A Celtic Pilgrimage is Doan’s first solo harp guitar recording where there is no mistaking that all the parts are being played at once. Doan recently recorded this CD in Germany produced by Peter Finger, noted guitarist and producer.

These tracks appeared fully produced in his previously acclaimed Celtic inspired recordings “Eire” (awarded “Best Celtic Album of the Year”) and “Wayfarer” but here this deeply felt music becomes transparent and even more intimate much like in his solo concerts. These performances are closer to his original sketches improvised on location in the Celtic Isles at the sites known as “Thin Places” where it was believed that the distance from Heaven to earth was thin as well as the difference between the past, present, and future.

I met Peter Finger in Lewes England at a guitar festival. We both really enjoyed each others performances. He even tried his hand at the harp guitar and sounded very good in spite of the fact that he rarely plays in standard tuning and has never played the harp guitar. He listened to my Eire and Wayfarer recordings and told me that he loved the music and the full orchestral productions but since he promotes a guitar magazine and record label he asked if I would rerecord my favorites from these projects solo so he could enjoy the artistry and charisma of a solo live performance on CD. I came to Germany in 2010 and recorded Celtic Pilgrimage in two days and Peter got his wish. I discovered that he is not only a master guitarist but a master engineer as well with a great deal of patience and artistry.

What we ended up with was a recording that captured each piece as if they were windows into the Celtic spirit, a collection of waking dreams. It ends with a new track only found on this recording titled Bungowla (meaning end of the road). He wrote this on the Aran Isles while at Europe’s farthest western point surrounded by wind, cold damp sea air, away from the troubles of the world, alone and with nowhere to hide. It is in this piece one can feel the thinness as you come to the end of this Celtic Pilgrimage.

• Farewell 4:11
• Patrick In the Spirit 4:28
• Wake (Waiting for the Dawn) 4:33
• Gazing On the Face of the Sea 4:02
• Wayfarer (On the Path to Holy Cross Abbey) 4:12
• St. Joseph Arrives In Avalon 5:12
• Yeats Country (Where William Lies) 4:47
• Where Horses of Feary Hide 5:38
• The Way of My Fathers 5:00
• The Hunter and the Hare 5:13
• Resting Upon Jacob’s Pillow 4:24
• Bungowla (The End of the Road) 5:11

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