Ancient Shadows - the Ghost and the Fairy

Deluxe limited edition Digipack with two booklets with illustrations 32 pag.

Buying the CD will also give you the digital files for download in the VIP area downloads

To access VIP area you must enter your VIP code found inside the CD booklet.

Interested only in a Digital Download Format? You can buy only the Ancient Shadows Digital Download

Priscilla Hernandez - Ancient Shadows - onesheet.pdf

This project that could be placed in the “ethereal gothic genre,” is a compilation of themes I’ve written on over the years. Some of them have been rescued from my childhood long before I ever dared to sing them. Some hidden in folders full of dust, others that have always been muttered shyly till I gave them a new shape. Songs portrayed as stories that highlight the dual nature of all things, the bitter and spellbinding dark side of fairy and ghost tales: haunted houses, faerie creatures, mourning willows, dreams and hypnagogic nightmares… A fantasy in the realms of twilight. It’s been a very intimate journey for me, an experience that allowed me to feel again “old passions”, “old fears”, “ancient shadows” casting over me their undeniable influence in shaping my being till I have become what I am. A journey within that now I’m longing to share with you… Use the player at the side to preview the songs and you'll find a link to purchase the album directly from me with no intermediates. Support my music by purchasing an original! Thank you!

Each song has a story...  
Go to Lyrics

1) Facing the dream (Opening credits)
Dreams can be placid, they can be vivid, some other times recurrent, or a warning. If out of control they can even turn into nightmares and sink you to the darkest depths. But they all have a meaning. I thought for a long time that I was pursuing a dream, but then I realized it was my dream that had been haunting me and finally caught me, inviting me gently into the unknown. Sometimes I feel scared, afraid of what may come, as I don’t know where it will lead me to, but I must face it! ©2006

2) Away
This song is based on a shorter one I wrote when I was 12 years old. At that age I found out I was not a girl anymore, I had to grow up and leave the safety of my inner world and start to be aware of the mundane reality. I felt like a captive bird, the bars of an invisible enormous cage around me, but still trapped. My castles fell, my kingdom vanished and I started to be afraid of forgetting all the magic things I had imagined. All around me was new and hostile, boiling with people that couldn’t really hear me, and all I longed was to be back again in my shell. At the end of the song I portray the pacifying happiness of abandoning myself into my own world of fantasy out beyond the furthest end, far away… ©2004

3) Ancient Shadow
What if you feel passionately about something that may not exist? An “ncient shadow”, maybe a ghost from the past, maybe an otherworldly creature, or perhaps just your imagination, just a desire taking shape. What if you don’t care if it’s real or not because you still feel the need to summon his presence every night, to hear his sigh in your ears, and to make yourself feel he’s around. ©1998

4) But if you go
A song about all the insecurities you feel when you’ve just fallen in love. That bittersweet and exciting sensation. Dedicated to Héctor Corcín, for the “passion” he gave to me. ©2004

5) I steal the leaves
A riddle to understand the duality of every thing in nature flowing and trapping you in its eternal paradox. Lights and shades alone are uneven; they need to intermingle to bring the balance. This was the first song I ever put on the internet back in 2002 and it is not only back by popular demand, but also because “the ghost and the fairy” concept of this cd portray the dual concept this song highlights.©2003

6) The call of the Nymph
One day a dragonfly came to my hand and died on it. It was delicate and ethereal and my desolate heart took flight over its ghostly wings to build the call of the nymph tale. The larvae of dragonflies are called “nymphs” and feed by waiting for their prey or even actively hunting them with ferocity. That led me to the metaphor of my particular creature, the spirit of a drowned lady trapped in a dark pond, and just like the larvae of dragonflies voraciously devouring souls to emerge like a graceful dragonfly and get released from the waters. She feels so cold down there. ©2003

