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Celtic Woman - A New Journey: Live at Slane Castle, Ireland |
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A Christmas Celebration by Celtic Woman |
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Celtic Woman |
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A New Journey by Celtic Woman |
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Noel by Josh Groban |
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A Christmas Celebration |
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 It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ( C W Style), December 2, 2008 |
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It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas, so haul out the holly, and trim the tree, and get ready for the most beautiful Christmas Collection this side of the Golden Gates. I play this CD when it is not even Christmas and just love every minute of it-esp "Little Drummer Boy" perhaps I'm hooked on repetition as I have always enjoyed this song, but with the Gregorian chant added and Chloe singing the part of the little lad who wants to play the drum for Baby Jesu and Ray Fean solemnly drumming away- this is an incredble production led by Orla's flawless intro. Space does not permit me here to extoll each one of these songs as I would like to. I think the time-worn carols we often hear blaring out of commercial stores and elevators take on a whole new robust and invigorating manner that slaps you upside the head and opens your eyes to the intrinsic beauty of "Noel" and "O Come all Ye Faithful" no triteness here-just magnificence-glorious visual and aural praises to the "Reason for the Season" ! I get such peace within knowing David Downes has been allowed to commercially share his gifts of arrangments, direction and compositions with us. How wonderful it is to own this DVD-if you are looking for some Christmas Cheer-you found it here! |
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A true Christmas Celebration!, November 28, 2008 |
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I have to admit, ever since I first saw Celtic Woman on PBS back in 2005 I was smitten. I now own all of their DVD's (except the greatest journey, I'm still debating that one since it's mostly a greatest hits collection). I'm also not a very big fan of Holiday music, since in the last 20 years or so the market has been over-saturated with so-so music by so-so artists, IMHO. Then Celtic Woman's "A Christmas Celebration" came out. I feel almost reborn!
This has got to be the best Holiday music I've heard in my life, period. Here's why. Every single song performed in this collection is done BEAUTIFULLY. The production is top notch. Gorgeous lighting and costumes, brilliant sound mixing, expertly choreographed and arranged, and passionately performed. Chloe, Lisa, Orla, Maev and Mairead are all in top form. We'll miss Maev, as this was her final performance with CW. She has left to pursue a solo career. Her replacement, Lynn Hillary took over a little over a year ago, and she's beautifully qualified...but that's another story. The show starts with the choir (dressed very nicely in black), and Mairead opening "Carol Of The Bells". The girls all join in for what proves to be a dramatic opening to the show. Maev then sings "Silent Night" both in Gaelic and English, with Mairead joining in for an instrumental verse and chorus. Reverently performed. The show continues with a wide variety of Holiday classics from sacred to secular. Showcasing Chloe's charm on "White Christmas", Orla's beautiful voice on "Away In A Manger", and Lisa's luminescence on "The Christmas Song". Highlights of this show are many, but real standouts include "The Wexford Carol", performed a capella by Maev and the choir, "Christmas Pipes", a David Downes song sung by Lisa and the choir, and featuring the great backup band. "The Little Drummer Boy" is very memorable, starting with the choir in a gregorian chant, then Ray Fean on the snare drum, soon joined by Orla, then Chloe, ending with the gregorian chant theme with Chloe and Orla exiting the stage hand in hand. My personal favorites are: "O Holy Night", performed by all five soloists with the orchestra, choir, and an additional choir way in the back...very dramatic and dynamic! "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas". This is performed again by all five ladies a capella, with a beautiful violin solo by mairead, who appears in this song as if she were another singer, only on violin. "Don Oiche Ud I Mbeithil". A beautifully haunting song performed by David on Piano, Orla on Harp, Mairead on Violin, and gorgeously sung in Gaelic by Chloe and Maev. The show seems to end with a rousing "O Come All Ye Faithful", which is performed dynamically by the whole ensemble, including the extra choir. A very fitting end to a fantastic holiday program. But wait, there's more! Chloe, in her own inimitable charming way, introduces the closing number "Let It Snow", as something Celtic Woman don't usually do, and it brings a smile to your face. The song is done in a 1940's big band style, complete with trumpets, trombone and sax sections! The girls all have fun with this one, which ends nicely with snow falling on the stage, a piano decrescendo, and the girls exiting with Mairead the last one seen. She turns to the audience and whispers seductively, "let it snow"...followed by the band's big ending chord. A really fun ending to a really great concert! This is definitely a worthwhile addition to the Celtic Woman Catalogue. Every song here is built or rebuilt from the ground up by David Downes, a brilliant arranger/composer/director. I would recommend this holiday collection to anyone, even to Ebenezer Scrooge himself! |
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Third great DVD from a heavenly group, November 11, 2008 |
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The choir is still there. Máiréad is still there with her magic fiddle. But Hayley Westenra has disappeared. We miss her voice and her smile.
