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A Christmas Celebration (Celtic Woman Album)
''A Christmas Celebration'' is the second studio album released by the group Celtic Woman. Background ''A Christmas Celebration'' was recorded in and released worldwide on 3 October 2006. The album, like the group's self-titled debut album, was produced and arranged by David Downes and features vocalists Chloë Agnew, Órla Fallon, Lisa Kelly, and Méav Ní Mhaolchatha, with violinist Máiréad Nesbitt. In response to the reception earned for their following album, PBS concert special and DVD release ''A New Journey'', a one-off live performance took place on 18 July 2007 at the Helix Theatre in Dublin, Ireland – the same location where the recording for the accompanying PBS concert special and DVD release for the group's debut album was held back in 2004. The concert began airing on PBS and was released on DVD in November 2007. Track listing Note: All songs traditional, arranged by David Downes unless where noted. Personnel Celtic Woman * Chloë Agnew – vocals * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Celtic Woman
Celtic Woman is an all-female Irish musical ensemble conceived and created by David Kavanagh, Sharon Browne and David Downes, a former musical director of the Irish stage show ''Riverdance.'' In 2004, Downes recruited five Irish female musicians who had not previously performed together, vocalists Chloë Agnew, Órla Fallon, Lisa Kelly and Méav Ní Mhaolchatha, and fiddler Máiréad Nesbitt, as the first lineup of the group that he named "Celtic Woman". Downes chose a repertoire that ranged from traditional Celtic tunes to modern songs. The show was meant to be a one-time event held in Dublin, Ireland, but multiple airings on PBS helped boost the group's popularity. The group's line-up has changed over the years. Fourteen albums have been released under the name "Celtic Woman": '' Celtic Woman'', '' Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration'', '' Celtic Woman: A New Journey'', '' Celtic Woman: The Greatest Journey'', '' Celtic Woman: Songs from the Heart'', '' Celtic Woman: Lu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Méav Ní Mhaolchatha
Méav Ní Mhaolchatha ( , ), mononymously known as Méav, is an Irish singer, songwriter and recording artist specialising in the traditional music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ... of her homeland. She was one of the original soloists in the musical ensemble Celtic Woman, which has sold over six million albums. Her solo albums have reached the Billboard World Music Top 10. She sings in multiple languages: English, Irish, French, Latin, Italian and German. Music career Meav came from a musical family and began singing at a young age. She began singing professionally shortly after graduating from Trinity College, Dublin, Trinity College Dublin with a law degree. Between 1994 and 1998 Méav was a member of the Irish chamber choir Anúna. As a choral singer and sol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carol Of The Bells
"Carol of the Bells" is a popular Christmas carol, with music by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych in 1914 and lyrics by Peter J. Wilhousky. The song is based on the Ukrainian folk chant " Shchedryk". The music is in the public domain; Wilhousky's lyrics, however, are under copyright owned by Carl Fischer Music. The music is based on a four-note ostinato and is in time signature, with the B-flat bell pealing in time. The carol is metrically bistable, and a listener can focus on either measure or switch between them. It has been adapted for many genres, including: classical, metal, jazz, country music, rock, trap, and pop. The piece also features in films, television shows, and parodies. Background Origins The conductor of the Ukrainian Republic Capella, Oleksander Koshyts (also spelled Alexander Koshetz) commissioned Leontovych to create the song based on traditional Ukrainian folk chants, and the resulting new work for choir, "Shchedryk", was based on four no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mel Tormé
Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "The Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire") and co-wrote the lyrics with Bob Wells. Early life Melvin Howard Tormé was born in Chicago, Illinois, to William David Torme, a Jewish immigrant from Poland, and Betty Torme (née Sopkin), a New York City native. He graduated from Hyde Park High School. A child prodigy, he first performed professionally at age four with the Coon-Sanders Orchestra, singing "You're Driving Me Crazy" at Chicago's Blackhawk restaurant. He played drums in the drum-and-bugle corps at Shakespeare Elementary School. From 1933 to 1941, he acted in the radio programs ''The Romance of Helen Trent'' and ''Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy''. He wrote his first song at 13. Three years later his first published song, "Lament to Love", became a hit for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Wells (songwriter)
Robert Wells (born Robert Levinson, October 15, 1922 – September 23, 1998) was an American songwriter, composer, screenwriter, script writer and television producer. During his early career, he collaborated with singer and songwriter Mel Tormé, writing several hit songs, most notably "The Christmas Song" in 1945. Later, he became a prolific writer and producer for television, for such shows as ''The Dinah Shore Chevy Show'', as well as for numerous variety specials, such as ''If They Could See Me Now'', starring Shirley MacLaine. He was nominated for several Academy Awards and won six Emmy Awards, Emmys and a Peabody Award. Early life and career Robert Wells was born to a American Jews, Jewish family in 1922 in Raymond, Washington, the son of Edna Irene (Bradford) and Nathan Levinson. He attended a local business college and later the University of Southern California, where he majored in speech and drama. He served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Christmas Song
