Riverdance: Music From the Show

Studio album by

Riverdance

Released| 1995
Recorded| Windmill Lane Studios
Genre| Irish folk
Length| 1:03:13
Label| Celtic Heartbeat/Atlantic
Producer| Bill Whelan

Riverdance: Music from the Show is an album of the music composed by Bill Whelan for the Riverdance theatrical show, and performed by the show's own musicians and singers.

## Background

[edit]

The recording was engineered and mixed at Windmill Lane Studios in 1995.[1] In 1997, it won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album for 1996.[2][3] The album was released five times: in 1995, 1997, 2003, 2005 and 2020, each time with a different cover, sometimes different versions or mixes of the songs, and a slightly different track list.[4] Notably, the "Cloudsong" and "Riverdance" segments are placed under one track going by the name of the latter.

## Track listing

[edit]

Track listing from the original release in 1995:[5][6]

1. "Reel Around the Sun" (Bill Whelan) - 8:40
2. "The Heart's Cry" (Bill Whelan) - 2:26
3. "The Countess Cathleen/Women of the Sidhe" (Bill Whelan) - 5:42
4. "Firedance" (Bill Whelan) - 6:02
5. "Caoineadh Cú Chulainn" (Lament) (Bill Whelan) - 4:09
6. "Slip into Spring" (Bill Whelan) - 3:44
7. "Riverdance" (Bill Whelan) - 5:42
8. "Lift the Wings" (Bill Whelan) - 4:58
9. "Freedom" (Bill Whelan) - 3:40
10. "Andalucía" (Bill Whelan) - 4:19
11. "Macedonian Morning" (Bill Whelan) - 2:56
12. "Marta's Dance"/"The Russian Dervish" (Bill Whelan) - 6:03
13. "Hope To The Suffering" (Bill Whelan) - 4:52

## Re-releases

[edit]

The album was re-released four times, with a different cover and a slightly different track list each time.[4]

### 1997 release

[edit]

Riverdance: Music From the Show

Studio album by

Riverdance

Released| 1997
Recorded| Windmill Lane Studios
Genre| Irish folk
Length| 1:12:16
Label| Celtic Heartbeat/Decca
Producer| Bill Whelan

Track listing from the second release, in 1997:[1][7]

1. "Reel Around the Sun" (Bill Whelan) - 8:40
2. "The Heart's Cry" (Bill Whelan) - 2:26
3. "The Countess Cathleen/Women of the Sidhe" (Bill Whelan) - 5:42
4. "Caoineadh Cú Chulainn" (Lament) (Bill Whelan) - 4:09
5. "Shivna" (Bill Whelan) - 3:38
6. "Firedance" (Bill Whelan) - 6:02
7. "Slip into Spring" (Bill Whelan) - 3:44
8. "Riverdance" (Bill Whelan) - 5:42
9. "American Wake" (The Nova Scotia Set) (Bill Whelan) - 3:07
10. "Lift the Wings" (Bill Whelan) - 4:58
11. "Macedonian Morning" (Bill Whelan) - 2:56
12. "Marta's Dance"/"The Russian Dervish" (Bill Whelan) - 6:03
13. "Andalucía" (Bill Whelan) - 4:19
14. "Home and the Heartland" (Bill Whelan) - 3:25
15. "The Harvest" (Bill Whelan) - 3:38
16. "Riverdance" (Reprise) (Bill Whelan) - 3:47

### 2003 release

[edit]

Riverdance: Music From the Show

Studio album by

Riverdance

Released| 2003
Recorded| Windmill Lane Studios
Genre| Irish folk
Length| 1:20:43
Label| Celtic Heartbeat/Universal
Producer| Bill Whelan

Track listing from the third release, in 2003, which was the Japanese version and included two bonus tracks:[8]

1. "Reel Around the Sun" (Bill Whelan) - 8:40
2. "The Heart's Cry" (Bill Whelan) - 2:26
3. "The Countess Cathleen/Women of the Sidhe" (Bill Whelan) - 5:42
4. "Caoineadh Cú Chulainn" (Lament) (Bill Whelan) - 4:09
5. "Shivna" (Bill Whelan) - 3:38
6. "Firedance" (Bill Whelan) - 6:02
7. "Slip into Spring" (Bill Whelan) - 3:44
8. "Riverdance" (Bill Whelan) - 5:42
9. "American Wake" (The Nova Scotia Set) (Bill Whelan) - 3:07
10. "Lift the Wings" (Bill Whelan) - 4:58
11. "Macedonian Morning" (Bill Whelan) - 2:56
12. "Marta's Dance"/"The Russian Dervish" (Bill Whelan) - 6:03
13. "Andalucía" (Bill Whelan) - 4:19
14. "Home and the Heartland" (Bill Whelan) - 3:25
15. "The Harvest" (Bill Whelan) - 3:38
16. "Riverdance" (Reprise) (Bill Whelan) - 3:47
17. "I Will Set You Free" (Bill Whelan) - 3:45
18. "Endless Journey" (Bill Whelan) - 4:42

### 2005 release

[edit]

Riverdance: Music From the Show

Studio album by

Riverdance

Released| 2005
Recorded| Windmill Lane Studios
Genre| Irish folk
Length| 1:12:25
Label| Celtic Heartbeat/Universal
Producer| Bill Whelan

Track listing from the fourth release, in 2005, labelled as "10th Anniversary Edition, with newly recorded music":[9][10]

