Born in Washington DC, Lily Neill took up the harp at age nine; five years later she was performing for then-president Bill Clinton and appearing as featured soloist in the premiere of John Cameron’s ‘Missa Celtica’. Now a student in the Irish World Music Centre at the University of Limerick, she brought out her debut album Without Words in the US last autumn and has just released it here.
The CD reveals her to be far more than the superb technician she undoubtedly is: haunting slow airs and sparkling jigs and reels are played with genuine feeling, and there are a number of interesting original compositions, notably the meditative 'Neach Neamhshaolta' and 'The Little Purple Plum Tree'.
On the latter, Claudia Clark on the Japanese stringed instruments koto and jushichigen, adds an Eastern flavour. Clark also plays koto on Neill's delightful pairing of the ancient Scottish harp tune 'My Ladie Laudian's Lilt' with Irish reel 'The Mountain Lark'.
Other guests include violinist Robert Spates, Jesse Winch on bodhrán and frame drum, and guitarist Zan McLeod, who also handled the recording and mixing.