Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Music Video - Pop/Rock
Rating: NR
Release Date: 1-MAR-2005
Media Type: DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7933 in DVD
• Brand: Celtic
• Released on: 2005-03-01
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Color, Compilation, DVD, Live, Widescreen, Dolby, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 117 minutes

Amazon.com
Gorgeous to listen to and gorgeous to look at, Celtic Woman is perfect PBS fare, sort of a Riverdance without the dancing. Drawing on the same New Age-y sound and propulsive energy as that show's solo-voice and choral numbers, the live concert features four attractive young women in strapless evening gowns with soaring voices backed by an orchestra, an Anuna-like chorus, and a large percussion section. The more traditional fare includes Méav Ni Mhaolchatha's "Danny Boy" and "She Moved Through the Fair," and Chloë Agnew's "Ave Maria" (the Bach-Gounod version). Movie and TV selections range from Agnew's "Walking in the Air" (The Snowman) and "Someday" (Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame) to Lisa Kelly's "May It Be" (the Enya song from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the King) and Órla Fallon's voice and harp rendition of "Harry's Game." A fifth woman, Máiréad Nesbitt, adds some variety by fiddling "The Butterfly" and "Ashokan Farewell" (best known as the theme from Ken Burns's The Civil War). Occasionally the singers join together, as in Enya's "Orinoco Flow," an a cappella rendition of West Side Story's "Somewhere," music director David Downes's composition "One World," and a stately version of "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring." Celtic Woman was created by Downes (like many of the other performers, a Riverdance veteran) along with Sharon Browne and Dave Kavanagh of the Celtic Collections record label. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

Such beautiful voices
I recently caught a viewing of Celtic Woman on my local PBS station. I must say that this performance really took my breathe away. The music was a good mix of celtic and classical/pop. I thought the four singers were quite good. I could not help but take notice of the clarity in their vocal performances. I love classical-crossover artists like Sarah Brightman and Josh Groban but those artists don't restrain their vocals a lot of the time. The women in Celtic Woman shows that you don't need to enunciate every single note to show that she can sing or to emphasize the emotion in the song. Don't get me wrong, I like Sarah and Josh but I often find their voices overwhelming at times. In the case of Celtic Woman, they have shown that they can sing without restorting to vocal acrobatics. The other member of Celtic Woman is a violinist named Máiréad Nesbitt who I found very engaging to watch. Her enthusiasm for performing really showed. The songs in this performance were fantastic. I was completely blown away when I listened to 15 year old Chloe sing "Walking in the Air", a song that my favorite heavy metal band Nightwish has performed on their "Oceanborn" cd. It was quite a contrast from what I was used to hearing. My favorite song that Chloe sang has to be the beautiful ballad "Someday". I was simply moved by the song. My other personal favorite performance was for the song "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring", my favorite song by Sebastian Bach. I couldn't help but notice that the group did quite a few songs by Enya which were really excellent. I couldn't help but notice how similiar their voices were to Enya's. On a couple of occasions I closed my eyes, I thought I was listening to Enya herself. The one thing about this performance that I found rather unintentionally funny is the audience members. A few of them looked about as 'enthusiastic' to be there as I am at the dentist office. My most deeply personal favorite moment of the performance was the women's interpretation of "You Raise Me Up". Their version by far is the best I have heard. I was speechless when I heard them sing this lovely song. Otherwise this was a really great performance. Too bad when I saw it on tv, I had to put up with the annoying interrruptions because it is pledge season at PBS. After seeing this wonderful performance, I so want to see them live in concert when they come to my neck of the woods in October this year. They just made a new fan out of me.

Absolutely enchanting
This type of music, this type of performance, is not usually my cup of tea, and I only chanced upon it while channel-surfing through a spate of commericals during a college football game. All I can say is thank God for remote controls. I was smitten in minutes and have watched the repeat of this performance four times in the last four days. Yes, I am newly in love, crushed as goofily, giddily and gratefully as I was back in my schoolboy days, but I profer this with no sexist agenda at all: First, these ladies are sinfully gorgeous --each looks like she may just have stepped off the pages of a fairy tale (most appropriate, given the backlit castle set looming up behind them); Secondly, they move with the willowy grace of the wind through an Irish meadow. Third, and most importantly, collectively and individually, they sound precisely like what I expect (what I hope)to hear when the Pearly Gates swing open for me, a sound majestic, angelic, soaring and soothing. Some things are achingly beautiful: "Danny Boy" (moved me to tears), "Somewhere," "Beyond the Sea", but I found everything to be enthralling and enchanting, hypnotic and mesmerizing, delivered with seamless grace and charm, touching elegance and class.

I've read some negative reviews here. I find that somewhat discouraging. In a world in which "femininity," so-called Girl Power, is cynically and crudely represented by the rephrehensible likes of The Pussycat Dolls, Brittney (sp?) Spears, Madonna, Gwen Stefani (sp?), and those of similarly sleazy ilk, these women, their voices, their performance, is like a lilting breath of proverbial fresh air. I don't know how hard-hearted or headed one has to be the regard this aural and visual splendor with anything other than an adoring eye, but I'm glad I'm not there yet. One of the best, nicest things I've seen anywhere in ages. Bravo. Bravo! BRAVO!!

Angelic Voices
This was worth every penny. Méav and Lisa's vocals stand out the most to me. 15 Year old Chloe has a great clarity to her voice, but her voice can seem thin at times. Great traditional Irish music, and modern music. Máiréad Nesbitt soars on fiddle just as she did in Maichael Flately's "Lord Of The Dance" and "Feet of Flames". I totally recommend you see the DVD and then get the CD for the music. If you are a fan of angelic voices and celtic music then you will not be disappointed.