Discography

The Road Home
Song for Our Ancestors
The Crooked Road
Celtic Sessions
Celtic Crossing
Music on the Mountain
Tree of Life
Simple Gifts
Simple Gifts Collection
Orison

The Road Home

William Coulter's The Road Home represents his first truly solo recording since he began exploring Celtic music over twenty years ago. This rich and eclectic collection features tunes from Ireland, Brittany, Norway, Portugal and America, as well as several original compositions. The Road Home includes gems such as a solo guitar arrangement of Neil Young's After the Gold Rush and a unique arrangement of the timeless melody, Amazing Grace.

William also presents performances of the exquisite guitar composition Pastorale, and the lovely lullaby waltz, The Road Home.

This elegant collection is a personal offering of beautiful music performed by one of the world's finest acoustic guitarists.

Song for Our Ancestors

Traditional and original works for two guitars. William Coulter and Benjamin Verdery.

On their first full CD together, these two virtuosos of string space take us on a journey made of songs and spirit, steel and nylon, intricate strands and braids of sound. They call it SONG FOR OUR ANCESTORS, which I believe can refer to more than one kind of kinship. There are family lines, and there are musical lines. Many ancestries and influences converge in these twelve pieces from Ireland, from Germany, from Spain, Africa, and Tibet. Two were composed by the musicians themselves, and are recorded here for the first time. Coulter's "An Daingean", was written for a seacoast town in the southwest of Ireland. He wrote the piece to celebrate his brother's wedding there and the rare beauties of that place. Ben Verdery's "Keanae", was inspired by a remote peninsula on the Hawaiian island of Maui.

Crooked Road

Following up on the success of his previous recordings, Celtic Crossing and Celtic Sessions, William Coulter once again draws from the rich repertoire of airs and dances from Scotland and Ireland for this latest recording. Along with traditional works, Coulter has also selected a number of contemporary compositions for this recording, including a wonderful duet with concertina master Alistair Anderson on Anderson's "Dog Leap Stairs."

Coulter is joined on two tracks by virtuoso classical guitarist Benjamin Verdery. Together they perform the Sean Ó Riada classic, "Women of Ireland" and the beautiful Turlogh Ó Carolan air, "Elanor Plunkett." The result is a lyrical, emotional and enchanting listening experience.

Other guest artists on The Crooked Road include cellist Barry Phillips, Shelley Phillips on oboe and English horn, Lars Johannesson on flute, fiddler Deby Benton Grosjean, Neal Hellman on dulcimer, uilleann piper Todd Denman, Muireánn Nic Amhláoibh on whistle and flute, and pianist Paul Machlis.

Celtic Sessions

William Coulter follows up his popular Celtic Crossing with his latest recording Celtic Sessions.

His distinctive guitar style has been a mainstay on many Gourd recordings. With cellist Barry Phillips, William has recorded three highly acclaimed recordings of traditional Shaker melodies, Simple Gifts, Tree of Life, and Music on the Mountain. His work has been heard on four of the Narada Celtic Samplers as well as a hearts of Space collection of Celtic Lullabies.

On his latest recording he is joined by a talented cast of players which include : Martin Hayes and Alasdair on fiddle, Seamus Egan on flute and 4-string banjo, Todd Denman on uilleann pipes as well as his long time musical friends Barry and Shelley Phillips, Lars Johannesson, Paul Machlis, Theo Page and Neal Hellman.

"The sounds on this album are pristine; it is beautifully recorded, capturing a range of nuances and gentle moods that are rarely heard on recordings of Celtic music. The arrangements are mostly contemporary, the content traditional and above all else it is musically expressive in a way that helps to redefine the place of the guitar in Celtic Music." - Martin Hayes

Celtic Crossing

Thousands of miles away in America, William Coulter fell in love with the music and language that came over the sea from the beautiful land of Ireland. His interpretations of these jigs, reels and airs reflect his deep reverence for tradition, along with his unique creative response as an individual musician - hurrah for the folk process! Joined by guests including Shelley and Barry Phillips, Irish fiddler extraordinaire Kevin Burke and others, the tunes include beloved traditionals The Lark in the Morning, Si bheag, Si mhor, Banish Misfortune, Lagan Love, The Kesh Jig and Return to Fingal. You'll also find unexpected treasures including the lullaby Einini*, Ay Linda Amiga from Celtic Spain, and the Victorian Marble Halls.

