Post by mihizawi on Oct 5, 2010 21:33:18 GMT
Hi, Martin and Jon...
I have the answer to what makes Hayley apart from Méav, Lisa and Órla, as I have heard most of the songs from the solo albums of those Celtic Woman members. As of the number of albums and length of recording career, only Méav comes a little closer to Hayley, the others may have had a career as performing artists before Celtic Woman, but, as far as I know, as recording artists Lisa and Órla didn't have much experience before (Órla having contributed to Anúna, but I don't think it was for too long). Then, one of the strongest points on the Celtic Woman from the time when Hayley joined it, was that there were all very high level singers (and violinist), but very different from each other, and each of them apporting something unique to the group, and it is brilliant how well such different musical profiles worked.. So, Órla was the more traditional and folcloric spirit, being also the only alto voice (all the others were Sopranos); Méav, although having a traditional background, it was her incredible Classical technique that shined through, she was technically the best singer on Celtic Woman; Lisa coming from musical theater, had a very nice voice and her performances are full of sweet emotion, sometimes theatrical indeed... And what about Hayley? Well, she was originally a replacement for Méav, and certainly had the same classically-oriented profile, yet it was indeed very diffferent: very good technically, sure, but not so perfect as Méav, but instead, her singing was like more heartfelt, emotional (see the Last Rose of Summer and you'll understand); of course, Máiréad and Chloë had also their unique profiles.
Anyway, this shows that they are obviously so different, and that's why they apply to different kind of people. But now, what (from my point of view) makes Hayley different, and more worth success, than the other Celtic Woman? Basically her career, the progression and variety that she has achieved. Méav has many albums and a long career, however, it's not only that she is already a mature and well-trained singer and that there's not a noticeable improvement in her career, but most importantly, it's about what and how she sings on all of her albums. Méav's solo material is all very similar, and even when it differs a little bit, the way she sings it is still the same, technically excellent but the same. We can say pretty much the same about Lisa's or Chloë's solo albums: the material and singing style is the same as on Celtic Woman... Órla's first album was exactly the same as herr performances on Celtic Woman, however, her second album certainly explores more material, and she certainly does a great job on it, however, the WAY of singing stays the same (somehow like The Corrs, their folcloric album Home, was a very interesting change of material, but the overall sound and style of performing was the same as usual). I found my biggest surprise on Lynn's solo album, which I found the most different to anything she has done before, either on Anúna or Celtic Woman, I certainly thought it was a nice and brave exploration of music and of her own musical experience, I wonder if a possible next solo album by her wouldalso be able to surprise me. And that's precisely where resides Hayley's strength over any other Celtic Woman member and I think over most of other singers or musicians... I certainly think she is probably the most beautiful voice I have ever heard, but I can understand that's too subjective... But I think it's more of a kind of fact that she is one of the most versatile singers that have ever been. The way she explores new possibilities and adapts her singing to any song she sings, but always being able to stay true to herself is what makes her so unique... All of her albums are very different, and I think that's not only due to her progression as she is getting better and better all the time (which is also an important factor), but rather to her consciously exploring new possibilities. Of course, there are songs that Hayley sings in a similar way, but as an overall, even in the same album there are so many shades and variations from one song to another that truly amazes me. And if you listen closely, I think you can notice Hayley sings each song on a different way, even in the ones that seem similar, you can find light differences and shades in her voice. Of course, to fully appreciate what I say you have to listen very closely to a big bunch of her songs, but for me that's one of the bggest reasons for following her and buying her albums. She is one of the very few artists nowaday that you really can expect to surprise you every time and be sure you won't get decieved.
As for Martin's comment, I mostly agree that Hayley's music is quite spiritual, but also, precisely in that flexibility and exploration of music itself I find lots of intelectuality too... However, I don't think her music is the one that most strongly appeals to me on the spiritual level, it certainly does a lot on it, but inside of the Classical music there's some stronger music on that point (one of the clearest examples I can think of is Bach's "Air" from the suite nº 3).
