The Very Best of Celtic Christmas

Amazon.com
Ten years on, there are five volumes available in Windham Hill’s hugely popular Celtic Christmas series and this collection gathers together more than 75 minutes of highlights from them. Special gems include the Irish band Altan’s lovely and ethereal Soillse Na Nollag, the late Scottish fiddler Johnny Cunningham’s King Holly, King Oak with its quote from one of the oldest lullaby carols of all, and Karan Casey’s delectable vocals wending their way through On A Winter's Day. Galician piper/flautist Carlos Núñez' frisky Galician Carol adds a welcome touch of Iberian light and joy amid what sometimes feels like unremitting reflection and restraint. The songs and carols are heard primarily in acoustic settings, from which marshmallow-like synth lines extrude from time to time. For the most part, though, the musicians lean toward organic textures even when exploring more contemporary treatments, so the overall effect is modern yet homey, warm and peaceful. --Christina Roden

Tracks:

The Wexford Carol - David Agnew
Cornphiopa Ciorcalach - Maire Breatnach
On A cold Winter's Day/Christmas Eve - Kevin Burke
Third Carol For Christmas Day - Maighread Ni Dhomhnaill
Circle Of Joy - Lisa Lynne
Sior-Uaine - Phil Cunningham
Lully Lullay - Nightnoise
Galician Carol - Carlos Nunez
King Holly, King Oak - Johnny Cunningham
A Raven In The Snow - Brian Dunning
Soillie Na Nollag - Altan
I'll Rock You To Rest - James Galway
Sails Of Galway - Snuffy Walden
On A Winter's Day - Karan Casey
Ga Greine - John Fitzpatrick
The Dove's Return - Aine Minogue
Angels In The Snow - David Arkenstone
An Driochead - Liam O'Flynn
Flow Gently Sweet Afton - Benjamin Verdery

Amazon.com

Ten years on, there are five volumes available in Windham Hill's hugely popular Celtic Christmas series and this collection gathers together more than 75 minutes of highlights from them. Special gems include the Irish band Altan's lovely and ethereal Soillse Na Nollag, the late Scottish fiddler Johnny Cunningham's King Holly, King Oak with its quote from one of the oldest lullaby carols of all, and Karan Casey's delectable vocals wending their way through On A Winter's Day. Galician piper/flautist Carlos Núñez' frisky Galician Carol adds a welcome touch of Iberian light and joy amid what sometimes feels like unremitting reflection and restraint. The songs and carols are heard primarily in acoustic settings, from which marshmallow-like synth lines extrude from time to time. For the most part, though, the musicians lean toward organic textures even when exploring more contemporary treatments, so the overall effect is modern yet homey, warm and peaceful. --Christina Roden

Customer Reviews:

You can never go wrong with Windham Hill.......2005-01-02

I recently purchased this CD and I am listening to it as I write this.There are quite a bit of tracks from Celtic Christmas Three so to me this CD feels more like a reissue of that CD, so if you already own that CD you may want to reconsider this purchase.The CD as a whole is what I'd expect from Winham Hill and they always seem to deliver the same high quality music. Although this CD is labeled as a Christmas CD it can be played throughout the entire year, yes, there are a few standard Christmas selections but a majority are original compositions. The only gripe I have is Patrick Cassidy's "Lament" has not been included on this CD,and is one of the most beatiful songs I've ever heard.
If your a Windham Hill fan, this CD is well worth the money.
Great for playing at Holiday get togethers for that added intamecy, or when your sitting in front of the fire on a cold winters night.....OR anytime during the year!
Simply magnifecent!

Rock Music:

Rock Music

rock music

Recommended Music:

Music:Response [CD-single] [Import]

Storia

Two Highways

Dublin Blues

Treasury of Early Musical Comedy 1898-1920

Tango 12 [Import]

Today/Summer Days & Summer Nights (+B-Sides)

Total Juju

The Gathering of Nations Pow Wow 1998, Vol. 2 [Live]

The Great Sopranos of the Fifties and the Sixties: The Italian Tradition

Tomorrow Comes Today [CD-single] [Enhanced] [Import]

The Inner Path [Live]

The Shadiest One [Explicit Lyrics]

Kodály: Music for Cello

Metamorphic: The String Quartet Tribute to Tool, Vol. 2