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Lisa Lynne Franco’s Circle of Hope, Love and Peace.

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 4 Comments

Beautiful Celtic harp music for all seasons!

I strongly recommend Fairy Tales  by Lisa Lynne Franco, for those who love Celtic harp music. This is a beautiful album filled with optimistic melodies and tender percussion. It also features a bamboo flute by George Tortorelli. The album opens with the beautiful mid-eastern flavored Dance of Herod. Like a wicked bar of dark chocolate, the tune waltzes into our consciousness. This is a perfect soundtrack for traveling.

Cucanandy is a stately  bouncing tune with its use of tin whistles and chimes. Douce Dame Jolie is of old English flavour with a Scottish lilt embellished with bouzouki lines. Crimson Morn as the title suggest, is a lament. The bright  and breezy rendition reminds me walks on the beach. Now Oh Now, I needs Must Part is a Valentines tune-but not the happy kind!

Carolyn’s Welcome is tune at the fireside. The strings are impeccable with their warmth. Chimes, tin whistle among other instruments wrap this Irish tune. It is a perfect holiday song. Lisa gives a refreshing redo on this Simon and Garfunkel classic Scarborough Fair. It stays loyal to the original tempo, but with hints of Enyaesque swaying of string parts in the middle part.

Fanny Power is playful. This piece evokes scenes of the summery countryside and child-like innocence. The 10th track Circle of Joy is probably Lisa Lynne’s most ‘pop’ instrumental piece. I first got hold of this on the Celtic Season’s compilation and I never got tired listening to it. Regal, optimistic and magical; this tune will continue to hook future listeners.

Greensleeves has  been covered by other artists and it is just ok.  Boru’s March is a traditional piece that I remember from Breton musician Alan Stivell.

Love and Peace is a magical album. It is filled with the spirit of Renaissance and traditional Celtic.

****

Phil Holland

Phil Holland

In the vein of Instrumental music, I would like to present to you this wonderful artist by the name of Phil Holland. I am looking forward for an interview article about her-if her time permits!

Check her MySpace page out and listen to the music.

http://www.myspace.com/philholland2

Celtic band Poisoned Dwarf kick off Colonial Williamsburg’s Winter Concert Weekend‏

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 5 Comments

  Hi Celtic music fans. I am writing this blog amidst the blistering heat . We are having some major power outages in the area and I had to go out of the house to catch some air.

  After a week of hard work, I have finally found time for myself and of course this blog which I constantly update because of you. Isn’t it nice to broadcast one’s thoughts to the world? Isn’t it cool to realize that despite one’s mundane and unknown existence, one has the power to move emotions across cyberspace. To break down barrier’s in what music is all about. So don’t be sad if you are a geek, a lonely nerd or a lost Druid. You are never alone.

From our readers:

Hello,

I hope you are having a great day. I was hoping to connect with you regarding Colonial Williamsburg’s Winter Concert Weekend. Local favorite Poisoned Dwarf, a traditional Celtic band led by Colonial Williamsburg’s Music Program Manager Lance Pedigo, kicks off the weekend Friday night, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. with “Pints, Pairings and Poisoned Dwarf”. Poisoned Dwarf will perform its Celtic sounds in the Williamsburg Lodge Restaurant during “Pints, Pairings and Poisoned Dwarf,” a special four-course dinner from executive chef Rhys Lewis served with a selection of ales from the British Isles Friday night, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. 

Poisoned Dwarf’s traditional Celtic sounds focus primarily on Irish traditional music with acoustic instruments only. The Williamsburg-based band is made up of Colonial Williamsburg employees, including Stewart Pittman and Lance Pedigo from Fifes and Drums; Tom DeRose from military programs; balladeer Wayne Hill and Eric Hunter, from coach and livestock. The sounds of the Irish flute, whistle, guitar, Scottish small-pipes, banjo, accordion, fiddle and various percussion instruments, including bones and bodhrán, bring such lively sounds to all Poisoned Dwarf performances, it’s nearly impossible to keep from dancing. Their love for playing their music is contagious from the very first note.

“Pints, Pairings and Poisoned Dwarf” is $39.50, including tax and gratuity. For reservations, call               1-800-447-8679         1-800-447-8679. This is one of several special events during the Winter Concert Weekend featuring Grammy winner Kathy Mattea live in the Virginia Room of the Williamsburg Lodge Saturday, Feb. 27, at 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. For information about all the dining and music events during the Winter Concert Weekend, visit http://www.colonialwilliamsburg.com. For information about Poisoned Dwarf, visit http://www.poisoneddwarf.com.   

