Search - Troy Donockley :: Pursuit of Illusion

Minimalist Classical Folk Rock

John D. Dooley | Southern California United States | 10/19/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Is it an illusion that Minimalist Classical music can intermix with Celtic Folk Rock? No, it's a reality with the skillful talent of Troy Donockley who after playing with Maire Brennan (Clannad) & Lesley Garrettso, as well as many other musical artists, now plays mainly with Iona & Dave Bainbridge. This is one of his few solo works still in print.



I first heard the song "Conscious" on a live CD "When Worlds Collide" with Dave Bainbridge. There the song had only 2 people performing, where in this original version the theme trades off unto many hands. Isn't it strange how most of the time the first version heard is what you use to measure other versions with? In this cause "Conscious" on the live CD sounds more controlled because of the limited instruments used, while in the original version on this CD the main theme trades off every line which at first causes a lack of focus. Could this be why the title of the song is called "Conscious"? On most of the other songs use Minimalist Classical music like Steve Reich, Phillip Glass, or maybe Michael Nyman as the background beat while the main melody or themes are normally Celtic Folk music. In other words, the entire CD is like Dvorak New World Symphony #9 in reverse, adding modern classical music to a Celtic folk music base line. There are only a few songs with lyrics which seems (Platonic opinion) to create a story about a turn of the 20th century Chinese magician Chung Ling Soo who died while performing a catch a bullet act after World War One. Well produced to give any professional stereo a work out."