Celtic Woman - Christmas Celebration
List Price:
Our Price: $6.50
You Save: $5.44 (46%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.18 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more new music releases
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Music CD Cover
Artist: Celtic WomanBrand: CELTIC WOMAN
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2006-10-03
Music Label: Manhattan Records
Soundtracks:
- O Holy Night
- Away in a Manger
- Ding Dong Merrily on High
- White Christmas
- Silent Night
- Christmas Pipes
- The Christmas Song
- Carol of the Bells
- Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
- Panis Angelicus
- Don OÃche Ã?d I mBeithil (That Night in Bethlehem)
- O Come All Ye Faithful
- The Little Drummer Boy
- The Wexford Carol
- Let It Snow! [*]
Free Music Notes for Christmas Celebration
Free Music Review: Love It!
Hit: 5 Stars
I have over 40 Christmas CDs and around a dozen Christmas cassettes (remember those?), and every year, I buy a few more to add to my collection.
I was in the store debating on which Christmas CD to get, and I kept going back to Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration. I saw a TV advertisement for it, but I wasn't all that familiar with this group of women.
I finally decided to buy it, and I'm very glad I did! We've been in the throes of the "holiday season" since before Thanksgiving (my son and I are such kids!), and I find myself reaching for this Christmas CD more than any other! In fact, I just got done listening to it as I was typing up some reviews.
It's a very calming CD, but not saccharine or forced. The singing is at times lilting and playful, but not obnoxiously operatic in the least. There's a subtle Irish flavor to the music, but it's NOT like listening to a Riverdance soundtrack.
Carol of the Bells is one of my absolute favorite Christmas songs and, to tell you the truth, seeing that it was on this CD cinched my purchase. Lovely soft violin and ethereal choral singing that swell to a rousing (but, again, not obnoxious) culmination--beautiful! This is testament to GREAT sound mixing, not just wonderful performances by the ladies. (I use to run/mix sound for recording, so I have an hear for that kind of thing. Some mixes have one instrument too loud and insistent or perhaps the voices are overpowering--not this CD. Everything is a perfect mix.) Other songs, like Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, are vocally driven, with beautiful harmonies that don't sound sappy or artificial like some CD's out there.
I can't see how anyone would be disappointed with this lovely CD. I enjoy hearing traditional favorites, as well as holiday songs unfamiliar to me. I play it while reading, relaxing, cooking, writing--well, you get the picture!
Christmas Celebration Poster
No Description AvailableMedia Type: CD
Artist: CELTIC WOMAN
Title: CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION
Street Release Date: 10/03/2006
Genre: XMAS VOCAL
One of the more impressive things about A Christmas Celebration is its glowing immediacy. The record's rich vocals and colorful instrumentals create a concert-like setting, reprising the season's most loved hymns, carols, and pop standards, along with a Gaelic version of "That Night in Bethlehem." Unexpected numbers such as "Christmas Pipes" and "Carol of the Bells" (here led by the spirited fiddling of Mariread Nesbitt) only enhance an already engaging disc that finely weaves between the piety of classical music and the playfulness of pop. Chloe Agnew, Orla Fallon, Lisa Kelly, and Meav Ni Mhaolchatha combine their Celtic voices against orchestral arrangements and sparser settings--spiked with the traditional Irish fare of uilleann pipes, harp, and ancient choral harmony--to deliver an assortment of reverent but lively arrangements that wouldn't be out of place at a church, concert hall, or good Irish celli. --Martin Keller
Irish producer/arranger David Downes, the creative mastermind behind Celtic Woman's chart breakthrough and burgeoning international success, here conjures up an inviting holiday showcase for his neo-superstar crossover quartet. He pushes the group's crowd-pleasing formula into more expansive arrangements with the Irish Film Orchestra, supplemented by a strong core of featured instrumentalists, including Downes himself. If the ethnic folk influences that gave the group its name are sometimes less pronounced, the result is a collection whose dignified, pop elegance often transcends national boundaries. The vocal performances are expectedly polished, with the quintet breaking off into smaller units and solo showcases such as Lisa Kelly's Broadway-lullaby take on "The Christmas Song," a neo-classical "Panis Angelicus" by Chloe Agnew, and the muscular orchestral/choral setting for Mariead Nesbitt's earthy fiddle on "Carol of the Bells." The quintet (backed only by Nesbitt's spare strings) harmonize richly on "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and bring their trademark neo-Celtic charms more fully to bear on intimate translations of "Silent Night" and "The Wexford Carol" as well as a glorious take on the Gaelic traditional "That Night in Bethlehem." Perhaps to remind fans of their true range, the swinging, big-band bonus track "Let It Snow" closes the collection with upbeat flair. --Jerry McCulley
International Music CDs
Music Genres