“May it be an evening star
Shines down upon you
May it be when darkness falls
Your heart will be true…”
~Enya, May It Be
Indeed an evening star shone down upon Mary and I this past Friday as we traveled from Kansas City to St. Louis to experience the wonder that is Celtic Woman.
Celtic music has an enchanting quality, filled with both melancholic and joyful tunes that are rich with the tradition of people dating back to the first millenium B.C. It is perhaps this richness of tradition that explains the wonder I experience whenever I hear the Irish fiddle, the bagpipe, the tin whistle, or the haunting melodies of a Celtic tune. Celtic Woman celebrates both the ancient and contemporary history of this fascinating group of people.
A clandestine donation to PBS one cool April evening made it possible for Mary and I to attend this event. Though positively bursting with anticipation I kept this a secret from my darling wife until the tickets arrived two weeks ago. I had seen the original Dublin performance on DVD, another gift from St. Louis public television, and knew we were in for an inspiring evening of live music. It was breathtaking. But first, some history.
A little over a year ago producer Sharon Browne and composer David Downes sat down to discuss a musical project for many of the talented Irish female performers that they had been working with. From that discussion the idea of Celtic Woman was birthed. Celtic Woman brings together 5 talented female soloists with various experiences in classical music, traditional Irish music, and musical theatre. Downes’ vision marries the ancient traditions of Celtic music with contemporary accents to produce a magical musical experience. Thanks to a brilliant marketing campaign that included partnering with PBS, Celtic Woman exploded onto the American music scene and propelled the group to instant stardom. The women who comprise Celtic Woman are:
Lisa Kelly, Orla Fallon , Mairead Nesbitt,
Deirdre Shannon, and Chloe Agnew.
Dierdre Shannon was touring in place of Méav NàMhaolchatha who recently had a baby.
The music of this show is phenomenal. Haunting, melancholic traditional Celtic songs like Isle of Inisfree are joined by more modern melancholic tunes like Enya’s May It Be (from The Fellowship of the Ring). Classic favorites like Ave Maria, Nella Fantasia, and Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring were rendered beautifully alongside upbeat, manic Irish fiddle music. The show also included new material written by composer David Downes. In addition to this he also arranged each piece specifically to showcase the talents of these amazing performers. The concert included over 2 hours of music. There were a number of songs included in the show that are not currently on the CD and it is my hope that they produce a follow up CD to include this wonderful music.
Words alone cannot to describe just how spectacular the show was. Rich blue, green and violet lighting gave the show a very unique feel that was at once fantastical and contemporary. The whole of the second act was performed before a backdrop of lighting that looked like a star-filled sky. The elegant dresses of the performers were coupled with the black outfits of the background singers for a very classic look.
The voices of each performer were breathtaking and Mairead’s violin playing is nothing short of jaw-dropping. She bounds around stage twirling and leaping all while playing the most gorgeous music. Her fiddle numbers are so frenetic that it amazes you that anyone can play that fast and that wonderful. I wrote about her in my Sex and Violins post awhile back. This link is still active on which you can watch Mairead performing The Contradiction as well as see the closing number of the show, an ovation inspiring rendition of Josh Groban’s You Raise Me Up.
The Celtic Woman show was at the fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis.
The Fox Theatre was opened in 1929 and, though closed in the 1970’s, was purchased in 1981 and restored as close as possible to its original 1929 glory. Here are a few pictures of how it looks today:
It was an opulent venue that was perfectly suited to such an elaborate, rich show. The Celtic Woman tour is continuing into the fall and if you have the opportunity I highly recommend attending.
As the week begins I encourage you to surround yourself with beautiful music and embrace the tradition that makes you uniquely who you are. And:
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields
and, Until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of His hand
~An Irish Blessing
Tomorrow I will share the fascinating details of our pre-show meal! 🙂
Glad you had a great time! Can’t wait to hear the meal details 🙂
Sounds like a breathtaking evening!
It was wonderful. I’m really glad we went and it was nice for Mary and I to just spend some time together. We did it at the beginning of summer and it was fun to have a small trip towards the end (wishful thinking) of summer.
Incidentally, Chloe Agnew is only 15 or 16 now which makes her amazing vocal ability that much more incredible!
