Celtic Solstice

Artist: Paul Winter
Label: Living Music
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 010488152924
EAN: 0010488152924
ASIN: B00000HZTL

Release Date: 1999-02-09

Related Categories:

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| International | Styles | Music

General

| Celtic | International | Styles | Music

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Tracks:

Triumph
Golden Apples Of The Sun
Hollow Hills
O'Farrell's Welcome To Limerick
Dawnwalker
My Fair And Faithful Love/Blarney Pilgrim
Sweet Comeraghs
After The Fleadh/Running Through The Weeds With Keetu
The Minstrel's Adieu
Fare Well To Govan
Golden Apples Of The Sun (Reprise)
Dawnwalker (Reprise)

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Customer Reviews:

A reminder that ritual and celebration have their place in life.......2006-12-22

"Celtic Solstice" by Paul Winter and Friends, remains of those indulgences I dig out of my collection and play in the winter. Recorded in New York's Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the music serves both as documentary of this event and a reminder that ritual and celebration have their place in life. His ensemble of friends here is eclectic and talented, and his longtime cohort Paul Halley deserves being singled out for the deep, earthbound sounds he evokes from the pipe organ.

This set of mostly traditional songs and some originals is warm and cheerful without being artificially sanguine, the sort of music that goes well with fires, fog, and firs. Of course, there is an irony here in that "Celtic Solstice" celebrates the summer, not the winter, solstice. Perhaps that's why I prefer its warmth during the dark times.

The Music of What Happens.......2005-04-26

Imagine waiting in the world's largest gothic cathedral in the predawn hours of the Summer solstice. Now imagine that huge space with it's vaulting ceilings, mighty piers and somber shadows being filled with music and light. The soaring of a pipe organ, a jazzy and passionate alto saxophone, the soul-stirring Uillean pipes and ethereal voices weaving through the space to create something beautifully meditate and powerfully soul-inspiring. Can you see it? Then you have some idea of this CD and the background in which this music was created.

The Celtic Solstice CD showcases Paul Winter's musical feast on the Summer Solstice performed at St. John the Divine in New York City. With a melding of Irish and North American artists, he crafts an awe-inspiring experience that dips and soars through the soul with slow grace and timeless elegance. The fusion of jazz and traditional Celtic-of international sounds and modern instruments create something new and wonderful-something that truly is "the music of what happens". So, what does happen when you bring together renowned Uillean pipe player Davy Spillane, Riverdance fiddler Eileen Ivers, ethereal vocalist Karan Casey and whistle-player Joanie Madden with a host of other musicians in a space both sacred and joyful? Pure magic.

There's a real delight in witnessing extremely skilled musicians joining together to spin music. The opening performance on this CD, "Triumph" provides listeners a taste of what they are in for with the amazingly soaring and yet somber trio of Paul Winter on alto sax, Paul Halley on pipe organ and Davy Spillane on pipes. Vocalist Karan Casey, a member of the Irish group Solstice, contributes her ethereal vocal talents to two of the tracks on this CD. The first is "Golden Apples of the Sun", inspired by W.B. Yeats' poem "Song of the Wandering Aengus", the second is one of my favorite recordings on the CD, "Sweet Comeraghs". There aren't many vocals on this album, so the few that appear truly capture the listener. "After The Fleadh/ Running through the Woods with Keetu" is my favorite instrumental set of the performance, featuring eight different musicians, and an energetic backbeat of non-traditional percussion. Being a huge fan of Davy Spillane, the stunningly beautiful "Dawnwalker" has not lost its intrinsic power and poignancy no matter how many times I've heard it.

This is a slow moving performance-and may not be appreciated by listeners who are looking for a more traditionally fast-paced Celtic selection. Most of the CD is instrumental, so if you prefer vocals, this will probably not be what you want. Also, Paul Winter's style of music is not necessarily accessible to every listener on the first try. It took me witnessing a performance at St. John the Divine cathedral to start my fascination with this artist, and it has taken several rounds of listening to CDs before I can really start to hear the amazing qualities of Paul Winter's compositions and the joy of such a rare musical combination.

I encourage the curious to try out Winter's CDs, as the process of discovery has been a wonderful one for me. A remarkable reviewer named Bob Zeidler made me aware of Paul Winter. Bob encouraged me into reviewing Paul Winter's MISSA GAEIA CD and I finally posted the review last year, around his birthday, much to his delight. I'm dedicating this review to the memory of Bob, his love of music, and his reviewing. He will be sorely missed, and he will be well remembered.

May you find your own delight in the music of what happens.

Shanshad.

A mellow, reflective Celtic reverie.......2003-12-31

This is not the earthy, foot-pounding fire of "Riverdance" or Gaelic Storm, but instead a reverent, soulful, easy-going take on Celtic music--the Celtic and neo-Celtic equivalent, perhaps, of smooth jazz. Despite the large number of participants in the project-as-a-whole, many of the numbers are quiet trios. Joannie Madden and Davy Spillane steal the show with their wistful, achingly mournful playing of whistle and pipes. There is also a fair amount of Paul Halley's pipe organ artistry, which is wonderful to hear in this music. The organ is so often a solo instrument when in concert, unmatchable in volume or range, and is elsewise relegated to the accompaniment of choirs in conventional religious works. It's nice to hear it do its own thing here--its own improv--and yet also be an integral part of so many of the compositions. All in all, "Celtic Solstice" is an innovative, dreamy and gently-rollicking escape from a world that is often all too hectic. Try Paul Winter's other cool "Solstice" albums as well, and for more gentle Celtic music, check out the work of Maggie Sansone.

A mellow, reflective Celtic reverie.......2003-12-31

Celtic snooze.......2003-02-25

This album brings together a sterling group of musicians and some terrific material, but I felt that the results added up to less than the sum of the parts. The traditional tracks, in general, are performed with zest as well as sensitivity, and some of the new traditional-style tunes (e.g., the "After the Fleadh" set) are fun to listen to. And the quality of the musicians' performances is excellent throughout. On the other hand, I felt that the improvised tracks were comparatively weak: Winter's improvisations seem to have fallen into a rut (the melodies all tend to follow the same slowly rising pattern), and when the same arrangements reappear in the non-improvised pieces (e.g., "Golden Apples of the Sun"), the album becomes repetitious -- my reaction to the two reprise tracks at the end was "Oh gawd, not again!!" The album is pleasant and makes good background music, but as a listening experience I found it more sleep-inducing than stimulating.

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