They are contemporaries of fellow Celtic artists Enya and Clannad; however, Iona's works are also influenced heavily by jazz-fusion, prog-rock and ancient Christian themes.
For Iona's 1990 debut album, the band added: drummer Terl Bryant, bassist Nick Beggs (former bassist of Kajagoogoo) and several studio musicians -- Fiona Davidson (Celtic harp), Peter Whitfield (strings), Troy Donockley (Uillean pipes) and Frank Van Essen (tuned percussion). The self-titled album received very little press, even in their home country, though a Dutch network compiled a documentary based on Iona, the band and the island.
Two years later, Iona returned with "Book of Kells", and the album was praised by North American critics
as well as those of the British Isles. David Fitzgerald left in 1992 to pursue a degree in music and, as a result, Iona lost much of its jazz influences by the following year's Beyond These Shores. The group made up for Fitzgerald's absence, however, by inviting Robert Fripp to guest on the album. Both albums also featured former Kajagoogoo bassist/stickist Nick Beggs. A contract with England's Alliance Music led to "Journey into the Morn"; the album was released in 1996 in the U.S. and Canada, and was listed among the top five folk albums in Q Magazine's Year End Review. "Heaven's Bright Sun", a live album, came the following year, then "Woven Cord" in 2000, and "Open Sky" in 2001.
Their latest release, new to 2007, is called "The Circling Hour".
iona has been a Leipzig, Germany based postrock-band from 2005-2010 that now reemerges as The Yuki Rush. https://ionanoise.bandcamp.com/album/a-noise
There is also a Romanian experimental / hip hop band who also go by the name "Iona",
Let Your Glory Fall
Iona Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Let Your glory fall, let it fall here
Holy Spirit come, Holy Spirit come
Holy Spirit come, please won't You come here
Blow like wind, fall like rain, touch our hearts with fire again
Be the blade upon the sword, piercing deep into our souls
Let Your glory fall, let Your glory fall
Let Your glory fall, let it fall here
Holy Spirit come, Holy Spirit come
Holy Spirit come, won't You please come here
Let Your healing be released, angels bringing waves of peace
Let Your fragrance fill this place, glory gold on every face
Let our eyes be opened wide to see our Saviour glorified
Let Your glory fall, let Your glory fall
Let your glory fall, let it fall here
Shekinah, shekinah
The song "Let Your Glory Fall" by Iona is a passionate plea to the Holy Spirit for His presence to be manifest in the midst of the people. The lyrics invite the Holy Spirit to come and fill the atmosphere with His glory, power, and transformative light. The song acknowledges the Holy Spirit as the fire that ignites the hearts of the people, the sword that pierces deep into the soul, and the light that exposes darkness and sin.
The chorus of the song repeats the phrase 'Let Your glory fall' four times, emphasizing the longing, expectation, and urgency of the plea. The use of repetition creates a sense of unity, as all the people sing the same prayer, with one heart and one voice. The second part of the chorus introduces the name of the Holy Spirit, 'Holy Spirit come', which adds a personal dimension to the prayer, as each individual makes an intimate connection with the third person of the Trinity.
The bridge of the song is a declaration of faith, as the lyrics imagine the healing and peace that will be released as the angels bring waves of peace and the fragrance of God fills the place. The lyrics also anticipate the transformation of the people, as their eyes are opened to see the Savior glorified, and their faces become golden with His glory. The use of the word 'Shekinah' at the end of the song is a Hebrew term that means the dwelling or settling of the divine presence, which brings a sense of awe and reverence to the prayer.
Line by Line Meaning
Let Your glory fall, let Your glory fall,
We ask for Your magnificent presence to come upon us and bless us.
Let Your glory fall, let it fall here
May Your glory come to this place where we are seeking Your presence.
Holy Spirit come, Holy Spirit come
We ask for the Holy Spirit to come and fill us with His divine presence.
Holy Spirit come, please won't You come here
We invite the Holy Spirit to come to this place where we are worshipping.
Blow like wind, fall like rain, touch our hearts with fire again
We pray that the Holy Spirit will move powerfully among us, refreshing and renewing our hearts.
Be the blade upon the sword, piercing deep into our souls
With the Holy Spirit's help, we ask to have our hearts exposed to the truth of the gospel.
Nothing hidden in Your light, sin exposed in glory bright
May Your light expose the darkness and sin in our hearts, revealing the truth to us.
Let Your healing be released, angels bringing waves of peace
We ask for Your healing power to come upon us, bringing peace and wholeness to our lives.
Let Your fragrance fill this place, glory gold on every face
May Your sweet fragrance and beautiful presence fill this place, bringing joy and delight to all.
Let our eyes be opened wide to see our Saviour glorified
We pray that the eyes of our hearts will be opened to fully see and appreciate the glory of our Savior.
Shekinah, shekinah
We ask for Your manifest presence, the Shekinah, to come and fill our hearts and this place.
Contributed by William S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Alyson Kelly
on Revelation
Revelation
by Iona
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Waiting for the Spirit of Truth to tell
Power on Earth to stand in the face of hell
Waiting for the sky to clear
Waiting for the Son to appear
Waiting to see you
Waiting to hear you
Waiting for vision
To see your, your
Revelation
Learning the purifying flame
Regeneration after the growing pain
Longing for the words to flow
Longing for the world to know
Waiting to see you
Waiting to hear you
Waiting for vision
To see your, your
Revelation
Waiting to see you
Waiting to hear you
Waiting for vision
To see your, your
Revelation
Waiting to see you
Waiting to hear you
Waiting for vision
To see your, your
Revelation
Waiting to see you
Waiting to hear you
Waiting for vision
To see your, your, your, your
Revelation