The Essential Clannad

Clannad are an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal. Their music has been variously described as bordering on folk and folk rock, traditional Irish, Celtic and New Age, often incorporating elements of an even broader spectrum of smooth jazz and Gregorian chant.

After twelve years of success in the folk music industry, they shot to international recognition in 1982 with the release of the "Theme from Harry's Game", becoming the most successful band in the Celtic music genre. They subsequently went on to bridge the gap between traditional Celtic music and pop music in the 1980s and 1990s with albums such as Macalla and Anam, and composing the theme songs to Film and Television series such as 'The Last Of The Mohicans' and 'Robin Of Sherwood', both included on this collection.

Their records usually consist of traditional Gaelic ballads, New Age tracks that carry the group's trademark of haunting vocal harmonies, mellow harp based instrumentals and often upbeat pop flavoured numbers.