Enya

Celtic Twist-Twist in the Tale (album review)

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 4 Comments

 

 

I was so excited when the mailman gave this to me, that I stopped all chores and put this in my CD player. Celtic Twist is a duo that will win more followers with their brand of Celtic music.

There’s a lot of artistic polishing done to the recording of  Twist in the Tale by  the duo Celtic Twist (Phil Holland and Dave Palmley). Only an arrogant listener with the heart of ice will fail to appreciate these enchanting pieces. The first track, Maids of Mourne (based on Sally Gardens) opens with the sound of seagulls by the shore. Then, we have the guitar and harp by Phil and Dave. The song soon builds up into an Enyaesque piece complete with vocal layering that sounds like church choir.

There are lively tracks like The Raggle Taggle Gypsies/The King of The Faeries, Ye Jacobites, Gerdundula, Toss the Feathers/Scotch Sally and Whiskey You’re the Devil that will sweet you up your feet with their refreshing and energetic styles. These are all wrapped in jigs and reels.

The remaining half of the album are tracks that convey relaxation and reflection. These are elegantly crafted compositions. One song called Looking For Moss(third track), is already familiar because Phil already uploaded this track on youtube for friends to hear. Hearing it compiled here is a treat! I also need to commend her rendition of She Moved Through the Fair. In this traditional song, Phil puts aside  her classical singing style, to make way for the lighter, airy spirit of Irish music-more like Kate Bush meets Moya Brennan.

Takes Forever expresses that hopeful longing for someone. The melody just breaks your heart. The Far Away Child is a vocal track with harp and guitar. Once again, I noticed the lighter and sweeter voice of Phil. Heart of Ice sounds like a song about heartbreak or loss.   Cold wind, Cold heart, Still life, Torn apart, Walls of ice, Carpets of snow, Cannot stay, And cannot go….

The album ends with Climbing Pendle. Have you heard how a harp sounds like through an effects pedal? This will tell you how. I thought it was a didgeridoo or something. It used used during the intro and the last part of the track. Climbing Pendle is one of the most memorable instrumentals I have heard in quite a while. If you like the music of Loreena McKennitt, Enya, Clannad, Chieftains and even Kate Bush then you will appreciate Twist in the Tale.

Order of tracks: 1: The Maids of Mourne Shore 2: The Raggle Taggle ypsies/The King of The Faeries 3: Looking For Moss 4: She Moved Through the Fair 5: Ye Jacobites 6: Takes Forever 7: Gerdundula 8: The far Away Child 9: Toss the Feathers/Scotch Sally 10: The Wild Geese 11: Heart of Ice 12: Whiskey You’re the Devil 13: Climbing Pendle

http://hollandandpalmley.blogspot.com/

To purchase the album, contact: lmcrecords2011@gmail.com

About Dave and Phil

The exciting and dynamic fusion of two such versatile musicians creates a sound that is as varied as it is unique. Rooted in Celtic music but drawing from their diversified musical backgrounds, Dave Palmley and Phil Holland bring to this musical communion all their decades of experience and insatiable passion for making music. Their contrasting yet harmonious vocal styles give added depth and texture to an already fascinating weave of instrumental sounds. Their repertoire consists of many traditional Irish and Scottish classics and lesser-known songs, jigs and reels, but Dave and Phil have also combined their song writing and compositional skills to create their own inimitable sound. Dave Palmley: Guitars(acoustic and electric),mandolin, bass, bodhran and vocals. Phil Holland: Celtic Harp and Electric Harp, violin, keys, bass and vocals.

January 20 Marks the Birthday of Roma Ryan

/ mrbaxteria2008 / Leave a comment

Happy Birthday Roma!

I want to pay tribute to one of the amazing people in the history of music who shaped my life. Roma Ryan. She is the poet lyricist for Enya which is a Trio of Enya herself, producer Nicky Ryan and of course Roma.

Roma and Nicky Ryan met Enya in 1978; Nicky was managing Enya’s family’s band Clannad. Enya had just finished secondary school when Nicky Ryan rang her, asking if she would become a member of the group. The Ryans and Enya left Clannad several years later to focus on their own musical careers. Enya originally wrote instrumental melodies. Roma found these melodies “very visual” and suited to film work; she began to write lyrics to them.

Roma is originally from Belfast Northern Ireland. She is a visual artist as well as a poet and writer; her artwork, as well as selected poems, may be viewed at her official website, www.romaryan.com

 

One day, one night, one moment,
with a dream to believe in.
One step, one fall, one falter,
find a new earth across a wide ocean.
This way became my journey,
this day ends together, Far and Away.
This day ends together, Far and Away.
Far and Away.