1. "Reel Around the Sun" (Bill Whelan) - 8:42
2. "The Heart's Cry" (Bill Whelan) - 2:26
3. "The Countess Cathleen/Women of the Sidhe" (Bill Whelan) - 5:44
4. "Caoineadh Cú Chulainn" (Lament) (Bill Whelan) - 4:11
5. "Shivna" (Bill Whelan) - 4:05
6. "Firedance" (Bill Whelan) - 6:04
7. "Slip into Spring"/"The Harvest" (Bill Whelan) - 5:01
8. "Riverdance" (Bill Whelan) - 5:45
9. "American Wake" (The Nova Scotia Set) (Bill Whelan) - 3:07
10. "Lift the Wings" (Bill Whelan) - 3:00
11. "Heal Their Hearts"/"Freedom" (Bill Whelan) - 6:26
12. "Macedonian Morning" (Bill Whelan) - 2:56
13. "Marta's Dance"/"The Russian Dervish" (Bill Whelan) - 6:04
14. "Andalucía" (Bill Whelan) - 4:22
15. "Riverdance" (Reprise) (Bill Whelan) - 4:32

## Personnel

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The recording included the following performers and production team:[1][5][9]

### Musicians

[edit]

* Cormac Breatnach – tin whistle
* Máire Breatnach – fiddle
* Ronan Browne – uilleann pipes
* Robbie Casserly – bass, drums
* Áine Uí Cheallaigh – vocals
* Anthony Drennan – guitar
* Noel Eccles – percussion
* Kenneth Edge – soprano sax
* Juan Reina Gonzalez – cantor
* Robbie Harris – bodhrán
* David Hayes – keyboards
* Tom Hayes – bodhrán, spoons
* Eileen Ivers – fiddle
* Declan Masterson – low whistle
* Michael McGlynn – conductor
* Des Moore – acoustic guitar
* Máirtín O'Connor – accordion
* Prionsias O'Duinn – conductor
* Eoghan O'Neill – bass guitar
* Nikola Parov – gadulka, kaval
* Desi Reynolds – drums, tom-tom
* Rafael Riqueni – guitar
* Davy Spillane – uilleann pipes, tin whistle

### Singers

[edit]

* Anúna
* Brian Dunphy
* Lynn Hilary
* Michael Samuels
* The Riverdance Singers

### Irish dancers

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* Jean Butler (tracks 3 and 16)
* Michael Flatley (tracks 1, 3 and 16)
* Riverdance Irish Dance Troupe (tracks 1, 3 and 16)

### Production

[edit]

* Andrew Boland – engineer, mixing, remixing
* Ciaran Cahill – assistant engineer
* Conan Doyle – assistant engineer
* Nick Ingman – orchestration
* Rob Kirwan – assistant engineer
* Bob Ludwig – mastering
* Willie Mannion – assistant engineer
* Conal Markey – assistant engineer
* Alastair McMillian – assistant engineer
* Bill Whelan – arranger, composer, orchestration, producer, remixing

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## Charts

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Chart performance for Riverdance: Music from the Show Chart (1995–1999)  | Peak
position

|

Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] | 4
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[12] | 23
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13] | 24
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[14] | 35
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[15] | 20
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[16] | 8
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] | 39
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[18] | 15
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[19] | 3
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[20] | 4
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] | 23
UK Albums (OCC)[22] | 31

## Certifications

[edit]

Certifications for Riverdance: Music from the Show Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

Australia (ARIA)[23] | 2× Platinum  | 140,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[24] | Gold  | 100,000*
United States (RIAA)[25] | Platinum  | 1,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Sleeve notes from Riverdance: Music From The Show, Celtic Heartbeat, Universal UND53076, 1997.
2. ^ "Past Winners Search". Grammy.Com.
3. ^ "Grammy Award® Winners: Best Musical Show Album". RateYourMusic.
4. ^ a b "Riverdance: Music from the Show - Releases". allmusic.com. 1995. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
5. ^ a b Sleeve notes from Riverdance: Music From The Show, Celtic Heartbeat, Atlantic 7567-80611-2, 1995.
6. ^ "Riverdance: Music from the Show - Track listing (1995)". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
7. ^ "Riverdance: Music from the Show - Track listing (1997)". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
8. ^ "Riverdance: Music from the Show - Track listing (2003)". allmusic.com. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
9. ^ a b Sleeve notes from Riverdance: Music From The Show, Celtic Heartbeat, DECCA 988 1298, 2005. "10th Anniversary Edition -- Includes newly recorded music".
10. ^ "Riverdance: Music from the Show - Track listing (2005)". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
11. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Bill Whelan – Riverdance - Music from the Show". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
12. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Bill Whelan – Riverdance - Music from the Show" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
13. ^ "Ultratop.be – Bill Whelan – Riverdance - Music from the Show" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
14. ^ "Ultratop.be – Bill Whelan – Riverdance - Music from the Show" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
15. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Bill Whelan – Riverdance - Music from the Show" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
16. ^ "Bill Whelan: Riverdance - Music from the Show" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
17. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Bill Whelan – Riverdance - Music from the Show" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
18. ^ "Charts.nz – Bill Whelan – Riverdance - Music from the Show". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
19. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Bill Whelan – Riverdance - Music from the Show". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
20. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Bill Whelan – Riverdance - Music from the Show". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
21. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Bill Whelan – Riverdance - Music from the Show". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
22. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
23. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1996 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
24. ^ "British album certifications – Bill Whelan – Riverdance - Music from the Show". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
25. ^ "American album certifications – Bill Whelan – Riverdance". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 3 May 2019.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

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