From Gian Castello's concept album (cd and book) "The Secret Kingdoms-a Musical Journey to Fairyland" Gian Castello: tin whistle Roger Visonà: Scottish bag-pipe Marco Canepa: keyboard, percussions Fabio Casanova: keyboard Review by tszirmay SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Symphonic Prog Specialist I have waited long and hard for Jakko Jakszyk's marvelously captivating opus The Bruised Romantic Glee club and I have gushed effusive ever since it arrived by magic mail a few days ago, expressing my exalted joy through a gleaming review. But on the heals of that wondrous revelation comes another long awaited jewel, Gian Castello's follow up to the stellar Taliesin, an album of beautiful medieval folk that has kept me completely spellbound and has even entered my top 20 all time hall of prog fame. (yes kids, its that good!). I guess I have always felt a soft spot for the music of the middle Ages, fascinated by the lute, the mandolin , troubadours , raconteurs, spirited jousts , lavish banquets and certainly inspired by the chansons de geste (definition by Wikipedia = The chansons de geste, Old French for "songs of heroic deeds [or lineages]", are the epic poems that appear at the dawn of French literature. The earliest known examples date from the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries, nearly a hundred years before the emergence of the lyric poetry of the trouvères (troubadours) and the earliest verse romances.) Certainly the romantic heritage flows in my veins, coming from an old titled Hungarian family that once had castles and lands, fighting the Turkish invasion for generations. This music just resonates with me even though there is no "rock" element here at all, yet the density of the expressed emotions is what makes Celtic music so inspiring. And this is what Gian Castello cooks up for us, a lush musical feast featuring such instruments as dulcimer, tin whistle, bodhran, Celtic Harp and bagpipes. Speaking of which, few people realize that bagpipes (and Celtic music in general) are from the Mediterranean basin, originating with the Roman Empire (Nero in particular) and travelling into Iberia to the west and Greece and the Middle East. From there it went with the Celts to Ireland, Brittany and Scotland. Gian got his former schooling from masters in Bretagne, County Donegal and County Clare as well as from the Milan Conservatory. I hunted down this seemingly impossible Holy Grail and found it on Amazon from a seller in Maine, a gentleman of Italian descent. I am proud to report that I Regni Segreti ("The Secret Reigns") is Taliesin's perfect companion. I can go on and salivate over the stunning artwork, the crystalline production and mostly the glorious music within but I simply prefer to let the splendid music do the trick. The themes are impossibly astonishing; I cannot recommend this more to fans of beautiful music, regardless of style or genre. For fans of Celtic, medieval, baroque or those who need respite from all the head banging, this is heavenly panacea. 5 Merlins Gian Castello: tin whistle, concert flute, dulcimer, texts, guitar, lead vocal, bodhrán, arrangements Anna Manusso: violin, vocals Gabriella Veardo: vocals Fabio Casanova: keyboard, guitar Andrea Bertino: violin Roger Visonà: Scottish bag - pipe Karin Parisi: Celtic harp Marco Canepa: keyboard, arrangements, mixing Peter De Ville: translation from Italian