Album Notes

A BRIEF OVERVIEW

In a performance career spanning nearly two decades, LaDage's eclectic Celtic music has been called, "hauntingly beautiful." and "evocative." Stepping onto the Celtic music stage in March of 2008, Ms. LaDage has filled concert venues through her innovative sound.

A journey through the musical antiquities of the Celtic age, this highly anticipated debut album features nine new songs with an array of influences from Celtic to classical to Middle Eastern. From the intricately woven instrumental "Manzikert," to the hauntingly melodic, traditional folklore inspired strains of "Bonny Was The Lady," through the balladry of "Endless Knot" and the evocative rhythms of "Midsummer's Night," the rich musical tapestry journeys from the medieval sands of Turkey, to the Byzantine Empire, into the moors and legends of the ancient Celts, onward through temples of memory. With Ms. LaDage providing vocals, as well as accompaniment on piano and harp, the record features a diverse instrumentation that includes hurdy gurdy, guitar, clarinet, viola, violin, cello, uillean pipes, tabla, bodhran and more.

Ms. LaDage recorded the material for The Ancestry at Smart Studios, Madison, Wisconsin and the album was mastered by Adam Ayan, Portland, Maine at the legendary Gateway Mastering Studios.

"I came across a reference to the Celts in Asia Minor early in the eleventh century as the Mediterranean world and the world around them came to a crossroads and began to follow the migration of the many Celtic tribes as the Byzantine Empire declined and the Normans invaded the British Isles," Jillian explains. "The memories that had passed into the resting places of history, myth, legend, and forgotten happenings were events that drew me to the stepping stone of remembrance and lineage. In turn this became the foundation of the music, and as I experienced it, the common thread that held the Celts together through the opening of this great cultural Pandora's Box."

The Tartan Telegraph, the newsletter for the St. Andrew's Society of Springfield, MO reviewed Jillian LaDage's debut album, The Ancestry as "…a sophisticated recording" and "…précise and evocative vocals and harp-playing. The result is a truly rich polyphonic soundscape." Beau Buffington, Midwinter, Vol. 3 Issue 6.

For full lyrics and liner notes on the musings behind The Ancestry, visit the Official Website at www.tarithcote.com