Gian Castello is a flute - player who has studied Irish music with various flute teachers (John Lee, County Donegal; Micho Russell, County Clare; Jean Michel Veillon, Brittany). He is a fervent follower of Celtic culture, i. e. the culture which has its roots in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Brittany. He elaborates the music of those Countries and draws inspiration from the poetry of the ancient bards (harp - players who took up the task of keeping the tradition alive). In his records and concerts, he also plays guitar, bodhràn, dulcimer, he writes texts and songs which he sings. He lives now in Drumshanbo, Co. Leitrim, Ireland. The Legend of Taliesin: the Welsh witch Keridwen, to cheer her deform son Afang - du, prepared the draught of wisdom for him. Her servant Gwion Bach accidentally drank three drops which fell on his hand. After a series of metamorphoses and reincarnations he is born as Taliesin that is to say, Shining Forehead) and became the chief bard of Brittany, imbued with all the wisdom which was magically infused through the draught. The CD is a poetical and musical interpretation of the legend of Taliesin and his poems. Listeners will recognize in the tracks many traditional Irish, Scottish, Welsh and Breton tunes (i.e. The Star of County Down in track n. 4, The Road to Lisdoonvarna in track n. 6; The Musical Priest in track n. 8; Gaudete in track n. 7). The little book included (in English) contains texts, poetical introductions to the tunes and a glossary, which are necessary to understand the meaning of the work. The musicians and collaborators are: Gian Castello: tin whistle, concert flute, tenor flute, dulcimer, guitar, percussions, lead vocal, auto harp, texts, arrangements Anna Manusso: violin, vocals, arrangements Enrico Cotella: keyboard, percussions, arrangements Marco Canepa: digital sampler, computer, percussions, mixing Daniel Ponte: advice about Irish musical style Giorgio Testini: guitar in “The Previous Lives” and musical advice Gabriella Veardo: vocals in “The Previous Lives” Peter De Ville: translation from Italian By the same author are available on CD: MERLIN THE ENCHANTER - a musical legend LA PIETRA NEL CAMPO (The Stone in the Field) with Steve Haggerty Celtic harp THE SECRET KINGDOMS - a musical journey to Fairyland Brand new: RAMA, THE PRIMORDIAL DRUID. ABOUT TALIESIN: James Russell SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website From a distant corner of the obligatory world map inside every fantasy book In a foggy primeval woods known to be haunted by goblins, you follow a will-o-wisp down an overgrown path to the next keep, where you will drink your ale and retire to a room above the pub with the dragon on its sign. Tszirmay’s fabulous review led me to this CD and he was right on the money. “Taliesin” is a giant of pastoral folk-prog and certainly one of the finest examples of what I think of as “Middle-Earth” music, that which brings your mind back to the middle ages, the Renaissance, or some fantasy place you think about. Black Widow Records, normally known for pretty dark and heavy fare have a charming and mellow classic in their catalog with Gian Castello. It is too bad that he is apparently so hermit like on the web—there is dreadfully little information out there about this fine artist and his other album is virtually impossible to find. Castello is a formidable flautist and multi-instrumentalist based in Genova who has assembled a troupe of musicians to bring this magical, musical tale to life so successfully. While having Italian vocals the album really has more of an Irish sound than Italian prog and a strong feeling of the Celtic music scene of which Castello is an enthusiast. “Taliesin” may be the ultimate cross of fine pastoral progressive music with Renaissance vibe and Celtic folk. This project is right up to par in both talent and spirit with great artists like Gryphon, Celeste, Faveravola, and Pererin. In fact Castello has elements of each of those groups present in Taliesin. The story is really not about hobbits or dragons, but about the legend of the Welsh witch Keridwin who sought to cheer up her deformed son by preparing a potion of wisdom. Problem is, her servant Gwion Bach accidentally drank a few drops of the potion that spilled onto his hand. This gave Gwion great powers and angered Keridwin. Gwion was reborn with magical powers as Taliesin and this album is a poetic and musical interpretation of the tale. The music itself is soft and easily flowing like a river winding, acoustic instruments with a folky Pererin sound as a frequent base, often bouncing a bit for a toe-tap. It makes me feel like I’m a member of the adventuring party shown on the cover of Heart’s Little Queen. Imagine gentle male and female vocals in storytelling mode (with a campfire burning somewhere in the background), harmonizing a beautiful melody with acoustic guitar behind, and then a violin running away between the verses. There is effective hand drumming and exotic percussion. Arrangements are simple and effective giving each performance the chance to shine without being drowned out by too much activity. I find the material to take the lyrical and musical themes to just about the right point, never too far and never silly. While I joke a bit about Middle Earth this is not Spinal Tap’s Stonehenge. It is gorgeous, fluently performed folk music. Atop the Irish-Italian folk feels are all of the cool bells and whistles, literally! Castello himself plays tons of tin whistle and flute along with dulcimer, guitars, percussion, and vocals. Anna Manusso adds violins and vocals. Enrico Cotella contributes keyboards and percussion, and Marco Canepa handled samples, computers, mixing, and percussion. An additional half-dozen folks assisted the project with guest guitars and vocals, art design, translations, and other tasks. The booklet is great with some kind of ancient alphabet drawing and complete English translation of the fable to follow along with the story. The front and back cover art, when placed side by side, form a fantastic painting that cries out for a proper mini-LP sleeve edition. The sound quality is pristine allowing the sometimes softly played instruments to fill your living room with no problems. I need more time to decide if this album deserves the masterpiece status Tszirmay awards (I have a feeling I may be hearing from him for not awarding 5 stars straightaway, but he knows that 5th star and me are like oil and water;-). But either way you are dealing with an essential title for prog-folksters, Celtic fans, and those looking for soundtrack music for their next Dungeons and Dragons gathering. It should be noted that this album does not rock even to the extent that Gryphon or Willowglass can rock—yet it is so beautiful and engaging that you are not going to care. 8/10