• Breath of Heaven review by Chris MacIntosh aka Grandfather Rock from The Phantom Tollbooth
• Breath of Heaven review by James Stewart from The Phantom Tollbooth
• Light Eternal review by Steven S. Baldwin from The Phantom Tollbooth
• Light Eternal review by Linda J. T. LaFianza from The Phantom Tollbooth
• Lux Aeterna review by James Stewart from The Phantom Tollbooth

Breath of Heaven

After having been involved in the Christian music industry for almost 25 years I find that I don't look to the latest praise and worship release with any anticipation at all. If I want to hear praise music then I go to Church on Sunday morning. When I go to see a concert, I go to hear people that I admire utilizing the gift that God has given them. I realize that this is very cynical but that's just my opinion. David Fitzgerald on the other hand is a completely different ball game altogether. His albums bring me to places of worship and delight that only Iona has done before. Gee, what an odd coincidence. In the western mind set, if we sing enough choruses and jump around enough then maybe God will come down and bless the service. In the Eastern Orthodox church, somehow through the liturgy and the Eucharist, we are transported to take part in the worship that is continually taking place in the heavenly realm. David Fitzgerald's music lays me before the throne of God and I have no choice to do but worship an awesome Creator and thank him for the gift of music that he has blessed this man with.

As for the album Breath of Heaven it is a sheer delight to listen to over and over again. David has once again collaborated with Tim Oliver and the end result is in my opinion one of the greatest listening experiences that I have had in many a long year. Most of the songs on the project were written by others but were arranged by Mr. Fitzgerald and he has made them his own. Sitting and writing this review while listening to the album I feel such a sense of peace and wonder that I am completely content and for me that is a wonder. David has assembled his usual cast of characters, Besides Tim Oliver we get to here Teryl Bryant, Frank Van Essen, Tim Harries, Dave Clifton, and many other fine artists from the British Isles. When I here music like this, it makes me proud to have some small part in letting people know about it. The music itself is all instrumental and very ethereal, somewhat similar to some of the passages from The Book of Kells. The playing is very tight but at the same time easy and flowing, almost as if you were in a boat floating down stream on a nice peaceful day. Now if we could only get him over to the states for a tour I would be totally happy.

Rated 5 out of 5

--Review by Chris MacIntosh aka Grandfather Rock The Phantom Tollbooth, republished with permission

Rated 3 out of 5

--Review by James Stewart from The Phantom Tollbooth, republished with permission

Light Eternal

When you think of the sounds of soft jazz saxophone, who first comes to mind? Go ahead, admit it, Kenny G, right? Well, the long-haired handsome one can move over, he has some competition. Virtuoso David Fitzgerald first came to prominence as a founding member of the Celtic Christian band, Iona. In this solo release he combines both reed and wind instruments in an atmospheric mix with exceptional production, sound clarity, and purpose.

The first track, a nearly seven minute version of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" might wrongly give listeners the impression that Light Eternal is a Christmas album. In fact, this project is intended to be a musical reflection of the concept that God is light, both in the sense of the Maker of light and the One who conquers darkness. Many of these pieces were originally used as part of the BBC TV series "First Light" for a show called "Jesus--Then and Now," but they have been adapted and expanded to present, in Fitzgerald's words: "a tapestry of sound, text and vision around the life, death and resurrection of Christ--the Light Eternal." As such, the listener is invited to reflect on our Lord's beauty and majesty, which is the desired and likely response to this mostly upbeat collection. The album's reverent tone is most clear on the rare vocal track, "Only Jesus," where Adrian Snell, guests as the lead vocalist:

Who's gonna turn my night to day
Who's the star that lights my way
Who understands just how I feel
Fills my heart and makes me real
Only Jesus, only Jesus
Only you, Lord, could wash me, heal me, save me.

Frankly, this tender and beautiful ballad, a love song to the Lord, should inspire a quiet, worshipful response, but being one of very few songs with vocals, it feels out of place among the more instrumentally focused tracks. Fitzgerald's talents really come to the fore, however, on the hymn adaptations, like "Steal Away" and "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross," where the music is central and the vocals, if there are any at all, are secondary.

Also of note is the darker track, "Golgotha," which sounds as if it were taken directly from Peter Gabriel's Passion. Throughout all of these pieces, Fitzgerald's crisp notes on flutes, saxophones, and other assorted woodwinds, rises above the pleasant mix. Clearly, Fitzgerald is a man using his considerable instrumental talent to express his true devotion to our Lord.

Regrettably, as dandy and exquisite as this album is, there is not much to recommend it to folks who aren't familiar and fond of instrumental works. However, those with an attachment to beautiful, worshipful musical meditations on our Lord, the Giver of Light, won't find a better project that this one to brighten their time.

Rated 3.5 out of 5

--Review by Steven S. Baldwin from The Phantom Tollbooth, republished with permission

Walk into any book store, coffee shop, gift shop, drug store, or gas station around here, and an inviting display of CD's will entice you with the promise of pleasant, relaxing background music that doesn't ask much of you. Soft jazz, new age, atmospheric, safe. Pay attention to it, or let your mind go elsewhere. It would be easy to dismiss this stuff, except the prevalence of anything in the marketplace is a sure indicator of its popularity, and all popular forms of communication must be examined for their message.

Light Eternal is a welcome antidote to the mushy intellectual vagueness of contemporary easy listening, stumbling only when it strays into the unsure wilderness of contemporary lyrics, especially in direct comparison to the ageless treasures of "O Come, O Come, Emmanual," "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross," and "Steal Away." But why should the mystics have all the good music? Brew some tea, kick off your shoes, gaze out the window at the rain and unwind.