Michal
I have the answer to what makes Hayley apart from Méav, Lisa and Órla, as I have heard most of the songs from the solo albums of those Celtic Woman members. As of the number of albums and length of recording career, only Méav comes a little closer to Hayley, the others may have had a career as performing artists before Celtic Woman, but, as far as I know, as recording artists Lisa and Órla didn't have much experience before (Órla having contributed to Anúna, but I don't think it was for too long). Then, one of the strongest points on the Celtic Woman from the time when Hayley joined it, was that there were all very high level singers (and violinist), but very different from each other, and each of them apporting something unique to the group, and it is brilliant how well such different musical profiles worked.. So, Órla was the more traditional and folcloric spirit, being also the only alto voice (all the others were Sopranos); Méav, although having a traditional background, it was her incredible Classical technique that shined through, she was technically the best singer on Celtic Woman; Lisa coming from musical theater, had a very nice voice and her performances are full of sweet emotion, sometimes theatrical indeed... And what about Hayley? Well, she was originally a replacement for Méav, and certainly had the same classically-oriented profile, yet it was indeed very diffferent: very good technically, sure, but not so perfect as Méav, but instead, her singing was like more heartfelt, emotional (see the Last Rose of Summer and you'll understand); of course, Máiréad and Chloë had also their unique profiles.
Anyway, this shows that they are obviously so different, and that's why they apply to different kind of people. But now, what (from my point of view) makes Hayley different, and more worth success, than the other Celtic Woman? Basically her career, the progression and variety that she has achieved. Méav has many albums and a long career, however, it's not only that she is already a mature and well-trained singer and that there's not a noticeable improvement in her career, but most importantly, it's about what and how she sings on all of her albums. Méav's solo material is all very similar, and even when it differs a little bit, the way she sings it is still the same, technically excellent but the same. We can say pretty much the same about Lisa's or Chloë's solo albums: the material and singing style is the same as on Celtic Woman... Órla's first album was exactly the same as herr performances on Celtic Woman, however, her second album certainly explores more material, and she certainly does a great job on it, however, the WAY of singing stays the same (somehow like The Corrs, their folcloric album Home, was a very interesting change of material, but the overall sound and style of performing was the same as usual). I found my biggest surprise on Lynn's solo album, which I found the most different to anything she has done before, either on Anúna or Celtic Woman, I certainly thought it was a nice and brave exploration of music and of her own musical experience, I wonder if a possible next solo album by her wouldalso be able to surprise me. And that's precisely where resides Hayley's strength over any other Celtic Woman member and I think over most of other singers or musicians... I certainly think she is probably the most beautiful voice I have ever heard, but I can understand that's too subjective... But I think it's more of a kind of fact that she is one of the most versatile singers that have ever been. The way she explores new possibilities and adapts her singing to any song she sings, but always being able to stay true to herself is what makes her so unique... All of her albums are very different, and I think that's not only due to her progression as she is getting better and better all the time (which is also an important factor), but rather to her consciously exploring new possibilities. Of course, there are songs that Hayley sings in a similar way, but as an overall, even in the same album there are so many shades and variations from one song to another that truly amazes me. And if you listen closely, I think you can notice Hayley sings each song on a different way, even in the ones that seem similar, you can find light differences and shades in her voice. Of course, to fully appreciate what I say you have to listen very closely to a big bunch of her songs, but for me that's one of the bggest reasons for following her and buying her albums. She is one of the very few artists nowaday that you really can expect to surprise you every time and be sure you won't get decieved.
As for Martin's comment, I mostly agree that Hayley's music is quite spiritual, but also, precisely in that flexibility and exploration of music itself I find lots of intelectuality too... However, I don't think her music is the one that most strongly appeals to me on the spiritual level, it certainly does a lot on it, but inside of the Classical music there's some stronger music on that point (one of the clearest examples I can think of is Bach's "Air" from the suite nº 3).
Michal
If you mean because I mentioned her success with Pure, I was trying to show how Hayley stands out from Celtic Woman. Just because that success was not in the U.S., doesn't mean nobody in the U.S. should pay attention to it. That was my point. That is the reason the U.S. should pay attention to her!