The Celtic Woman group is back to the original five girls: four vocalists (Chloë Agnew, Órla Fallon, Lisa Kelly and Méav Ní Mhaolchatha) and a wonderful creature, fallen from heaven for our outmost felicity. I wrote in my review of their "New Journey" (Amazon, February 4, 2007) that if Paradise exists, I picture it full of angels like Máiréad Nesbitt playing harp or violin! Those who, like me, watch their second concert several times a year, will think that this third DVD is not quite as great as "A New Journey". But how better can you get after you have reached perfection? This is nevertheless a very good show focused entirely on the Christmas spirit. Not as spinning as in the two previous shows, Máiréad plays her violin with a graver posture, in accordance with the subject of this show, which is entirely staged indoors, just like the first one. As in their previous shows, and unlike André Rieu's endless (and sometimes exasperating) talking between numbers, there is no wasted time here. This is a real concert and not a family party with Uncle Archibald and his musical group! The public is still applauding that the next number is already rolling. The whole concert is thus a mere one hour and five minutes. Maybe these folks were in a hurry for the Christmas supper! This reminds me of a funny story called "Les Trois Messes Basses" written by Alphonse Daudet (1840-1897) in "Lettres de mon Moulin": a gluttonous priest is in such a hurry to eat that he expedites his Christmas mass... With Rieu's DVDs you pay cheaper for the minute, since they are always longer... Now, don't get me wrong: I love André Rieu's concerts and I have already purchased eight of his DVDs from Amazon, even those taking place in Holland like "The Homecoming", "The Flying Dutchman" and "Rieu in Wonderland" (a real wonder this last one!) But it's a fact that he exasperates me with his endless talks in a language that I don't understand! However, the performance of his band and, most specially, of his three usual sopranos (Carmen, Carla and Suzan) is always outstanding. In fact, I am writing a review for his wonderful concert in New York that I expect to finish very soon. This Christmas show opens like the previous ones with the presentation of the five girls and David Downes, the director; then Máiréad steps in playing her violin, soon joined by the four other girls in a beautiful interpretation of the "Carol of the Bells", a traditional song arranged by David Downes. It is followed by Máiréad with her fiddle and Méav, who sings "Silent Night". "White Christmas" is song number three, interpreted by Chloë, Lisa and Méav as soloists before joining their beautiful voices at the end, and David Downes at the piano. "Away in a Manger" ("little Lord Jesus"), song number four, is another traditional composition arranged by David Downes and sung by Órla. Since I used to scratch a guitar when I was fifteen (many, many moons ago!) and make some noise with it, I appreciated several passages enhancing Des Moore's guitar. All five girls join their talents for the fifth number: "Ding Dong Merrily on High" and Máiréad can't help some discrete jumping here. The Acontas Choral Ensemble starts the following song: "The Little Drummer Boy" in a Gregorian Chant style, followed by Órla and later by Chloë, with Nicky Baily, one of the usual percussionists, playing the drum. We also see interesting evolutions of the choir as they sing. The seventh number is interpreted by Lisa alone, with David at his piano: "The Christmas Song" that Nat King Cole used to sing so well. This is followed by "In the Bleak Midwinter", a languorous musical interpreted by Máiréad. Violin lovers will appreciate her mastery of this instrument. "The First Noel", song number nine, follows immediately while Máiréad is still playing, which impedes any applauding. All four girls succeed to one another as soloists before they join their voices to the choir in a crescendo movement, then the song ends softly, as it started. A great moment, full of emotion! Méav starts the following number: "The Wexford Carol" with the choir jumping in later on. "Christmas Pipes" is the eleventh number. All five girls come together again with