Paul Lewis

Celtic Dreams

Music evocative of a far-off realm of mists and magic where our ancestors lived close to nature and pagan beliefs were still strong. Paul Lewis was inspired to write music for the lever harp when his wife, Sharon Elizabeth, took up the instrument.

STONE CIRCLE: Standing remote and weather-beaten, nothing evokes the mysteries of a far-distant age more than stone circles. Echoes of Druids abound, and there is the tantalising possibility that as well as places of worship they may have been cosmic calendars that measured the movement of the sun and the passing of the seasons, aligned as many are with the rising solstice sun.
CELTIC JOURNEY: Travelling through time to a simpler, more spiritual age that lingers in our ancestral memory.
HOLY WELL: Often known to this day as Holy wells, natural springs were revered for their healing properties and were thought to be home to benevolent spirits.
CORACLE: Rowing gently along a stream in a wicker coracle.
SKYLARK LULLABY: Having moved to New Zealand, Sharon Elizabeth was surprised one day to hear a lark. Realising how much she missed home she wrote Skylark Lullaby. When Sharon and Paul Lewis met they discovered that as youngsters they both used to lie in the grass listening to skylarks singing above the Sussex Downs, so it was with love that Paul made this harp arrangement of the song for Sharon to play. The skylark has been a source of wonder since time immemorial, hanging motionless in the air while it sings. Its voice is always the first to usher in the dawn chorus.
SOLSTICE DANCE: A bright dance of welcome for a solstice dawn.
THE BARD PLAYS: Bards were the tellers of tales and the keepers of ancestral memories. They were often harpers too, playing their instruments to accompany their storytelling. This piece was originally composed for the 1972 TV series Arthur of the Britons.
BALLAD FOR A MAIDEN: A new arrangement of a melody also known as The Fair Rowena, another theme from Arthur of the Britons. Dedicated to the composer's daughter.
THE GLASTONBURY THORN: Glastonbury is the focus of many an ancient legend. It is said that Joseph of Arimathea visited, some believe bringing the infant Jesus with him. He is supposed to have planted his hawthorn staff in the ground on Wearyall Hill, where it took root and has flowered twice a year ever since, including at Christmas, which no other species of hawthorn does.