I noticed you frequently update your blog with the latest in news, events and more. I thought perhaps this event could fit for your site. Let me know if you would like any further information on the Winter Concert Weekend.

Thank you again, I look forward to hearing back from you.

All the best,

Katie 

 

I sent Katie a reply about my interest in this news. She wrote back:

Wonderful news! Below I have provided additional information and a photo of group below, and a link to the bands website. Does this help? Let me know, I am happy to send additional info. Look forward to checking it out on your site this weekend.

All the best,

Katie

 

“Pints, Pairings and Poisoned Dwarf”

Combines Ales from the Isles with Dinner and Music

 

Photobucket

From left to right, Stewart Pittman, Tom DeRose, Lance Pedigo, Wayne Hill and Eric Hunter. Photo Courtesy of Poisoned Dwarf.

  

Williamsburg, Va. ― Enjoy the Celtic sounds of regional favorite Poisoned Dwarf in the Williamsburg Lodge Restaurant during “Pints, Pairings and Poisoned Dwarf,” a special four-course dinner from executive chef Rhys Lewis served with a selection of ales from the British Isles Friday night, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. 

Poisoned Dwarf’s traditional Celtic sounds focus primarily on Irish traditional music with acoustic instruments only. The Williamsburg-based band is made up of Colonial Williamsburg employees, including Stewart Pittman and Lance Pedigo from Fifes and Drums; Tom DeRose from military programs; balladeer Wayne Hill and Eric Hunter, from coach and livestock.

The sounds of the Irish flute, whistle, guitar, Scottish small-pipes, banjo, accordion, fiddle and various percussion instruments, including bones and bodhrán, bring such lively sounds to all Poisoned Dwarf performances, it’s nearly impossible to keep from dancing. Their love for playing their music is contagious from the very first note.

“Pints, Pairings and Poisoned Dwarf” is $39.50, including tax and gratuity. For reservations, call 1-800-447-8679. This is one of several special events during the Winter Concert Weekend featuring Kathy Mattea live in the Virginia Room of the Williamsburg Lodge Saturday, Feb. 27, at 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. For information about all the dining and music events during the Winter Concert Weekend, visit www.colonialwilliamsburg.com. For information about Poisoned Dwarf, visit www.poisoneddwarf.com.   

 

Established in 1926, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is a not-for-profit educational institution and cultural destination dedicated to the preservation, restoration, interpretation and presentation of the 18th-century Revolutionary capital of Virginia as the nation’s largest living history museum.  Colonial Williamsburg offers more than 1,000 guest rooms among five hotels, including the landmark Williamsburg Inn, four historic dining taverns and six restaurants, a full-service 20,000-square-foot spa, the Golden Horseshoe golf courses and 66,000 square feet of conference space centered at the restored Williamsburg Lodge.

Williamsburg is located in Virginia’s Tidewater region within an hour’s drive of Richmond and Norfolk and three hours south of Washington, D.C. For more information about Colonial Williamsburg, call 1-800-HISTORY or visit Colonial Williamsburg’s Web site at www.colonialwilliamsburg.com. Purchase of Colonial Williamsburg products and services supports the Foundation’s preservation, research and educational programs. 

 Katie

If you want to know how the band sounds like, you can hear samples on this link.

Spanish Celtic Music

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 6 Comments

There is power in letting go, the power in forgiveness… and in accepting that all beautiful things come to an end. There are times when I trust my pain more than my happiness. I think the first time I read the poems of  St John of the Cross I was shaking. The intensity of his writings shocked me.  I think nothing comes close to the beauty of  The Dark Night of the Soul:

Once in the dark of night
When love ignited me, I yearned and rose
(O stroke of sheer delight!)
And went though no one knows,
Leaving behind a house in cold repose.

In darkness all went right.
By secret ladders, in clandestine clothes,
(O stroke of sheer delight!)
In darkness I arose
Leaving behind a house in cold repose.

And in the luck of night
In secret places where no other spied
I went without my sight
Without a light to guide
Except the heart that lit me from inside.

It guided me and shone
Surer than sunlight in the noonday blue
And lead me to the one,
The one I truly knew
Who waited with nobody else in view.

O guiding dark of night!
O dark of night more darling than the dawn!
O night that can unite
A lover and loved one,
A lover and loved one moved in unison.

And on my flowering breast
Which I had kept for him and him alone
He slept as I caressed
And loved him for my own,
Breathing an air from redolent cedars blown.

