Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration
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Movie Reviews of Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration
Movie Review: A true Christmas Celebration!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have to admit, ever since I first saw Celtic Woman on PBS back in 2005 I was smitten. I now own all of their DVD's (except the greatest journey, I'm still debating that one since it's mostly a greatest hits collection). I'm also not a very big fan of Holiday music, since in the last 20 years or so the market has been over-saturated with so-so music by so-so artists, IMHO. Then Celtic Woman's "A Christmas Celebration" came out. I feel almost reborn!
This has got to be the best Holiday music I've heard in my life, period. Here's why. Every single song performed in this collection is done BEAUTIFULLY. The production is top notch. Gorgeous lighting and costumes, brilliant sound mixing, expertly choreographed and arranged, and passionately performed. Chloe, Lisa, Orla, Maev and Mairead are all in top form. We'll miss Maev, as this was her final performance with CW. She has left to pursue a solo career. Her replacement, Lynn Hillary took over a little over a year ago, and she's beautifully qualified...but that's another story.
The show starts with the choir (dressed very nicely in black), and Mairead opening "Carol Of The Bells". The girls all join in for what proves to be a dramatic opening to the show. Maev then sings "Silent Night" both in Gaelic and English, with Mairead joining in for an instrumental verse and chorus. Reverently performed.
The show continues with a wide variety of Holiday classics from sacred to secular. Showcasing Chloe's charm on "White Christmas", Orla's beautiful voice on "Away In A Manger", and Lisa's luminescence on "The Christmas Song".
Highlights of this show are many, but real standouts include "The Wexford Carol", performed a capella by Maev and the choir, "Christmas Pipes", a David Downes song sung by Lisa and the choir, and featuring the great backup band. "The Little Drummer Boy" is very memorable, starting with the choir in a gregorian chant, then Ray Fean on the snare drum, soon joined by Orla, then Chloe, ending with the gregorian chant theme with Chloe and Orla exiting the stage hand in hand.
My personal favorites are:
"O Holy Night", performed by all five soloists with the orchestra, choir, and an additional choir way in the back...very dramatic and dynamic!
"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas". This is performed again by all five ladies a capella, with a beautiful violin solo by mairead, who appears in this song as if she were another singer, only on violin.
"Don Oiche Ud I Mbeithil". A beautifully haunting song performed by David on Piano, Orla on Harp, Mairead on Violin, and gorgeously sung in Gaelic by Chloe and Maev.
The show seems to end with a rousing "O Come All Ye Faithful", which is performed dynamically by the whole ensemble, including the extra choir. A very fitting end to a fantastic holiday program. But wait, there's more!
Chloe, in her own inimitable charming way, introduces the closing number "Let It Snow", as something Celtic Woman don't usually do, and it brings a smile to your face. The song is done in a 1940's big band style, complete with trumpets, trombone and sax sections! The girls all have fun with this one, which ends nicely with snow falling on the stage, a piano decrescendo, and the girls exiting with Mairead the last one seen. She turns to the audience and whispers seductively, "let it snow"...followed by the band's big ending chord. A really fun ending to a really great concert!
This is definitely a worthwhile addition to the Celtic Woman Catalogue. Every song here is built or rebuilt from the ground up by David Downes, a brilliant arranger/composer/director. I would recommend this holiday collection to anyone, even to Ebenezer Scrooge himself!
Movie Review: Best Christmas Yet!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Every time I think there is no way the lovely and talented ladies of CELTIC WOMAN could possibly out-do themselves, they do!! Every time I think there is no way they could top this, they do!! They just keep getting better and better. More beautiful. More lovely, to both the ears AND the eyes. More talented. Even more gifted, if that's somehow possible. I have seen CELTIC WOMAN live in concert numerous times. They are simply amazing! Simply the most gifted, talented performers you could ever hope to see and hear. And yet, they just keep getting better! (For those of you who may be unaware or, not entirely sure ... yes Meav did depart CW. She has decided to spend more time on her own solo [musical] projects as well as more time with her family. Meav is of enormous talent, beauty, grace and class. She is first-rate in every sense of the word and she will be sorely missed as part of one of the most incredibly gifted group of performers/vocalists I have ever encountered. [Meav, we wish you all the best in all you do]. Stepping in is Lynn Hilary who is herself a very beautiful and talented singer. She has worked in Riverdance and in fact her and Lisa [Kelly] have worked together previously. So Lynn is no stranger to this type of music or performance. She is also of pure Irish/Gaelic decent. We welcome Lynn aboard and will see her on the Fall 2007 Tour).
This "A Christmas Celebration" DVD is easily, by far, the most beautiful Christmas Concert I have ever seen. This is MUST HAVE!! If you like Christmas Music, you will enjoy this offering. If you like Christmas Music AND are a CELTIC WOMAN fan, you will not believe your ears and your eyes!! I know (first hand) how incredibly talented and beautiful Lisa, Meav, Orla, Chloe and Mairead are and yet, I was positively STUNNED by the beauty of this performance. It is SO far beyond even what I had expected, that I still can't get over this performance. I rec'd my copy the day is was officially released (Tuesday 10/02/2007) and have watched this, twice a day, every day since receiving it. I don't usually start with Christmas Music until Thanksgiving. But I knew there was no way I could last that long, just from knowing how talented these ladies are AND from looking at the beautiful DVD package/cover. I had to play it. I did play it. And now, like so many others, I can't STOP playing it. They are beyond anything you could imagine. I have never, never heard nor seen anything so beautiful in my life! As one other reviewer here said ... "don't walk, RUN to your nearest music store and get this for yourself". The most amazing Christmas Concert you could ever hope to see, performed by five unbelievably beautiful and talented Angels. As a 'bonus', if you will, the Choir and the Orchestra are also in top form. They ALL deserve tons of credit for this performance. This was also a beautifully shot/filmed performance as well. The ladies never looked lovlier and the stage and lighting are also done to perfection.
