Luar Na Lubre

Since 1986 the Galician ensemble Luar Na Lubre has presented fresh interpretations of melodies drawn from centuries-old song collections, thereby carrying the Celtic traditions of this northwestern Spanish region onto the global stage. Honored with the Ideal award for Best Galician Folk Group by the area’s principal newspaper, El Ideal Gallego, the musicians have never ceased reshaping the repertoire of their native land. Founded that year in the compact city of A Coruna, the band achieved its widest recognition through its association with British musician and composer Mike Oldfield, first encountered in 1992. In addition to recording piper and bandleader Bietto Romero’s composition “O Son Do Ar,” Oldfield featured vocalist Rosa Cedron as a guest performer at the Tubular Bells III concert in London and enlisted the full group for his subsequent world tour. That expanded profile brought the musicians their first gold disc with the 1997 album Plenilunio.