An Irish Christmas
Encyclopedia
An Irish Christmas is a music
album
by Irish musician
Moya Brennan
. According to Moya, the idea for the album first came to her some time ago: "I’ve been involved in number of other people’s Christmas projects in recent years," explains Moya, "but I wanted to capture a truly Celtic Christmas feeling." "It’s always important to bring the meaning of Christmas to the fore. It is the essence of what I believe in and the album offers both celebration and reflection on that familiar theme."
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by Irish musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
Moya Brennan
Moya Brennan
Moya Brennan, born Máire Ní Bhraonáin , also known as Máire Brennan , is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist who began performing professionally in 1970, when her family formed the band Clannad, and is now widely considered as the "First Lady of Celtic Music"...
. According to Moya, the idea for the album first came to her some time ago: "I’ve been involved in number of other people’s Christmas projects in recent years," explains Moya, "but I wanted to capture a truly Celtic Christmas feeling." "It’s always important to bring the meaning of Christmas to the fore. It is the essence of what I believe in and the album offers both celebration and reflection on that familiar theme."
Track listing
- Carol of the BellsCarol of the Bells"Carol of the Bells" is the common English language title of a Christmas carol of Ukrainian origin, which has in recent years grown in popularity, particularly in English-speaking countries. The work was originally a choral miniature composition by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych based on...
- The Wexford Carol
- Deck the Halls
- Do You Hear (What I Hear) / Don oiche úd i mBeithil
- God Rest Ye Merry GentlemenGod Rest Ye Merry GentlemenGod Rest You Merry, Gentlemen is an English traditional Christmas carol. The melody is in Aeolian mode. It was published by William B...
- Gabriel's MessageGabriel's Message"Gabriel's Message" or "The angel Gabriel from heaven came" is a Basque Christmas folk carol about the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary by the archangel Gabriel that she would become the mother of Jesus Christ the Son of God...
- Joy to the WorldJoy to the World"Joy to the World" is a Christian Christmas carol.The words are by English hymn writer Isaac Watts, based on Psalm 98 in the Bible. The song was first published in 1719 in Watts' collection; The Psalms of David: Imitated in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and...
- I Still Believe
* - In the Bleak MidwinterIn the Bleak Midwinter"In the Bleak Midwinter" is a Christmas carol based on a poem by the English poet Christina Rossetti written before 1872 in response to a request from the magazine Scribner's Monthly for a Christmas poem....
- Love Came Down at ChristmasLove Came Down at Christmas"Love Came Down at Christmas" is a Christmas poem by Christina Rossetti. It was first published without a title in Time Flies: A Reading Diary in 1885...
* - In Dulci JubiloIn Dulci JubiloIn dulci jubilo is a traditional Christmas carol. In its original setting, the carol is a macaronic text of German and Latin dating from the Middle Ages. Subsequent translations into English, such as J.M...
- Oíche Chiúin (Silent Night)
* Replaced on U.S. release with "What Child Is This?What Child Is This?"What Child Is This?" is a popular Christmas carol written in 1865. At the age of twenty-nine, English writer William Chatterton Dix was struck with a sudden near-fatal illness and confined to bedrest for several months, during which he went into a deep depression...
" and "Angels We Have Heard on HighAngels We Have Heard on High"Angels We Have Heard on High" is a Christmas carol. The song commemorates the story of the birth of Jesus Christ found in the Gospel of Luke, in which shepherds outside Bethlehem encounter a multitude of angels singing and praising the newborn child....
" respectively.
Band
- Moya BrennanMoya BrennanMoya Brennan, born Máire Ní Bhraonáin , also known as Máire Brennan , is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist who began performing professionally in 1970, when her family formed the band Clannad, and is now widely considered as the "First Lady of Celtic Music"...
– Vocals, HarpHarpThe harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
, KeyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Paul ByrnePaul ByrnePaul Byrne may refer to:*Paul Byrne , Irish footballer*Paul Byrne , Irish footballer, former Celtic and Southend United player*Paul Byrne , South African footballer, former Port Vale player...
– DrumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, Bodhran, TimpaniTimpaniTimpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, Tubular Bells, Percussion - Fionan De Barra – Guitars, Bouzouki, Keyboards, Vocals
- Cormac De BarraCormac de BarraCormac de Barra is a harpist, singer and television presenter and is part of the Moya Brennan Band.-Biography:De Barra comes from a family of traditional musicians and singers from Dublin but with roots in County Cork...
– Harp, Vocals - Éamonn Galldubh – Uilleann Pipes, Whistles, Flute
- Yoshinobi Izumi – Electric Bass
- Sam Jackson – Piano, Keyboards
- Sinéad MaddenSinéad MaddenSinéad Madden is an Irish singer-songwriter and fiddle player, best known as a member of the Moya Brennan band. She also teaches at Waltons New School of Music in Dublin.- Early life :...
– Fiddle, Vocals - Frances Mitchell – Keyboards
Additional musicians
- Máire BreatnachMáire BreatnachMáire Breatnach is one of the most prominent fiddle players in Ireland. She also sings in Irish on some of her albums. Since the early 1990s, she has had five solo albums, participated in many other albums , with substantive contributions in some cases, and contributed to many music CDs, as well as...
– Viola, Fiddle - Anthony DrennanAnthony DrennanAnthony Drennan is an Irish guitarist noted for his involvement with Genesis, Mike + the Mechanics and The Corrs whom he has played with throughout most of his career. He was born in Luton, England, but moved back to Ireland at a young age. He has also played with Clannad, Paul Brady, Moving...
– Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Dobro - Úna Ní Chanainn – Cello
- Tim Jarvis – Keyboards
- Aisling and Paul Jarvis – Vocals on Oíche Chiúin