Celtic Woman | 
| Studio: EMI Distribution
Category: DVD
List Price: $18.98
Buy New: $11.20
You Save: $7.78 (41%)
New (58) Used (17) Collectible (1) from $9.74
Rating:  244 reviews
Sales Rank: 3310
Format: Color, Compilation, Dvd-video, Live, Widescreen, Dolby, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 0
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 117 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: EMID4460494D
UPC: 724354460494
EAN: 0724354460494
ASIN: B0007M22TI
Theatrical Release Date: March 1, 2005
Release Date: March 1, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Studio: Emi Music Distribution Release Date: 05/15/2006
Amazon.com
Gorgeous to listen to and gorgeous to look at, Celtic Woman is perfect PBS fare, sort of a Riverdance without the dancing. Drawing on the same New Age-y sound and propulsive energy as that show's solo-voice and choral numbers, the live concert features four attractive young women in strapless evening gowns with soaring voices backed by an orchestra, an Anuna-like chorus, and a large percussion section. The more traditional fare includes Méav Ni Mhaolchatha's "Danny Boy" and "She Moved Through the Fair," and Chloë Agnew's "Ave Maria" (the Bach-Gounod version). Movie and TV selections range from Agnew's "Walking in the Air" (The Snowman) and "Someday" (Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame) to Lisa Kelly's "May It Be" (the Enya song from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the King) and Órla Fallon's voice and harp rendition of "Harry's Game." A fifth woman, Máiréad Nesbitt, adds some variety by fiddling "The Butterfly" and "Ashokan Farewell" (best known as the theme from Ken Burns's The Civil War). Occasionally the singers join together, as in Enya's "Orinoco Flow," an a cappella rendition of West Side Story's "Somewhere," music director David Downes's composition "One World," and a stately version of "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring." Celtic Woman was created by Downes (like many of the other performers, a Riverdance veteran) along with Sharon Browne and Dave Kavanagh of the Celtic Collections record label. --David Horiuchi
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| Customer Reviews: Read 239 more reviews...
 Such beautiful voices March 19, 2005
Erica Anderson (Minneapolis, MN)
278 out of 285 found this review helpful
I recently caught a viewing of Celtic Woman on my local PBS station. I must say that this performance really took my breathe away. The music was a good mix of celtic and classical/pop. I thought the four singers were quite good. I could not help but take notice of the clarity in their vocal performances. I love classical-crossover artists like Sarah Brightman and Josh Groban but those artists don't restrain their vocals a lot of the time. The women in Celtic Woman shows that you don't need to enunciate every single note to show that she can sing or to emphasize the emotion in the song. Don't get me wrong, I like Sarah and Josh but I often find their voices overwhelming at times. In the case of Celtic Woman, they have shown that they can sing without restorting to vocal acrobatics. The other member of Celtic Woman is a violinist named Máiréad Nesbitt who I found very engaging to watch. Her enthusiasm for performing really showed. The songs in this performance were fantastic. I was completely blown away when I listened to 15 year old Chloe sing "Walking in the Air", a song that my favorite heavy metal band Nightwish has performed on their "Oceanborn" cd. It was quite a contrast from what I was used to hearing. My favorite song that Chloe sang has to be the beautiful ballad "Someday". I was simply moved by the song. My other personal favorite performance was for the song "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring", my favorite song by Sebastian Bach. I couldn't help but notice that the group did quite a few songs by Enya which were really excellent. I couldn't help but notice how similiar their voices were to Enya's. On a couple of occasions I closed my eyes, I thought I was listening to Enya herself. The one thing about this performance that I found rather unintentionally funny is the audience members. A few of them looked about as 'enthusiastic' to be there as I am at the dentist office. My most deeply personal favorite moment of the performance was the women's interpretation of "You Raise Me Up". Their version by far is the best I have heard. I was speechless when I heard them sing this lovely song. Otherwise this was a really great performance. Too bad when I saw it on tv, I had to put up with the annoying interrruptions because it is pledge season at PBS. After seeing this wonderful performance, I so want to see them live in concert when they come to my neck of the woods in October this year. They just made a new fan out of me.
 Yanni-like performance August 24, 2005
Book Fan (California)
96 out of 152 found this review helpful
Everyone's musical taste is different, so writing a review that says I loved it or hated it doesn't really help others who are contemplating buying it. So here I will try to describe what it is like so you can decide for yourself:
The cast of 5 ladies is presented with modern staging: evening dresses, modern straight hair-styles (unlike the traditional costumes and curly hair of Riverdance; you can see 4 of them in the blueish background of the cover art). The stage projects out into the audience. Part of the show is just watching these ladies. Except for the thrashing of the violin player, there is not much movement and no dancing. They all sing with beautiful clear toned voices.
This performance reminded me a lot of Yanni, in terms of the orchestration and presentation. It was not deep emotional music like Enya, or evocative like RiverDance. It contains modern and traditional Celtic songs, arranged for wide popular appeal. If other Celtic music you have heard seems too straightforward and wistful and deep, you may like this presentation. If you find that Yanni has too much surface glitz and is meaningless and hollow, you may not like this.
