortless contralto wraps itself around the ten Gaelic, Latin, and Aramaic spirituals like an evening prayer, making each stunning entrance the equivalent of audio comfort food. Echoing her collaboration with composer Hans Zimmer on the Academy Award-winning Gladiator -- Gerrard and Cassidy framed this work during the recording of the film's soundtrack -- ethereal pieces like the solo showpiece "Elegy" and the Cassidy-penned lament for his late father, "Psallit in Aure Dei," are powerful statements hatched by two people who understand each other like old friends. The majestic opener, "Song of Amergin," with its sublime Celtic melody and slow build, is indicative of the pieces to follow, allowing listeners the time to decide whether or not this is a road they wish to travel. Fans of Enya, Dead Can Dance, or snowy, image-laden soundscapes of powerful quietude will have no problem making that choice. ~ James Christopher Monger

Product Details

Release Date:	01/20/2004
Label:	4Ad
UPC:	0652637240320

Tracks

1. The Song of Amergin
2. Maranatha (Come Lord)
3. Amergin's Invocation
4. Elegy
5. Sailing to Byzantium
6. Abwoon (Our Father)
7. Immortal Memory
8. Paradise Lost
9. I Asked For Love
10. Psallit In Aure Dei

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Lisa Gerrard   Primary Artist,Vocals
Patrick Cassidy   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Lisa Gerrard   Arranger,Composer,Producer
Chris Bigg   Design
Simon Bowley   Mixing
Chris Staley   Assistant,Mastering Assistant
Don C. Tyler   Mastering
David Barick   Mixing Assistant
Mark Magidson   Photography
Jacek Tuschewski   Design,Paintings,Technical Assistance
Digby Mackworth Dolben   Text
Gregory Barrett   Portraits,Portrait Photography
Patrick Cassidy   Arranger,Composer,Producer
David Badrick   Assistant
William Butler Yeats   Poetry