CD Giveaway - Sam Shrieve, "Bittersweet Lullabies"
Ends Nov 29, 2009
The current student at Berklee College of Music has a rock 'n' roll pedigree, but delivers a pleasing and diverse collection of soft pop on his debut record. Enter our contest for your chance to win!
The Twilight Saga: New Moon Prize Pack
Ends Nov 29, 2009
The second installment of the Twilight saga is hitting theaters, and we've got the stylish goodies you'll howl over!
Release Date: October 3, 2006 Label: Manhattan Records Grade: A+
There has always been, to my ears, something about the female voice that -- given that lilt that only comes from the United Kingdom and Ireland -- could do nothing more than read the telephone directory, and I would listen in rapt attention for hours. Do it to music, and I would sit still unto death. It's that intoxicating. (Yes, I mean you, Miss Pendleton.)
The group Celtic Woman is no exception to that rule. If anyone wants to kill me, they'll reprogram my CD player to endless repeat with this album, A Christmas Celebration, loaded -- even if it were July. Not only does this album contain the sound I find so irresistable, it also includes my top two favorite Christmas songs that, when done right, are soul-stirring.
Chloë Agnew, consider my soul stirred, whipped, and frothed. This album had me at hello with the opening track, "O Holy Night", as Agnew vocally nailed each and every note with complete perfection. Likewise, even though this song works for me on a more orchestral than vocal level, Mairéad Nesbitt and company delivered a breathstealing performance on "Carol of the Bells".
Celtic Woman is...
Chloë Agnew
Orla Fallon
Lisa Kelly
Mairéad Nesbitt
Meav Ní Mhaolchatha
Not all the songs on this release are old world classics, although they're classics nonetheless. Lisa Kelly takes the solo on the Nat King Cole standard, "The Christmas Song", and Chloë Agnew turns in a hypnotic rendition of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas".
Celtic Woman A Christmas Celebration Track Listing
01. O Holy Night
02. Away in a Manger
03. Ding Dong Merrily on High
04. White Christmas
05. Silent Night
06. Christmas Pipes
07. The Christmas Song
08. Carol of the Bells
09. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
10. Panis Angelicus
11. Don Oiche Úd I mBeithil (That Night in Bethlehem)
12. O Come All Ye Faithful
13. The Little Drummer Boy
14. The Wexford Carol Bonus Track: Let it Snow!
However, for my money, I'll take the ancient carols done in the traditional style over the newer songs any day. Orla Fallon's pianissimo performance of "Away in a Manger", for instance -- a carol too often left to the children's choirs -- is flawless. Meav Ní Mhaolchatha's voice has the perfect ethereal quality as she sings "The Wexford Carol", and sounds no less angelic when Mairéad Nesbitt joins in with her on "Silent Night".
Capping off this set is an unusual choice for the group: a downright jazzy arrangement of Sammy Cahn number, "Let it Snow!", with harmonies reminescent of the Andrews Sisters.
So have yourself a merry little Christmas this year with Celtic Woman and this celebration of fifteen elegantly rendered carols and classics of the season.