I was intrigued by the number of reviews here that comment on the obvious lip syncing. This could be why it seemed empty and souless to me. I really like this kind of music, and thus was puzzled why the performance didn't grab me. That said, there are obviously many people who have enjoyed this performance.
Also, one of the great ways of watching music on tv today is to turn on the closed captions and get the lyrics while you're listening/watching. The PBS broadcast had them; shame on them for leaving them off the DVD, as has been mentioned by other reviewers. The Celtic lyrics were very interesting, especially with the audience singing along.
Audio dubbed on Celtic Woman DVD December 4, 2005
D. Henderson (New York, NY USA)
42 out of 49 found this review helpful
As per the reply from someone from the Celtic Woman production team, to whom I had written to inquire about the lip-synching issue, the audio heard on the DVD is not necessarily the same that corresponds to the images, meaning that it is dubbed and edited over the video. In addition, the images on the DVD are from different shows, and they are all edited together to make it seem as if they were all from the same concert. Here is a copy of the reply they sent me:
"Putting together DVDs and albums are very complicated and take many months of work. The DVD is shot over a number of performances, and sometimes the audio may come from a different performance and therefore may not exactly match despite the best technical efforts."
So what this means in plain terms, and I explain it for those who are so emotionally overwhelmed by the concert that they can't see straight, is that the DVD editing team took the sound recording of one concert, and put it over the images of another concert, and combined it so that the sound you are hearing as the singers perform on the DVD is not the actual sound that corresponds to the video. Also, as the email indicates, as you watch the concert progress from one song to the next, you could be seeing different concerts altogether that could've taken place weeks or months apart. All this amounts to a reprehensible misrepresentation by the producers of the DVD, in that it misleads the viewers into thinking they are watching and hearing the actual concert as it happened, rather than a dubbed-over production. No wonder there are so many discrepancies between the voices and the images, as the artists 'sing'. It is unfortunate this is so. The music is beautiful, and there certainly is talent there, this is why I am disappointed (In contrast, I could care less about Ashlee Simpson lip-synching on SNL; low talent=low expectations).
I think the producers of Celtic Woman should have just recorded a single concert, with or without flaws, and presented it as is, keeping the post-production editing to a minimum. This is what makes a live concert special; it doesn't have to be perfect, and anyone with half a brain will understand that. If we want a perfect recording that's what the studio album is for. So the bottom line is, if you're going to buy this DVD you should be aware that this is not a true live concert, in that the music you are hearing does not come from the same concert you are watching.
Absolutely enchanting December 5, 2006
J. Edwards (Detroit, MI)
32 out of 33 found this review helpful
This type of music, this type of performance, is not usually my cup of tea, and I only chanced upon it while channel-surfing through a spate of commericals during a college football game. All I can say is thank God for remote controls. I was smitten in minutes and have watched the repeat of this performance four times in the last four days. Yes, I am newly in love, crushed as goofily, giddily and gratefully as I was back in my schoolboy days, but I profer this with no sexist agenda at all: First, these ladies are sinfully gorgeous --each looks like she may just have stepped off the pages of a fairy tale (most appropriate, given the backlit castle set looming up behind them); Secondly, they move with the willowy grace of the wind through an Irish meadow. Third, and most importantly, collectively and individually, they sound precisely like what I expect (what I hope)to hear when the Pearly Gates swing open for me, a sound majestic, angelic, soaring and soothing. Some things are achingly beautiful: "Danny Boy" (moved me to tears), "Somewhere," "Beyond the Sea", but I found everything to be enthralling and enchanting, hypnotic and mesmerizing, delivered with seamless grace and charm, touching elegance and class.
I've read some negative reviews here. I find that somewhat discouraging. In a world in which "femininity," so-called Girl Power, is cynically and crudely represented by the rephrehensible likes of The Pussycat Dolls, Brittney (sp?) Spears, Madonna, Gwen Stefani (sp?), and those of similarly sleazy ilk, these women, their voices, their performance, is like a lilting breath of proverbial fresh air. I don't know how hard-hearted or headed one has to be the regard this aural and visual splendor with anything other than an adoring eye, but I'm glad I'm not there yet. One of the best, nicest things I've seen anywhere in ages. Bravo. Bravo! BRAVO!!
Angelic Voices March 13, 2005
Eric L. Adams (Somerset, KY)
23 out of 23 found this review helpful
This was worth every penny. Méav and Lisa's vocals stand out the most to me. 15 Year old Chloe has a great clarity to her voice, but her voice can seem thin at times. Great traditional Irish music, and modern music. Máiréad Nesbitt soars on fiddle just as she did in Maichael Flately's "Lord Of The Dance" and "Feet of Flames". I totally recommend you see the DVD and then get the CD for the music. If you are a fan of angelic voices and celtic music then you will not be disappointed.
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