M?av - M?av
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Free Music Notes for M?av
Free Music Review: Simply the most beautiful voice ever!
Hit: 5 Stars
I cannot speak highly enough of Meav's incredible larynx! Dare I say it, I like her even better than Loreena McKennitt. However, she's not just a pretty voice (and a pretty face) but she also has real talent!
Both musically and linguistically gifted, she is a fabulous harpist who can sing equally wonderfully in a variety of languages. (As someone who can't sing, can only speak English and can't even play a recorder, this is especially impressive to me!)
Meav (whose full name is Meav Ni Mhaolchatha, in case you're wondering why she shortened it) presents a lovely range of songs on this cd, from well known staples such as 'I Dreamt I Dwelt In Marble Halls' and 'She Moved Through The Fair' (I own eight different versions of this song, by different artists, but this is far and away the best version I have heard, especially since this one doesn't have the sad ending in it!) to the wonderful, traditional 'Si do Mhaimeo i' (as good a rendition as Altan's) to the more modern but nonetheless traditional-sounding 'One I Love' (which is so hauntingly beautiful in its vocal arrangements that it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention like a company of soldiers.)
After listening to Meav, the likes of Charlotte Church sounded tone-deaf and vocally challenged to me. Seriously, Meav is so good, she will spoil you for other sopranos!
Free Music Review: The voice of an angel
Hit: 5 Stars
We first heard this CD being played in a small gift shop in a town in VA shortly after it's release. We both immediately fell in love with Maev's voice, with its almost translucent quality. The soothing and almost hypnotic quality made it a must purchase right then and there. As we have continued to listen and enjoy this CD, we continually pick up on subtle nuances in her voice. We have turned many friends on to her music and they too have purchased on our recommendation. They are equally amazed at the beauty and purity of her voice. It is gratifying to see that she has a long awaited 2nd CD out now. And from the small samples, it appears that she has, if possible, gotten better. That one will immediately be put on the "wish list". It is rare for such a talent to grace the music scene nowadays. Maev has a voice that comes from her soul. There are 3 artists that I constantly have in my CD changer: Charlotte Church, Enya & Maev. And the most listened to, without doubt, is Maev.
Free Music Review: Beautiful!
Hit: 5 Stars
This is a really wonderful set of songs - I'm a big fan of Enya and Loreena McKennitt and this cd goes right along with them. I first heard this cd on NPR while driving to work and I'm glad I decided to check it out. The vocals are clear and melodic, the music is at some times introspective, at other times bouncy. Really a great cd!!Free Music Review: Traditional Celtic songs sung by a lovely thrush
Hit: 5 Stars
I figured I'd be in for some quality music when I read the back of the CD cover, that Meav (pronounced Mave) was a former soloist for the choral group Anuna. Vocally, her smooth bird-like voice hits those high notes.The high pipes give the forlorn "Ailein Duinn," the theme from Rob Roy, extra Celtic flavour as does Meav's Celtic vocals. The title is Celtic for "brown-haired Alan." He has drowned apparently, and she sings, translated in English, "If your pillow is the sand/If your bed is the seaweed/If the fish are your bright candles/If the seals are your watchmen/I'd drink, though all abhor it/Of your heart's blood after your drowning." Devoted or twisted, I don't know.
"I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls" is the same traditional song covered by Enya on her Shepherd Moons album. David Agnew's oboe and the string section make this different from her countryfolk's rendition, and she hits those high notes with as much aplomb as Enya. A dream of a princess who's waited on hand and foot, courted, but nothing elates her more than her being loved the same by her dear one.
"She Moved Through The Fair" is another traditional song, covered by Charlotte Church on her sophomore album. Meav's rendition sports light drums and oboe and chant vocals by the choral group Aontas.
Next up is "Solveig's Song", the tragic final piece from Edvard Grieg's epic Peer Gynt, of the woman Gynt left behind who keeps waiting for him and is now an old woman. David Agnew's oboe. The poignancy of this song is told: "The winter may pass and the spring disappear/The spring disappear/The summer too will vanish and then the year/And then the year/But this I know for certain: you'll come back again/You'll come back again." Boy, does Meav hit that high note inbetween verses! The second best song here. Sarah Brightman did this on her first concert video.
"Im A Doun" is a brief anonymous poem which goes thus: "I'm a doun, doun, doun/I'm a doun for lack of Johnny/Came, Johnny came, I was ill/I'm sure he would come to me/But what if he's forsaken me?/Ochon, what will come of me?" Some parts of this song are reminiscent of that "bonnie bonnie beach of Loch Lomond" melody.
The lovely "I Wish My Love Was A Red Red Rose" drives me close to tears upon hearing Frank Gallagher's mournful fiddle and Meav. "I wish my love was a red, red rose growing in yon garden fair/And I to be the gardener, of her I would take care/There's not a month throughout the year, but my love I'd renew" she sings. My favourite song here.
"Si Do Mhaimeo I" is a traditional song with a folkish beat. It asks the question whether the young Sean Seamais Mor will marry the much older "rich old bag"Maire N? Chathasaigh.
My third favourite song is "Since You And I Were True", about how living in a harsh land dulls the initial love felt. "In a country where we are headed, love/There is nothing but rocks and stones/No friendly plant or animal/No angel to guide you home."
"The Death of Queen Jane" has a medieval flavour what with the lute and tells of Henry VIII's third wife, Jane Seymour, who in 1536 died after delivering the future Edward VI. As the song says, "there was fiddling, aye, and dancing on the day the babe was born/But poor Queen Jane beloved lay cold as the stone/Lay cold as the stone." To which the king laments: "Adew adew, my heart is lost/Adew, my joy and my solace/With double sorrow, complain I must/Until I die, alas, alas." Pretty devoted for the king who exploited women, but she was his favourite wife after all.
"Close Your Eyes" is a mother's lullaby to her child, promising that the father will come back with food. It's set in the village of the coastal fishing town of Tra Li, in West Ireland. Another great showcase for Meav's voice.
"One I Love" is a woman shunned for falling for a man below her station. The refrain goes "One I love, two she loves/Three she's true to me."
David Agnew wrote "Celtic Prayer", which is as chirpy with the oboe and fiddle as any Irish dance tune but I can envision Dave Brubeck doing this as an improv back in the 50's. This celebrates the fact the children having a better life than their parents. "Our song and dance will bring us peace today" sings Meav. That's for sure.
Anyone who loves Enya, Sarah McLachlan, and traditional Celtic music is in for a real treat, with traditional instruments and a songbird whose voice is simply beautiful.
Free Music Review: The best thing going
Hit: 5 Stars
Incredibly gorgeous, melodious, peaceful etc. If you like beautiful music, don't miss out.What a find!