Every, single number is stunningly beautiful but ... Some of the highlights are:
"Carol Of The Bells" (opening number).
"Little Drummer Boy" (beautifully done by Orla and Chloe and Ray on the snare).
"The Wexford Carol" (again, beautifully done by the one and only beautiful Meav).
"Christmas Pipes" (is out of this world)!
and closing the show is ...
a Big Band rendition of "Let It Snow" (that is NOT to be missed)!
Enjoy and oh what a Merry Christmas, thanks to CELTIC WOMAN!!
Movie Review: A SUPERIOR Christmas Celebration DVD !!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I watched "A Christmas Celebration" several times and think it the best yet. The Girls are in perfect tone and pitch and look as lovely as I have ever seen them! The visual and audio were fantastic! The music was perfectly balanced and the girls sounded wonderful! It was great! There was no downside to the performance. Mairead sounded and looked fantastic even though more subdued than normal. Her rendering of "In the Bleak Mid Winter" was absolutely and wonderfully fantastic! I thought she was great as was the whole group! I did , however, miss Hayley. It did not detract from my opinion of the performance, I just thought she would have made another great contribution. In the song "Little Drummer Boy," I thought the effect and sight of Ray playing an over sized toy snare drum was super. I also liked the girls popping out of the choir - it surprised me very pleasantly. Even though I think Mairead did a great job, I also enthusiastically believe all the girls were great as was the rest of the cast and crew. The Choir was outstanding. The filming,editing and sound is superior. I could name each of the girls and rave about their individual performances all day and into the night.
This is the best Music DVD produced by anyone all year and maybe for the next and past few years! ABSOLUTELY THE BEST IN/OF CHRISTMAS MUSIC!!! I believe it sets the STANDARD for any who choose to follow.
If you like or want superior, fantastic, very well done, inspirational Christmas Music, this is the DVD for you!!! You may even want to buy several and give them as quality gifts to good friends and family.
Art D.
Movie Review: A New All Time Hoilday Classic!
Summary: 5 Stars
The lovely and all so talented young women from the Emerald Isle have once again achieved perfection. The long awaited Christmas DVD "A Christmas Celebration" is finally out and is it ever a treat for the whole family! Shot in Dublin, back in July just three weeks after the show completed a wildly successful five month concert tour of the US performing the "A New Journey" show. Dazzling in the most beautiful gowns and lovely stage settings Orla, Lisa, Chloe, Mairead and Meav (making her farewell appearance, sorry that's what we're told) breath new life into many of our favorite Christmas classics. Backed by the world famous Irish Film Orchestra, the Celtic Woman band and choir,
the ensemble entertain to the max!
A few of the highlights, and beleive me there are many- White Christmas: Chloe, Lisa and Meav, The Little Drummer Boy: duet by Orla and Chloe, Oh Holy Night: ensemble, Away in a Manger: Orla, The Christmas Song: Lisa, O Come All Ye Faithful: ensemble, Let It Snow: ensemble, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas: ensemble, The First Noel: ensemble, The Christmas Song: Lisa and many more.
These very gifted young women blew this writer away with their first concert and they just keep getting better and better. The "A New Journey" live at Slane Castle is from all aspects a perfect music video yet the "A Christmas Celebration" takes perfection to a higher level. With the great success the show is having the girls appear to be having more fun than ever if that's possible. We'll really miss Meav, her wonderful voice, charm and grace is irreplaceable and we hope she can rejoin the show somewhere down lifes road.
Movie Review: A Wonderful Collection of Christmas Songs
Summary: 5 Stars
To take one smart reviewer's advice, don't get too caught up in what others are writing, just say what you think. So, I'm doing my review over....
I don't write too many reviews, but when I love something as wonderful as these five talented women, I just have to let my feelings out.
I gave this collection of Christmas songs five stars; because, they are sung beautifully by Chloe, Meav, Orla, And Lisa. Then there's Mairead, with her violin, just enchanting!!
Three stars for the ambiance. There is very little Christmas decor; the orchestra is practically sitting in the dark. The only brightness are the dresses; Lisa in yellow, Meav in lilac, Chloe in pink, Orla in aqua and Mairead in a paler blue version.
All the favorite Christmas songs were sung. "Carol of the Bells" opened the show, "Drummer Boy" was done beautifully by Orla and Chloe, and "Christmas Pipes" were my three favorite songs. Lisa sung a new song, "Green the Whole Year Round" which was different. I liked it.
The last song "Let It Snow"(with falling snow coming down) was jazzed up by the girls with their own rendition of it.
You can tell by how the girls perform now, that they've improved so much throughout their years together. I'll be so sorry to see Meav leave though, being this is her last performance with Celtic Women. A new girl, Lynn Hilary will be taking her place. I know Meav will succeed in whatever she does, but I will miss her. I hope she returns every now and then.
So, just sit back and enjoy these songs performed by these five beautiful women. Happy Holidays to all.