Rating:
Genre:
Holiday
Release Date: 11/11/2003
As he did with 2001's
Christmas Celtic Sojourn,
WGBH radio host
Brian O'Donovan begins its sequel with the beautiful, almost otherworldly voice of
Maddy Prior. Her
medieval-tinged reading of
"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" gets
Comfort and Joy: A Christmas Celtic Sojourn off to an appropriately reverent yet decidedly unique start.
Celtic Christmas collections can be as contrived or clichéd as their populist Yuletide brethren, but
O'Donovan wisely focuses on performance rather than generalized holiday bliss, making
Comfort as much a compilation of talented
Celtic performers as it is a
Christmas music collection.
Waterson:Carthy's
"Shepherds Arise" is a perfect example. It's seven-plus minutes of
Martin Carthy and family soaring through
traditional British folk, with their robust, interwoven vocal harmonies and the rousing call of a solitary fiddle leading the way. Try to find
that on a budget-bin
Santa sampler. Elsewhere, instrumentals from
Áine Minogue and
Druidstone each feature pristine harp work.
Prior returns with her
Carnival Band in
Comfort and Joy's second half for the jaunty
"My Dancing Day" (which makes splendid use of the word "betwixt"), while
Cherish the Ladies contribute the lush medley
"O Holy Night/Cill Chais." The album closes gently with
Robbie O'Connell's
"Twelfth Day Carol." By wrapping its Christmas tidings in scarlet and shimmering green,
Comfort and Joy becomes a gift not only to holiday listeners, but to fans of
folk and
Celtic music everywhere.
~Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
;)
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