"The Christmas Song" (commonly subtitled "Chestnuts Roasting by an Open Fire" or, as it was originally subtitled, "Merry Christmas to You") is a classic Christmas song written in 1945 by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé. The Nat King Cole Trio first recorded the song in June 1946. At Cole's behestand over the objections of his label, Capitol Recordsa second recording was made in August utilizing a small string section. This version became a massive hit on both the pop and R&B charts. Cole again recorded the song in 1953, using the same arrangement with a full orchestra arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle, and once more in 1961, in a stereophonic version with another full orchestra arranged and conducted by Ralph Carmichael. Cole's 1961 version is generally regarded as definitive, and in 2004 was the most-loved seasonal song with women aged 30–49, while the original 1946 recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974. In 2022, the 1961 Nat King Cole recording ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brendan Graham
Brendan Graham (born 1945) is an Irish songwriter and novelist. Among songs he has written are "Rock 'n' Roll Kids" (1994) and "The Voice" (1996), both of which won the Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland in their respective years, and "You Raise Me Up" (2002), which was an international hit as covered by various artists, including Josh Groban. Early life Graham was born in Nenagh County Tipperary. Songwriting Brendan Graham is one of Ireland's most famous lyricists and songwriters. In an article about the song tradition of Ireland, Con Houlihan wrote, "Some of the best poetry being produced in this country today is in the form of song – Christy Moore and Brendan Graham and Jimmy McCarthy are touched by genius." In a feature article, the ''Irish Times'' described Graham as a ‘Musical Midas in the Mayo Silence.’ Graham wrote the lyrics for the 2002 song, "You Raise Me Up". Rolf Løvland, who composed the music, was inspired by The Whitest Flower, Graham's first novel. Rol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silent Night
"Silent Night" (german: "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht", links=no, italic=no) is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2011. The song was first recorded in 1905 and has remained a popular success, appearing in films and multiple successful recordings, as well as being quoted in other musical compositions. History "" was first performed on Christmas Eve 1818 at St Nicholas parish church in Oberndorf, a village in the Austrian Empire on the Salzach river in present-day Austria. A young Catholic priest, Father Joseph Mohr, had come to Oberndorf the year before. In the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, he had written the poem "" in 1816 at Mariapfarr, the hometown of his father in the Salzburg Lungau region, where Joseph had worked as an assistant priest. The melody was composed by Franz Xaver Gruber, schoolmaster ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russia, Berlin arrived in the United States at the age of five. He published his first song, "Marie from Sunny Italy", in 1907, receiving 33 cents for the publishing rights,Starr, Larry and Waterman, Christopher, American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy to MP3, Oxford University Press, 2009, pg. 64 and had his first major international hit, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", in 1911. He also was an owner of the Music Box Theatre on Broadway. For much of his career Berlin could not read sheet music, and was such a limited piano player that he could only play in the key of F-sharp; he used his custom piano equipped with a transposing lever when he needed to play in keys other than F-sharp. "Alexander's Ragtime Band" sparked an international dance craze ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White Christmas (song)
"White Christmas" is an Irving Berlin song reminiscing about an old-fashioned Christmas setting. The song was written by Berlin for the 1942 musical film ''Holiday Inn''. The composition won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 15th Academy Awards. Since its release, "White Christmas" has been covered by many artists, the version sung by Bing Crosby being the world's best-selling single (in terms of sales of physical media) with estimated sales in excess of 50 million copies worldwide. When the figures for other versions of the song are added to Crosby's, sales of the song exceed 100 million. History Origin Accounts vary as to when and where Berlin wrote the song. One story is that he wrote it in 1940, in warm La Quinta, California, while staying at the La Quinta Hotel, a frequent Hollywood retreat also favored by writer-director-producer Frank Capra, although the Arizona Biltmore also claims the song was written there. He often stayed up all night writing. One ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ding Dong! Merrily On High
"Ding Dong Merrily on High" is a Christmas carol. The tune first appeared as a secular dance tune known under the title " Branle de l'Official" in ''Orchésographie'', a dance book written by the French cleric, composer and writer Thoinot Arbeau, pen name of Jehan Tabourot (1519–1593). The words are by the English composer George Ratcliffe Woodward (1848–1934), and the carol was first published in 1924 in his ''The Cambridge Carol-Book: Being Fifty-two Songs for Christmas, Easter, And Other Seasons''. Woodward took an interest in church bell ringing, which no doubt aided him in writing it. Woodward was the author of several carol books, including ''Songs of Syon'' and '' The Cowley Carol Book''. The macaronic style is characteristic of Woodward’s delight in archaic poetry. Charles Wood harmonised the tune when it was published with Woodward's text in ''The Cambridge Carol Book''. More recently, Sir David Willcocks made an arrangement for the second book of ''Carols for Ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Away In A Manger
"Away in a Manger" is a Christmas carol first published in the late nineteenth century and used widely throughout the English-speaking world. In Britain, it is one of the most popular carols; a 1996 Gallup Poll ranked it joint second. Although it was long claimed to be the work of German religious reformer Martin Luther, the carol is now thought to be wholly American in origin. The two most common musical settings are by William J. Kirkpatrick (1895) and James Ramsey Murray (1887). Words The popularity of the carol has led to many variants in the words, which are discussed in detail below. The following are taken from Kirkpatrick (1895): Variants Almost every line in the carol has recorded variants. The most significant include the following: * Verse 1, line 1: The earliest sources have "no crib for his bed". "No crib for a bed" is found in Murray (1887). * Verse 1, line 2: The earliest sources have "lay down his sweet head." "Laid" is first found in "Little Children's Book ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