*Featured on the Narada Sampler Celtic Legacy.

Music on the Mountain

Completing the trilogy begun with Simple Gifts and Tree of Life, here is another collection of the dances, hymns and marches which were part of the Shakers' everyday lives and worship. Barry Phillips and William Coulter, once again join forces with longtime musical friends Shelley Phillips, Mike Marshall, Robin Petrie, Lars Johannesson, Laurie Hart, Neal Hellman and others in these lovingly arranged melodies.

The moods on Music on the Mountain, as on its predecessors, range from solemn to joyous; from exuberant to profoundly peaceful -- and underlying all are the fundamental Shaker ideals of simplicity and reverent humility. Like its companion albums, Music on the Mountain is filled with music to cheer the heart and lift the spirit.

Tree of Life

If you love Simple Gifts, you'll be delighted with this companion album. The Shakers believed that music and dance were gifts received from blessed spirits, and celebrated their innermost spiritual revelations with song. Once more, Barry Phillips, William Coulter and company join forces to revive the Shakers' stirring and joyful music.

Here again is an anthology to cherish: a perfectly choreographed sequence of lovely melodies, upbeat dance tunes and heartfelt hymns. Both albums offer informative liner notes on each song, essays on the Shaker movement, and suggest reading to provide listeners with background information and sources on this fascinating material.

Simple Gifts

Exhuberant dance tunes, lively marches and reverent hymns were part of the daily lives and worship of the Shakers, who flourished in mid-19th century America. Like their highly-prized crafts, the Shakers' music was an outward expression of their faith and celebrated their ideals of simplicity and love.

Barry Phillips and William Coulter, along with guest artists Shelley Phillips, Mike Marshall, Robin Petrie and others, create exquisite blends of guitar, cello, fiddle, mandolin, flute, harp and dulcimers. From the title track (made famous by Aaron Copland in Appalachian Spring) to little-known gems from the Shakers' vast treasury of song, these are melodies born directly of the Shakers' spiritual life, yet deeply rooted in the Anglo-American folk tradition - music to cheer the heart and lift the spirit.

Simple Gifts Collection

Exuberant dance tunes, lively marches, and reverent hymns were part of the daily lives and worship of the Shakers, who flourished in mid-19th century America.

Like their highly-prized crafts, the Shakers' music was an outward expression of their faith and celebrated their ideals of simplicity and love.

From the title track (made famous by Aaron Copland in Appalachian Spring) to little-known gems from the Shakers' vast treasury of song, these are melodies born directly of the Shakers' spiritual life, yet deeply rooted in the Anglo-American folk tradition - music to cheer the heart and lift the spirit.

This collection contains over 64 shaker compositions and features the talents of:

William Coulter (guitars)
Barry Phillips (cello, psaltry, mandola,
harmonium, and percussion)
Mike Marshall (mandolin & fiddle)
Shelley Phillips (oboe, English horn & harp)
Robin Petrie (hammered dulcimer)
Kaila Flexer (violin)
Esther Landau (flute)
Lars Johannesson (wooden & silver flute)
Neal Hellman (mountain dulcimer)
Laurie Hart (fiddle)
Deby Benton Grosjean (fiddle).

The box set also features a beautiful rendition of the Shaker spirit drawing (Fruit Bearing Tree) by self-taught folk artist J. D. Logan.

Orison

Five San Francisco Bay instrumentalists take the name Orison from the old-fashioned word for prayer or invocation (see Hamlet, III, i). They are: Barry Phillips, Shelley Phillips, William Coulter, Steve Coulter and Anne Cleveland, whose repertoire includes music from both the folk and classical traditions (The Butterfly*, Arran Boat Song, The Maids of Mitchelston, The Water Kilpie, Morgan Megan and more), along with original compositions. Their combinations of harp, guitar, cello, oboe, English horn, flute and percussion produce textures of etheral and poignant beauty.

*Featured on the Narada Sampler Celtic Odyssey.