John Doan's music has restorative properties. Listening is like embarking on an inner pilgrimage. Wayfarer is a musical pilgrimage reflecting an actual journey to sacred sites in the British Isles. The first notes seem like an invitation to come on the journey. "Where indeed are we going? And why?" Listening to this music, we can go within to remember an ancient place where the temporal seems to touch the eternal. Locations known as "thin places" to Celtic Christians gave them this sense. We can step back in time, slow our hectic pace, and reflect upon the joys of simplicity. More than a CD, this is history lesson and guided meditation in one, thanks to the extensive liner notes. Each piece of music receives a page in the liner notes with a quote suitable for meditation, and an explanation of the holy site that inspired its composition. Although one can listen without reading the booklet and enjoy the music, it becomes more meaningful to read along. It definitely deserves a higher place than just background music.

The high quality of this CD is evident in its varied and interesting arrangements and masterful, sensitive, expressive playing by all the instrumentalists. The unique sound of the 20-string harp guitar is at once powerful and intimate, evoking an atmosphere of mystery and wonder. Precise, virtuosic playing and impeccable timing with musical flexibility is always apparent. Such amazing tone, in both low, rich, resonant ranges, and on high, clear, crystalline notes. A Medieval mood sometimes prevails, as in "Festival," with the presentation of crumhorns and doodlezock. Most tracks inspire reflection but this one with its good humor, percussive energy and a deep guttural quality to the sound of the harp guitar makes one want to snap one's fingers and dance. Amongst various ancient instruments, a Portuguese viola also makes an appearance.

A significant sense of artistry in the cover photos and inside drawings (by Deirdra Doan) completes the unified theme.

"Our noisy modern times whisk us along without allowing space for the silence we need to hear our creative imagination and the voice of God speaking to us" (liner notes p. 9). Thanks to John Doan, we have a visionary musical gift that can let us time travel to a "thin place" and find rest for our souls.