And from the castle wall
The wind came down to winnow through his hair
Bidding his fingers fall,
Searing my throat with air
And all my senses were suspended there.

I stayed there to forget.
There on my lover, face to face, I lay.
All ended, and I let
My cares all fall away
Forgotten in the lilies on that day.

***

As our thoughts turn to Spain, nothing comes close to the beauty of the music of Carlos Nunez. I came across this very interesting interview article  about this legendary Spanish musician.

Introducing Radio Celt

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 5 Comments

Featured artist:Ashley McIsaac

It is not often I come across an online radio that broadcasts a wide array of styles within a particular genre of music. Celtic music is so diverse as we can hear from Radio Celt. It brings to us a lot of  ‘doorways’ where we can listen based in our preferences. If you like  male or  female artists, traditional, rock, progressive and anything under the light of the moon, they are here.

What I love about this site is the clarity of the music it delivers .The featured artists are those we’ve heard before. There are also artists new to our ears. I was surprise to  hear an operatic aria on a song composed  in a style that makes you ask ” is this still Celtic music?” And then a few listens bring me back to the Altan-meets- Clannad- meets The Corrs types.  Hey Paul Brady’s The Hawana Way is getting airplay here!

If you are curious with what I mean, just follow the link down below. I tell ya man,will bring the groovy bard within you. So  dance, dance, dance to the music.

http://www.radiocelt.com/

Enya, hitting the #1 spot of the Billboard New Age chart

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 12 Comments

“I think they find it — they find me quite confusing, because — they know the music, but they don’t know anything about me … because I keep a very private lifestyle so they end up … making up stories as such. But I don’t really concern myself too much about them”

—Enya (When asked about her opinion on the music press)

Hearing Enya news is like having the best English Breakfast tea ever. I remember I was at an acquaintance party with friends a few nights ago. we Were in this popular diner. There were few people around. The ambiance was good. The food was excellent. But the tea was fantastic! My eyes literally rolled at the taste of that hot tea(complete with dried leaves floating inside the porcelain teapot).

***

From one of our readers…..

Anne In Wisconsin emailed me with this wonderful news:

Hello!  I enjoy your blog on Celtic music.

As a matter of fact, I’ve been working with Enya’s US label to help spread the word about The Very Best of Enya CD and CD/DVD.  Since you’re up on the Eurochannel info, I thought I’d pass along two more bits to you. Perhaps you’d be kind enough to post these on your blog.
Thanks for your consideration.

Anne In Wisconsin

1.  Enya’s new CD “The Very Best of Enya” is at the top of the Billboard New Age chart.  Billboard’s New Age Chart The CD is #1 and the CD/DVD is #3.  I believe the album has gone Gold in just 6 short weeks.
2.   Have you seen the DVD?  Really high quality videos.  You can see one here, and it’s OK to post it to your sites.  http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid4020141001/?bctid=ref:A10302B0000121411Y

Thank you so much for that news Anne In Wisconsin. Though I get spammed by posting my email on the upper right corner of this blog, I do appreciate a wonderful news now and then. Thank you for your continued support and in spreading the magic of Enya’s music around.

By the way  that HQ version of Orinoco Flow is really excellent.

***

I saw our  Tony, our job trainer this afternoon. He’s also a DJ. I know he likes Enya and he likes to play Oíche Chiún [Silent Night] during the Holiday Season. While other stations are heavily into top 40 rock, he takes time to play  May it Be from LOTR or any songs from Enya’s albums. His taste is eclectic because he also listens to bands and other interesting music. He is not an intellectual or musical elitist that would dismiss you just because he doesn’t like what you listen to. I am like that too and that’s why we click. So Tony if you are also reading this blog, my kudos to you and your one of a kind way of looking at life.

P.S.

We know that Enya’s music doesn’t totally fall on the Celtic genre but there’s so much of an Irish in her…and you can say that her temperament, beauty, and past associations with Clannad(members are her siblings) , Altan , Christy Moore (she sang back up in Sweet Music Roll On and Quiet Desperation: Backing vocals – Assistant Arranger – Keyboards)  -and that she also speaks Gaelic, her first language-these are all the things that endear us to her.

Her music- simple arrangements on top of a dense multi- swathed sound is what sets her apart from the rest. No matter what people say, hundreds of years from now, when the world has moved on forgetting the divas of today, people will still be listening to Enya.

More interesting facts can be read in this link:

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Enya