That video above is taken from the movie Far and Away. Have you seen that movie? I admit it is a long one. But it is a beautiful story about Irish immigrants and a race for lands in the United States. “find a new earth across a wide ocean”..I love this line. For those who hope for a better place, a new beginning, this song echoes it all. Sometimes our journey to freedom from oppression doesn’t really mean going into another country…sometimes it is  a feeling we just have to overcome. And for those who f0und themselves out of bondage and pain, this song goes to you.

Blast From The Past: Banba by Clannad

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 2 Comments

—————————————————————————————————

Banba introduced me to the music of Clannad. From there I started digging their old albums and I am still anticipating any release from them. From the somber and haunting opening track Na Laetha Bhi, the movie theme I Will Find You(Last of the Mohicans) up to the rousing The Other Sside, Clannad made an album for all generations.

I  admit I thought they have two lead vocalists. Moya Brennan has a way of making her voice sound different depending on the arrangement of the tracks. In There For You, she sounds breathy and low that her voice sounds like Marianne Faithful. In I will Find You, she sings in higher pitch that she and her sister Enya  are almost identical.

=======================================================

Speaking of Enya, fans would probably have mixed feelings upon knowing that her hit Orinoco Flow appears in The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo…um you may ask which part? Well, the ironic thing is that it is featured in one of the most violent scenes in the movie-at least that’s what people in Unity(Official Enya Forum) are talking about. Look at this trailer:

That Good Old Christmas Feeling

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 2 Comments

Hello friends, readers and musicians. I have not forgotten you. It seems that the Christmas rush has gotten into yours truly.  I want to thank you for your continued support and readership, the CMF has become one of the influential force in the Celtic music scene.

After days of exhausting ways to get schedules right, Christmas cards and gifts have finally been mailed out. I think the greatest gift that we have this Christmas is having a slack in life after months of difficulties. I can say that no one can stay in one state for a long time. Things have to move and like the planetary motion we are all coming and going in circles.

The future can be scary because of its unpredictability. But always remember, what we are doing now determines the future. We are creating our own history, and that history will someday save us and heal us…and bring us all back together because of the meaning that binds us together. So my dear readers don’t ever loose hope. The future might be scary and unpredictable but it is also exciting. Let’s join hands to welcome it.

======================================================

On the news,

Musica Pacifica, a California chamber ensemble is gearing towards their upcoming performance. I got a copy of their CD on the mail and I love not only the wonderful music but also the packaging. For those who don’t have a copy of  “Dancing in the Isles” yet you better get one because it is a pleasure to listen to. Here’s something about the press release.

San Francisco, CA: Bay Area based early music ensemble Musica Pacifica (www.musicapacifica.org), now celebrating their 20th season, is pleased to present a varied and extensive “home season” of performances in San Francisco, Berkeley, Palo Alto, Petaluma, Davis, and Sacramento.

Described by the press as “some of the finest baroque musicians in America” (American Record Guide) and “among the best in the world” (Alte Musik Aktuell), Musica Pacifica performs 17th- and 18th-century music on varying combinations of recorder, violin, cello/gamba, harpsichord, and percussion. Their very recent Dancing in the Isles CD has continued to get rave reviews from music journals all over the world, including American Record Guide; the German magazine Concerto; Early Music Today from the UK, and the prestigious Gramophone from the UK, who called it “one of the zestiest recordings of recent vintage to present works that once had them dancing and listening with joy.” And the online journal, Musica dei Donum said: The playing is first-rate: full of bounce, stylish, and technically immaculate.”

Tickets for all events below (unless otherwise noted) are $20 general admission, $15 for seniors, members of SF Early Music Society, Early Music America, and ARS; and $10 for students. Tickets are available through www.brownpapertickets.com or at the door.

PROGRAM ONE, entitled “La Bizzarria: Music of 17th century Italy,” features music by Turini, Frescobaldi, Falconieri, Cazzati, Marini, Castello, Vitali, and others. Performances will be held:

Friday, January 13th , 7:30pm at the Petaluma Historical Museum
20 4th Street  Petaluma, CA; www.petalumamuseum.com

Saturday, January 14th, 8pm at Trinity Chapel in Berkeley
2320 Dana St. (at Durant), Berkeley

Sunday January 15th , 3 pm at the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento
(in conjunction with the exhibit “Florence and the Baroque”)
216 O Street, Sacramento
Tickets are $6 for CAM Members, $12 for Nonmembers, $8 for Students
For tickets and more information, call 916.808.7000 or visit www.crockerartmuseum.org

Sunday, January 15th , 7:30 pm at the Davis Community Church, Davis
412 C St, Davis
No advance ticket sales. $10 suggested donation at the door.

