The Cultural Book of Celtic Music: Wide Waters by Hibernia

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If you are an avid fan of Celtic music then songs in Wide Waters by Hibernia will sound familiar to you. Susan Toman (Celtic Harp) and Ellen MacIsaac (Voice) have captured the ‘great Celtic songbook’ in this album. Comprising of 14 tracks from Ireland and Scotland,  they are sung in Gaelic and in English.

Beautiful in its clarity and simplicity, Wide Waters captures the essence of how these songs were supposedly performed hundreds of years ago. Aroundhibernia every art, I think it’s the sentiment that’s the very foundation of every creation. The aesthetics may change with time, but the raw emotions around these songs remain untamed across centuries.

Songs like Bothan Àirigh Am Bràigh Raithneach, The Water is Wide, An Coisir and the captivating ‘s Toigh Leam Fhìn Buntàta ‘s Ìm / Tha Fionnlagh Ag Innearadh / Hùg Oiridh Hiridh will always remain as my favorites in this album.

Here’s a brief bio of the artists from their CD Baby profile:

Susan Toman – Based in Ottawa, Ontario, Susan Toman enjoys a diverse freelance career as a harpsichordist, Celtic harpist, and music instructor. She holds a Doctorate in Music from McGill University and is an Associate Faculty member at Carleton University. Susan came to the Celtic harp (as many do) with a background in keyboard instruments and a love of Irish & Scottish music. Having first studied with Annabelle Renzo, she then continued her studies with Grainne Hambly in Ireland. In addition to giving solo and collaborative concerts, she frequently performs at weddings and other events. Upcoming performances include the NAC’s Fourth Stage, and the Irish Ambassador’s residence.
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Ellen MacIsaac – Ellen specializes in the Irish traditional singing style and repertoire in Irish Gaelic and English. Since 2000, she has been involved in traditional singing in Ottawa, giving guest lectures on sean-nós (old style) Irish singing, and performing at local céilís and sessions and further afield. In 2012, she won first place in the sean-nós competition at Canada’s first Irish-language festival and competition, Oireachtas Gaeilge Cheanada, and represented Canada at the 2012 Oireachtas na Samhna, Ireland’s Gaelic-speaking festival. Ellen lectures at the University of Ottawa in the Modern Languages Department as part of the Minor in Celtic Studies and is an associate vocal instructor in the Celtic Music Performance option at Carleton University’s Music Department. She created the Ottawa Celtic Choir in 2007, and acts as its musical director and musical arranger.

Gentle As Morning Dew: Listen to Orla Fallon’s New Album.

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Orla Fallon’s newest album Sweet By and By dropped around March last year and it is making its way into international ears. I highly recommend it for those who are following the Nashville music scene because this album is very much close to that flavour of music. What strikes me as interesting is that, although Celtic Woman is a show that showcases the powerful vocals of Irish singers, Orla Fallon took the different route in her solo effort. I was intrigued if she’s going the Sarah Brightman path of grand operatic style or the Moya Brennan path. I am glad she took the latter and added her own twist to the soft rendition of classics and new songs.

My personal favourite is her version of Love Me Tender by Elvis Prestley. I think she really delivered the songs how it is meant to be sang- gentle as morning dew.

Sweet By and By has twelve tracks and these tunes will take you on a journey from Ireland to Old America. Feet Of A Dancer is a potential single. That is one track that like playing again and again because it is so beautiful. Everything about the album sparkles with superb production. Her harp skills are always present and this album is a joy to listen to.

Get your copy of Sweet By and By here: http://orlafallon.com/?product=sweet-by-and-by

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Celtic Woman: The Best of Christmas

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I love obscure tunes and the history behind them. For example I learned that Coventry Carol has a long history that dates all the way to the 16th century. And learning about one song will also encourage you to look at the wide vast of knowledge that covers holiday tunes.

Once in Royal David’s City is not something you get to hear in mainstream recordings(of pop and non pop singers). But Celtic Woman took the chance to pin this wonderful gem. So and I learned something about this Christmas carol. Here’s an interesting info from Wikipedia:

Originally written as a poem by Cecil Frances Alexander. The carol was first published in 1848 in Miss Cecil Humphreys’ hymnbookHymns for little Children. A year later, the English organist Henry John Gauntlett discovered the poem and set it to music.[1] Cecil Humphreys, meanwhile, married the AnglicanclergymanWilliam Alexander in 1848 and upon her husband’s consecration became a bishop’s wife in 1867.[1] She is also remembered for her hymn All Things Bright and Beautiful.