the choir for this beautiful song, richly orchestrated, with plenty of bells and the usual percussionists: Ray Fean and Nicky Bailey. Máiréad soon arrives with her fiddle. As usual, all girls evolve on stage as same as the choir. A second, bigger choir is seen in the background at the end. All the girls stay together for "O Holy Night", that they sing as soloists at the beginning before joining their harmonious and beautiful voices with Máiréad soon stepping in. Nice passages enhancing Des Moore's guitar again. Another great moment in this concert! "Panis Angelicus" is interpreted by Chloë with a string ensemble. Beautiful segments with the cello and the guitar. "Green the Whole Year Round", song number 14, is a soft melody with David at the piano and Lisa as a soloist most of the time with a discrete choir in the background from time to time. All the girls return on stage for "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" that Chloë starts alone, soon joined by the others in an "a cappella" interpretation of this traditional song most of the time, with the exception of sporadic moments when Máiréad plays a few notes on her violin. This is followed by "Don Oíche Úd I Mbeithil" with Orla playing harp, David at the piano and Máiréad with her fiddle. Méav and Chloë sing as soloists before forming a duo for this languorous melody. All five girls come together for the traditional "O Come All Ye Faithful". The choir soon arrives and the song goes crescendo to culminate with the arrival of the second choir. After a well deserved standing ovation when David Downes joins the five girls, they will close the show with a last song: "Let It Snow", enhanced by a dozen of trumpets and wind instruments while artificial snow falls down. The title role scrolls while the band plays and the choir sings "Christmas" under a well deserved standing ovation. A usfelul booklet containing the text of these songs is joined to this beautiful DVD but there are no additional goodies like in their masterpiece concert, "A New Journey", which contained some nice views of Ireland. But it's true that it's reasonably priced at under $15 for a DVD, which is the price of a simple CD. Although entirely devoted to Christmas, the message of peace and love that these Christian songs convey should make them accessible to all human beings, no matter what religion they profess. When I was a student in Paris in the 1960s, I often listened to Don McNeil's "Breakfast Club" that was broadcasted by the American Forces Network in France. I remember that every morning he interrupted his show at some point and said these words that I will never forget: "Now a moment of silent prayer, each in his own words, each in his own way; for a free world united in peace, let us bow our heads and pray" "EACH IN HIS OWN WORDS, EACH IN HIS OWN WAY"! These words pronounced every morning by Don McNeil symbolize for me the perfect spirit of religious tolerance. |
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Well Worth the Money - Great Enterment !, October 26, 2008 |
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This is a great DVD! The Music and the color is the best of any Chrismas shows I have seen. This is a show you will want to watch long after Christmas is over. |
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Celtic Woman Christmas DVD, October 4, 2008 |
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This DVD by CW is a must for any CW fan. And, if you've never purchased any CW DVD's, it's a lovely place to start. This DVD really showcases, perhaps even better than either of their other DVD's, each woman's vocal gifts.
Downes has outdone himself with the selections and his arrangements accent the harmony among the women. For soloists, their blend of voices is superb. I totally love the duet between Meav and Chloe as one takes the high soprano and then the other. Having Orla on the harp, David on piano and Mairead on violin makes this selection haunting. Lisa is as warm and engaging as ever, especially in "Green the Whole Year Round". A Christmas Celebration can be celebrated... the whole year round. Enjoy! |
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