Bag pipes, or Uileann pipes 🙂
I like both actually and I had just heard the term Uileann pipes on an Irish music show yesterday on NPR and couldn’t remember the name when I was typing last night. Thanks Fence, I appreciate it. 🙂
I have had my share of Celtic music growing up in Glengarry.
I love that theatre. Actually, I love all old theatres. I have spent vacations combing over old sites; they hold so much history that I just love to see the faded velveteen seats and take in culture by osmosis.
Wow, too cool. I would have loved to hear this. I love violin and fiddle has that nifty ethnic charm to it. Can’t say that I’ve ever heard distinctly celtic music though.
I don’t know if anything that is played today could be called “distinctly celtic”. Even this show is touted as a blend of celtic tradition with contemporary influences. It is beautiful music though.
Ah yes, elbow pipes (thats what uileann means). Can be the worst instrument to listen to, along with the bagpipes. They really can sound atrocious, there is a busker occasionally by the green with bagpipes, only he can’t play. At all. It is horrendous.
But when played properly they are great. Have you ever heard Davy Spillane?
No but thanks for the site. The picture of the shore and the inside of the recording studio on that site are wonderful. I don’t see anywhere to listen to samples but I’ll check around and see if I can find something as it looks interesting.
I’ve never heard of them before, but it sounds like you had a wonderful evening. And the theater is gorgeous!!!
Michele sent me, have a great day!
You make it sound wonderful – I will have to look out for a DVD. And that building! I can’t begin to imagine how perfect the acoustics must have been for the piercing, bell like quality of the typical celtic notes. Wow.
Really glad you dropped by my blog, and immensely flattered that you worked your way through two or three posts – thank you!
We were sitting towards the back on the orchestra level and the acoustics were amazing. I was truly impressed.
I love Celtic music and have several discs and songs on my iPod. Having Irish in me, I feel very close to the music (heck, bagpipes get me bawling….).
Thanks for stopping by my site!
Any suggestions Shannin?
Celtic Spirit & Dance of th Celts (compliations)
Groups I would suggest – Clannad and The Cheiftains
Thanks, I’ve heard of both and actually have heard even more about them this weekend when reading about Celtic Woman and accidentally stumbling across an Irish music program on NPR. I will check them both out! 🙂
If you do check out Clannad they have a few compilations out that give a sample of their different sounds. They’ve also done film & tv work: imdb page.
I love their Robin of Sherwood stuff. Course I love that entire series, even the season with Mr. Jason Connery (yes, his son)
More cool stuff to check out, thanks Fence. One of the biggest bonuses of blogging is finding out about new and different music, books, movies, etc.
Stopping by to say hello…
Oh my goodness Carl V. Your wonderfully detailed description of the concert made me feel as if I was sitting in the audience sevral rows behind you and yoru wife. By the way you both looked quite lovely.
Thank you for this post. Now, I must search out some Celtic music to listen to. Yes, I do blame you for this sudden inspiration. Again, thank you.
Anytime Michele, thanks for the visit!
Don’t suppose you ever saw Intermission? It’s an Irish film with Colm Meaney Colin Farrell and Cillian Murphy (scarecrow in Batman Begins). There is some *wonderful* use of celtic music in it, Colm Meaney’s cop character is a fan.
No I didn’t. I’ll have to add it to the Netflix pile. There’s another Colm Meaney film that is working its way up my Netflix list, The Boys and Girls of County Clare. Don’t know if its any good but the cast of Meany, Bernard Hill of LOTR fame, and Andrea Corr makes it intriguing.
The first thing I thought when I saw the picture was, “the Spice Girls are back together! It’s the end of the world!”
Fortunately, you’ve set my mind at ease.
I’ll have to go exploring music now, though.
Be prepared, I’m sure they’ll get back together soon! 🙂 Mary and I both thought the violinist looked like Baby Spice.
It’s now December and I just now reading your review, what a wonderful review. I saw the show 4 times during the Fall tour and am thinking of going to Ireland Feb. 18th for the show at The Point. Stop by the Celtic Woman forum and chat.
i love the magical feel and style of their music!it is truely incerdible.
I agree, it really is magical. I haven’t listened to their Christmas CD yet, I need to check it out.