Post by roger on Apr 3, 2007 8:02:06 GMT
From the Cincinnati Post
Celtic Woman
'Music so pure it hits you deep inside'
By Rick Bird
Post staff reporter
The newest member of acclaimed vocal ensemble Celtic Woman was first exposed to the group the same way thousands of Americans first saw it - on a public broadcasting special.
"Yes, I caught their show on PBS in 2005," says Hayley Westenra, who joined the group last September as an alternate. "To me the music was so pure. It hits you deep inside. The music cuts right through to your heart. The focus is on storytelling."
It is the same reaction from fans that has made the group (four or five singers and a fiddler) the biggest phenomenon in Celtic music since Riverdance. Indeed, the act has often been called a "'Riverdance' for the voice."
The group is the creation of "Riverdance" musical director David Downes, who conceived it as a one-night stand to spotlight four of Ireland's rising musical theater stars (Chloe Agnew, Orlagh Fallon, Lisa Kelly and Meav Ni Mhaolchatha). The ladies felt the night clicked so well they kept the act together.
A 2005 CD was followed by a 90-minute PBS special ... and the group became international stars. Their self-titled debut CD incredibly topped the world music charts for 81 weeks. Its newest CD, "A New Journey," released in January, is following a similar path.
In Cincinnati, WCET-TV (Channel 48) program director Grace Hill says it seems they can't air the Celtic Woman PBS specials enough. They always run during pledge drives and they produce.
"They do absolutely great here," said Hill. "We offer tickets and they go like crazy. They are really popular in Cincinnati."
Celtic Woman's concert at Music Hall this coming Monday night was a quick sellout, as was the group's show here a year ago.
What's all the fuss about?
The stage show is elegantly produced with exotic lighting and intricate choreography. Each of the vocalists is a star in her own right, with solo recording careers and musical theater credentials. Reviewers use such words as "heavenly," "angelic" and "ethereal" to describe the vocal magic when the four come together.
"When I'm on stage, I do feel an energy," Westenra said. "Every member is quite different and unique in their style of voice. So everyone brings something to the show. There are moments when we are doing the up-tempo numbers and the stage is just so full of energy and everyone is having such an amazing time. It's such a close-knit group."
The group's name, with the singular, instead of Celtic "women," is meant to make a sort of empowering statement.
"I think it implies that each of us brings a different quality. It all contributes to what makes the complete Celtic woman," Westenra explained.
Westenra, who has a blossoming solo career in her native New Zealand and is known for her elegant soprano vocals, was contacted almost out of the blue to join the group last fall.
After a tryout, Westenra, just 19, was let into the Celtic Woman club, now alternating as a member with Mhaokchatha, who is a new mom.
Westenra laughs when asked if her Irish lineage - via New Zealand - was checked before she was allowed to join the group.
"They didn't actually," she said. "But I do have Irish roots on my grandmother's side. They just saw I could bring a new element. In this kind of group, it's good to make changes and stay a step ahead of the game."
Westenra is not the youngest member. That distinction goes to 17-year-old Chloe Agnew.
"My mothering instincts come out. On Chloe's days off I see her doing her school work and I think how I've been there."
On the new CD, Westenra is showcased with her spellbinding version of "Scarborough Fair." She is also featured on the type of non-traditional song that gives the group its distinctive flai r - the '60s pop tune "Beyond the Sea," made popular by Bobby Darin. The arrangement reinvents it as if it were a whimsical ancient Celtic ballad.
The group frequently tackles non-Irish classical music and other pop songs, such as Celine Dion ballad "The Prayer." Of course, every genre has its purists and some Celtic music chauvinists might think the slickly choreographed live show amounts to Celtic-gone-Vegas.
"If people are getting enjoyment out of the music, then I don't think there is anything wrong with it," Westenra said. "If we keep on repeating the same things that have been done without making any changes to the format, we're just lurking in the past and not taking things to the future. I think the innovations in the show speak for themselves."