Rated 3.5 out of 5

--Review by Linda J. T. LaFianza from The Phantom Tollbooth, republished with permission

Lux Aeterna

David Fitzgerald will probably be best known to readers as a founding member of Iona, but since he left them several years ago he has moved beyond their sound, taking in more classical influences and developing his own musicianship through a music degree. This album utilizes ideas related to the concept of God being light (the title means "Eternal Light") to take us through significant events in the life of Christ via a mixture of songs and instrumentals. The music is very atmospheric in nature and is heavily driven by the woodwind talents of Fitzgerald. Choirs and classical singers are used to good effect alongside traditional and simple instruments. Add a dash of the more hi-tech and the result is an amazingly powerful album which immerses you in the emotions of the performers and the events they are singing about. A standout track for me is the sometimes disturbing, instrumental "Golgotha," which places a haunting saxophone on top of a delicate soundscape and powerfully conveys the images of pain with which the title is associated.

Rated 4.5 out of 5

--Review by James Stewart from The Phantom Tollbooth, republished with permission

The Eye of the Eagle

Once upon a time there were two men called Dave. Dave Fitzgerald and Dave Bainbridge were session musicians playing in the backing band for established Christian artist Adrian Snell, but in their soundchecks they began to experiment musically. When united with vocalist Joanne Hogg a new band was born, Iona. Fitzgerald has since moved on from Iona, to study his art further and fall in love with liturgical music, but they still believe that together they have a very special musical connection. While Iona is on sabbatical the two friends have joined together with their namesake, David Adam, to create the intricate mesh of atmospheric music and meditative spoken words that is The Eye of the Eagle.

The way the words and the music are knitted together on this album it is difficult to know which inspired the other. In reality the readings are taken from the already-penned Adam title which this album is named after, and by which Iona were influenced on their Journey Into the Morn album. The words were chosen as the music was woven together, hence the close connection, and at times the words trail off to allow the music to develop their theme. Adam narrates throughout and he has a most appropriate voice, combining authority with some gentleness and a soft edge.

It was suggested when news of this project first came out that it was to be a follow-up to Iona's Book of Kells album, the last that Fitzgerald was directly involved with, but to see this as Book of Kells part two would be to pigeon-hole it wrongly. The music shows more of the liturgical tradition that Fitzgerald encountered as he studied for a masters degree in music. While retaining some of the Celtic instrumentation of Iona, and containing the strongly Celtic vocals of Maire Brennan (Clannad) and Shona MacDonald (solo artist), only a few passages fit into that genre.

Fitzgerald continues his traditional role of woodwind player par excellence. His three saxophones (soprano, alto, tenor), flutes, whistles and clarinet are joined by a couple of more unusual instruments and work particularly well in a number of plaintive roles, with only gentle backing. Bainbridge brings his keyboard, piano, and guitar skills together with some bozouki, various bells, and programming and arrangement work. While the musicianship is stunning, the arrangements are probably the oustanding part of this recording as a classical boys's choir and a cathedral organ fit in seemingly effortlessly.

The one thing that does seem at times lacking is percussion. This is not an album that would benefit from crashing drums but perhaps some light, creative percussion and a little more bass would have done the arrangements some service. Without this, some listeners may not find this dynamic enough, but they will certainly be losing out as with concerted listening there are many gems to discover. The spoken word sections may also not be to everyone's taste, but they are well executed. For those who really do not want to have them in place during every listen an alternative version of the CD without those vocals is available from the musicians.

It is difficult to know how to sum this recording up. It is epic in places, but simple in others. Suffice it to say that the arrangements are magnificent. Not to every listner's tastes certainly, but an exploration worth making. Perhaps it would be best to leave you with one of Adam's contributions to this project which sums up what the musicians are trying to bring to life in their work:

We need to keep a vision of this other world.
Not as a place far away or set in another time,
But a world that keeps breaking into our lives.
Not a world that runs parallel to ours,
But a world that is closely inter-woven with ours,
In fact a world in which our world shares
And into which we can enter.

Rated 5 out of 5

--Review by James Stewart from The Phantom Tollbooth, republished with permission

The Eye of the Eagle

Some months after the initial release of The The Eye of the Eagle album, a video has been put together, mixing clips from the live premiere of the material in Norwich Cathedral with interviews with Dave Fitzgerald, Dave Bainbridge, and David Adam, the three creators of the album's music and verse. The music is, of course, of the highest calibre: ethereal Celtic sounds shaped by Fitzgerald's many woodwind instruments, Bainbridge's keyboards and stringed instruments, and a selection of excellent vocalists and the cathedral's boys's choir. The spoken word parts are contributed by a cathedral staff member, and are intentionally evocative.

The interview segments give glimpses into the lives of those involved in the creation of The Eye of the Eagle. Dave Bainbridge introduces the viewer to his beloved Yorkshire countryside; we see David Adam in the beautiful setting of Lindisfarne Abbey, and Dave Fitzgerald explains why Norwich Cathedral is special to him.

One of the accompanying album's great strengths is its completeness. It works as a whole that requires overall relaxed listening. Unfortunately, the video loses some of this quality because the music's flow is interrupted by the interviews. The transitions are handled well, and for those who are already familiar with the album it will not be overly bothersome. But for someone wishing to discover this project for the first time, this is not the medium in which to find it. Instead, this video serves as an interesting companion piece to the album, but no substitute for its audio-only counterpart.

--Review by James Stewart from The Phantom Tollbooth, republished with permission