Search - Various Artists :: A Celtic Christmas: A Festive Journey

Why do they lie?

Sidney A. Meyer | Florida | 12/11/2005

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Unlike the other review that had different songs, I actually have the album with the songs as listed. It also says "A soothing journey that combines traditional Celtic arrangements with the time honored melodies of the season." Soothing? That's a matter of opinion. It is really more like plodding, and definitely very uninspired. Anuna does an extremely slow version of Silent Night, but it is rich and sonorous. Their album, "Christmas Songs," while being more of a choral masterpiece is certainly more Celtic than this one. This album sounds like bad elevator music. The arrangements would never be identified as Celtic if you heard them without seeing the album cover. The cover is extremely misleading and the album was a VERY BIG disappointment. If you want real Celtic Christmas music, get "A Winter's Night, Christmas in the Great Hall" by Ensemble Galilei. Another very Celtic album is "A Scottish Christmas" with Bonnie Rideout, Maggie Sansone and Al Petteway. "A Celtic Christmas, Peace on Earth" from Windham Hill is also more Celtic than this, but with a more New Age feel. There is also "A Traditional Celtic Christmas" by Scarlet Rivera and Eric Rigler which uses the violin, uileann, and bagpipes. On a more esoteric note, there is the Anuna album mentioned above. It is truly Celtic as they are an actual Irish group; however, it is not "Celtic" in the sense that most people tend to think of "Celtic." It is a very serious choral CD, and quite beautiful. They have performed with "Riverdance." Another authentic, but highly unusual album is "Noels Celtiques" by Ensemble Choral du Bout du Monde. This album has songs sung in Breton, by the Celts of Britanny. It has a very medieval and liturgical feel and again may not strike all lovers of "Celtic" music as being Celtic by their definition, although it most certainly is. Any of these albums are better than "A Celtic Christmas,A Festive Journey," which sounds neither festive nor Celtic. This album is recommended for someone that is looking for bland, easy listening music. It would rate 2 or 3 stars if packaged as such, but as a Celtic album, it gets a 1.

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