Publication date: 03-29-2007
Roger
Celtic Woman
'Music so pure it hits you deep inside'
By Rick Bird
Post staff reporter
The newest member of acclaimed vocal ensemble Celtic Woman was first exposed to the group the same way thousands of Americans first saw it - on a public broadcasting special.
"Yes, I caught their show on PBS in 2005," says Hayley Westenra, who joined the group last September as an alternate. "To me the music was so pure. It hits you deep inside. The music cuts right through to your heart. The focus is on storytelling."
It is the same reaction from fans that has made the group (four or five singers and a fiddler) the biggest phenomenon in Celtic music since Riverdance. Indeed, the act has often been called a "'Riverdance' for the voice."
The group is the creation of "Riverdance" musical director David Downes, who conceived it as a one-night stand to spotlight four of Ireland's rising musical theater stars (Chloe Agnew, Orlagh Fallon, Lisa Kelly and Meav Ni Mhaolchatha). The ladies felt the night clicked so well they kept the act together.
A 2005 CD was followed by a 90-minute PBS special ... and the group became international stars. Their self-titled debut CD incredibly topped the world music charts for 81 weeks. Its newest CD, "A New Journey," released in January, is following a similar path.
In Cincinnati, WCET-TV (Channel 48) program director Grace Hill says it seems they can't air the Celtic Woman PBS specials enough. They always run during pledge drives and they produce.
"They do absolutely great here," said Hill. "We offer tickets and they go like crazy. They are really popular in Cincinnati."
Celtic Woman's concert at Music Hall this coming Monday night was a quick sellout, as was the group's show here a year ago.
What's all the fuss about?
The stage show is elegantly produced with exotic lighting and intricate choreography. Each of the vocalists is a star in her own right, with solo recording careers and musical theater credentials. Reviewers use such words as "heavenly," "angelic" and "ethereal" to describe the vocal magic when the four come together.
"When I'm on stage, I do feel an energy," Westenra said. "Every member is quite different and unique in their style of voice. So everyone brings something to the show. There are moments when we are doing the up-tempo numbers and the stage is just so full of energy and everyone is having such an amazing time. It's such a close-knit group."
The group's name, with the singular, instead of Celtic "women," is meant to make a sort of empowering statement.
"I think it implies that each of us brings a different quality. It all contributes to what makes the complete Celtic woman," Westenra explained.
Westenra, who has a blossoming solo career in her native New Zealand and is known for her elegant soprano vocals, was contacted almost out of the blue to join the group last fall.
After a tryout, Westenra, just 19, was let into the Celtic Woman club, now alternating as a member with Mhaokchatha, who is a new mom.
Westenra laughs when asked if her Irish lineage - via New Zealand - was checked before she was allowed to join the group.
"They didn't actually," she said. "But I do have Irish roots on my grandmother's side. They just saw I could bring a new element. In this kind of group, it's good to make changes and stay a step ahead of the game."
Westenra is not the youngest member. That distinction goes to 17-year-old Chloe Agnew.
"My mothering instincts come out. On Chloe's days off I see her doing her school work and I think how I've been there."
On the new CD, Westenra is showcased with her spellbinding version of "Scarborough Fair." She is also featured on the type of non-traditional song that gives the group its distinctive flai r - the '60s pop tune "Beyond the Sea," made popular by Bobby Darin. The arrangement reinvents it as if it were a whimsical ancient Celtic ballad.
The group frequently tackles non-Irish classical music and other pop songs, such as Celine Dion ballad "The Prayer." Of course, every genre has its purists and some Celtic music chauvinists might think the slickly choreographed live show amounts to Celtic-gone-Vegas.
"If people are getting enjoyment out of the music, then I don't think there is anything wrong with it," Westenra said. "If we keep on repeating the same things that have been done without making any changes to the format, we're just lurking in the past and not taking things to the future. I think the innovations in the show speak for themselves."
Publication date: 03-29-2007
Roger