7) The willow’s lullaby
If you hear the hissing and soothing lullaby of a willow tree, beware if you feel drowsy and for your soul’s sake try to keep awake. This willow mourns the forests and has grown, fed by bitterness. If you fall sleep you’ll be lost forever. Slightly inspired by the “old man willow” character from the “Lord of the Rings” ©1994

8) Nothing
The void and emptiness in the heart of a ghost that seeks to feel again. She watches us as we rejoice with the pleasures of life, not being able to feel anymore that thrill and warmth. She feels like nothing but still cannot help hurting herself, observing and yearning for what she won’t have anymore. She is attracted by the pulsing force of the living, because you know “moths fly to light, when they’re blind in delight” ©2002

9) Haunted
You know that there are places you’d better not roam alone in. You can feel that weird sensation that alerts you. What if the ghost in a haunted place is the place itself? Cross the fence and enter into the desolate feelings of an abandoned house. ©2005

10) Nightmare
Have you ever experienced the most horrifying fear at the onset of sleep or upon waking and not being able to move? But the truth of night horrors is that the monster lives within - just remain yourself and you can’t fight it. Dedicated to all the people with night horrors and “sleep paralysis” disorder. You’re not alone! © 2006

11) Fairy tale
Every time someone says “Once upon a time,” well, that’s how a fairy tale is born. ©1999

12) The realms of twilight
This song is about the innocence, that sparkling fire that we lose when we grow older and leave our childhood behind. But if not too late, this song brings the hope to relight it before it’s vanished completely. ©2006

13) The voice of the night
Another theme written at an early age, maybe ten years old, and I was at first surprised finding out it was not so naive. It tells the story of someone who embraces the night as if a shelter. Peaceful, quiet, there’s nothing to be afraid in the dark. If you get rid of your fear then you’ll see all the beauties the night can offer. Desert the light! ©2006

14) Lament 
Have you ever ached so much? Is the pain so unbearable that you would like to be able to undo all the creation if that would just give you the slightest chance of getting back what you know you’ve lost forever, but still with the conviction that there’s no way to recover it? When that sorrow grows so wild inside your spirit that it almost becomes a curse on your lips… and it hurts… deeply. I wrote this song when my heart and soul were completely broken and undone. Singing it still bring tears to my eyes. ©2003

15) Ahora que te has ido (Now that you’re gone)
My lament goes on with this instrumental piece, a wordless cry, a song dedicated in tribute to my most beloved friend KIRA (1995-2003) that left my side taking half of my heart with her. Yes, Kira was my dog, the most faithful companion and my little sister. She was the reason I always wanted to get back home when I was away. In fact she was my home. Kira, I will never forget you. I carry the treasure of your memory safe. Some wounds will never heal, but I prefer to suffer them than to forget a single precious detail. Thanks for being the most loyal of friends just when I needed a guardian and someone to take care of me. I will always be grateful. This entire cd is dedicated to you. For you it’s been done, no matter about the ones that are not able to understand, what is true caring, sweet child! ©2003

16) The Prince and the Fairy
A young Prince got lost in the forest, he saw a maiden golden as the summer, it was not a trick of the light filtering through the dome of the wood. She was real and her tinkling laughter, a wondrous melody, was echoing everywhere. Too late he realized he was under a spell and his heart tied to hers forever. Search for me my prince! Let’s dance, let’s sing! Forget everything but me! ©2006

17) I’m right here
Written a few years later in 2003, this song is sort of the opposite of the love story in “Ancient Shadow.” Time from the point of view of this intangible, invisible spectral visitor gliding gently to her side. ©2003

18) Sueño muerto
This is one of my oldest songs, written when I was just a little girl. Still its message has been renewed many times, being important at some moments of change and every time I had to get rid of dreams that were not going to come true, not to remain hopeless and have the determination of looking for new ones. ©2002

19) Facing the dream (closing credits)
Everything comes to an end. Now this dream of mine is over yet other dreams are still to come… But now it’s time to wake up because there are things that live forever, old things, eternal things, and ancient shadows might enter into your mind when you play too much in between dreams and reality.©2006