PROGRAM TWO, entitled “Dancing in the Isles, The Sequel!” is a further selection of Baroque and traditional music from England, Scotland, and Ireland to complement the music from their original “Isles” CD. Performances will be held:

Thursday, February 16th , 7:30 pm at Ashkenaz, Berkeley
1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley
For tickets ($10 general admission) visit www.ashkenaz.com after January 15, 2012

Saturday, February 18th , 8pm at First Lutheran Church, Palo Alto
600 Homer Ave., Palo Alto

Sunday, February 19th , 4 pm at Noe Valley Chamber Music, San Francisco
Most Holy Innocents Episcopal Church, 455 Fair Oaks Street
(between 25th and 26th Streets), San Francisco
Tickets are $20 General Admission, $15 for seniors and students
For tickets and more information, visit www.nvcm.org

Members of Musica Pacifica (Judith Linsenberg, recorder; Elizabeth Blumenstock, baroque violin; Charles Sherman, harpsichord; and Shirley Hunt, baroque ‘cello, viola da gamba) perform with Philharmonia Baroque and American Bach Soloists, and also appear with prominent early music ensembles nationally and abroad. They have performed on such prestigious concert series as The Frick Collection and Music Before 1800 (NY), the Getty Museum (LA), Tage Alter Musik (Regensburg), Cleveland Art Museum, and the Berkeley Early Music Festival (3 times), among others. They have performed at festivals in Germany and Austria and have been featured on German National radio as well as on National Public Radio’s “Performance Today” and “Harmonia.” Musica Pacifica’s eight CD releases on the Virgin Classics, Dorian, and Solimar labels have won national and international awards, including Chamber Music America/WQXR’s 2003 Record Award, being featured on Minnesota Public Radio, and being chosen as “CD of the Month” by the early music journal Alte Musik Aktuell (Regensburg). Full bios of all musicians are at www.musicapacifica.org.

PLEASE NOTE: Harpischordist Katherine Heater will perform in place of Charles Sherman at January’s concerts.

###

Peter McDowell
Performing Arts Management Consulting
New York City | Chicago | San Francisco
+1 773 484 8811
twitter: pmcdowellarts
=======================================================
Here are my top picks for the season:
Enya: And Winter Came
Like last year this album always finds its way into my player. O come O come Emmanuel still brings shiver to my spine. Nicky Ryan’s production adds the superb edge to Enya’s quirky chord arrangements, laid back  instrumentation and lush vocal layers. Roma Ryan has made a lyrical gem to Last Time by Moonlight. This album is timeless and must have for any seasons, winter or summer.
Loreena McKennitt: A Midwinter Night’s Dream
Loreena McKennitt’s voice continues to enchant and inspire. Here is the gift that should be given to those who love the beauty of old time carols.
Nightnoise: A Different Shore
Nightnoise might not really doing music for carols but the atmosphere gives off that feeling. Otherworldly with hints of jazz and folk.
Maureen McGovern: Christmas With…
Jazz meets traditional. I got this way back 1990. This is one of those albums that don’t show off but just grows on you upon several listens. Still has that shine after decades!
More to come soon.

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day

/ mrbaxteria2008 / 2 Comments

Been working like a rocket for the past few weeks now. But I will never ever miss this day which is like Christmas. This is the part of the year where everyone becomes Irish and everyone just love being green! I’ve seen films dedicated to this man and they all have different versions to tell. I discovered him after getting a copy of The Celts by Enya. In the liner notes it says:

The son of a Roman official, Patrick was captured by a raiding party of Celts when a boy, and spent six years in captivity.  He escaped, became a priest and returned to Ireland. According to legend it is St. Patrick who is responsible for Ireland’s conversion to Christianity and the final loss of the old Celtic beliefs.

Traditional, Irish Gaelic

Tabhair dom ghrása,
Fíormhac Dé.
Tabhair dom do neartsa,
An ghrian gheal ghlé.
Repeat		 Give me your love,
true Son of God.
Give me your strength,
the clear bright sun.
Repeat

 

 

***

For a totally related event.