Since 1919, the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at the King’s College ChapelCambridge has begun its Christmas Eve service, with Dr Arthur Henry Mann‘s arrangement of “Once in Royal David’s City” as the Processional hymn.[1] Mann was organist at King’s between 1876 and 1929.[2]In his arrangement, the first verse is sung by a boy chorister of the Choir of King’s Chapel as a solo. The second verse is sung by the choir, and the congregation joins in the third verse. Excluding the first verse, the hymn is accompanied by the organ. This carol was the first recording that the King’s College Choir under Boris Ord made for EMI in 1948.[3] Among others who have recorded it are Mary Chapin Carpenter, The Chieftains, Daniel O’Donnell, The Seekers, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Petula Clark, Jethro Tull, Sinéad O’Connor and Sufjan Stevens, St. Paul’s Choir School and most recently by the Irish group Celtic Woman in their album Voices of Angels.

Now this blog is not just about that one song but about an album that contains twenty Christmas tunes from Celtic Woman. I think this is also a ‘practical’ approach because when we are hosting a party, we don’t want an album to end too soon and then we are forced to put a new album in (I am an albums kind of guy as opposed to playlist) and this is it!

The Best of Christmas has a more Classical Pop appeal than Celtic. For Jazz lovers there are swinging songs like Let it Snow. I love this song so much as I always associate Christmas with something Jazzy.

Yes twenty songs will not disappoint you. Better grab this album while it is hot!

Celtic Music for Millenials

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November 17, 2017

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Ryan MacNeil has that keen ear for tradition and mainstream smarts.

Chill-out, party music, these are the terms that evade Celtic music genre for a long time. But multi-instrumentalist Ryan MacNeil has become a mediator between the great divide, and I am talking about tradition and mainstream music. If you think about it, most of the things out there are marketed in disposable pop. You know, tunes geared towards the 20-something working crowd with too much stuff in their playlist, they forget most of the artists in the morning after.

Shuffle(as the title implies) will feel at home in any playlist or genre that you might (mis)place it. It has that oomph and verve associated with Jazz music but also the sweetness of Pop that will not alienate even avid listeners of the podcast generation. I like his cover of Wild Mountain Thyme. He has a knack for arranging each song with appropriate grooves like Reggae, Folk, or an occasional dip of Electronica. Though his music is rooted in Folk, he knows what is going on out there and he is attuned to the vibe of the young generation.

There are introspective numbers here that begs to remain in one’s playlist for a long time, like the instrumental track Summer Evening. Here, he pours his gift of playing exquisite notes without sounding too New Age.  Shuffle is an artfully crafted album that will sound good (albeit stylish) anywhere, anytime and it deserves more attention!

You can get your copy of Shuffle here: https://www.ryanonthepiano.com

The Dead Kings song by Irish poet Francis Ledwidge (performed by Lorcán Mac Mathúna)

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The Dead Kings artwork. 

I always think that the soul of Irish music is in the sean-nós style of singing. Why? Because it is a sound not like any other. It has that stillness that is both ancient and haunting. For someone to sing that, one has to embody the the atmosphere of the old Ireland. One song came to my attention recently and it is called The Dead Kings. Here’s a brief background provided by performer Lorcán Mac Mathúna. According to him, it’s a recently (live) recorded song by the Irish poet Francis Ledwidge, who died in 1917.

Complete soundcloud link-https://soundcloud.com/evolutionofsound/the-dead-kings

Ledwidge was known as the poet of the Blackbird. He was killed in the First World War in Paschendael on July 31 1917.

It is such an inspiration to see artists continue to perfect and pay homage to this wonderful musical art form. I would like to hear more of these.

Additional info: Recorded live at Musictown2017 during The Book of the Dead at The Chester Beatty Library. Written by Francis Ledwidge, music composed by Lorcán Mac Mathúna and Eamonn Galldubh. Performed by Lorcán, Éamonn, and Martin Tourish