Customer Reviews

Celtic Romance

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

More musical storytelling by the Danna brothers, their talented instrumental soloists, soprano vocalist, a full orchestra, and the Ritual Choir of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Toronto. With all of that, the music of "The Legend of Liadain and Curithir" remains surprisingly intimate and accessible, ever varying in form and instrumentation. The Dannas continue the tradition of their earlier release, "A Celtic Tale: The Legend of Deirdre", interweaving engaging, Celtic-inspired melodies with lush accompaniments to evoke moods from celebration to sorrow, mystery to bold adventure. There's no narrated version for this release--just the wonderful music. Other similarly compelling "soundtracks" to historical and fantasy legends include David and Diane Arkenstone's "Avalon: A Celtic Legend" and "Music Inspired by Middle Earth", and Jeff Johnson and Brian Dunning's "Byzantium: The Book of Kells and St. Aidan's Journey", and "Music of Celtic Legends: The Bard and the Warrior". Buy all six and put them on a multi-CD mixer for hours of inspiring journeys through time and imagination!

This story is as Celtic as it gets! It has it all: The Church, Vikings, Pilgrims, dreams, rain, horses, death, lost love, and tragedy (of course). I just stumbled onto this CD a few weeks ago. It has enchanted me ever since. If you do have this CD in your possession, do this...listen to it al the way through, then read the story in the case, then listen to it again. This work is to cry for!

This was my first CD by Mychael and Jeff Danna- and not my last. A truly wonderful collection of music. The vocals are superlative! Celtic Romance is an essential CD for anyone who loves Celtic music--if you love Irish lore too, that is icing on the cake.

This CD draws you into the story of Lladain and Curithur on an emotional level, and takes you to ancient Ireland on a musical adventure.

I will be giving this CD as a gift to family and friends that enjoy outstanding Celtic / Classical music.

While I admire the Danna brother's work, I don't think they do as well when they attempt to write music for voices than when they are writing instrumentals. I find myself listening to the instrumental sections more often than the vocal pieces. The pseudo-Gregorian chants are fine (they aren't in Latin, which I don't have a problem with, but it sounds strange to hear this kind of music in English). I think my main problem as far as the singers are concerned is with the female singer's voice, she doesn't seem to support her high notes very well and her voice thins out. Her enunciation is also a little strange (and I'm not referring to the song in Gaelic, which is the only one I don't think makes her voice sound strange). I understand that they were attempting to make her sound like an angel but I have heard very beautiful voices singing at a lower key; her voice, to me, takes some getting used to. The woman who sings on Celtic tale would have been a better pick. My biggest problem of all, however, is with the story included by John Stuart Dick. I found the poetic fragment and read it, and I honestly don't understand where he gets his interpretation of events from that fragment. It's completely off. Making Curithir a son of Cu Chulainn doesn't seem right to me, especially since I have yet to find any Irish texts that state Cu Chulainn had any children. He attempts to make the story pseudo-Celtic but it doesn't read like any of the Irish stories I've ever read. I have never heard of this guy and have failed to turn up any books written by him, so I don't know what his credentials are. In all, though, I would recommend the CD but don't bother with the story.

Very emotional and moving.. and incredible journey in music! From the highs of the uplifting tracks, to the incredibly haunting sadness that the "Funeral" track provokes, it touches your heart in so many ways. I plan to use some of these pieces for my wedding, I especially like "Dia Dha Mo Chaim" which I think would make wonderful processional music, starting with a wonderful slow melody to a pulsating rythm of thundering drums.. a truely moving CD that no celtic fan should be without!!

Jeff and Mychael Danna have produced a beautiful, moving and easy to listen to suite of music to match an ancient story of love lost. I find this CD to be of the same high caliber as Loreena McKennitt's The Visit and The Mask and the Mirror. It has been one of my best recent buys.

I first heard this CD over 2 years ago. And I totally loved it from the start. The music brought me back to an unknown period of time when legends were true to exist. The music healed my soul and eased my pain with its smooth and mysterious melodies of meloncholy. A Celtic Romance lead me to another world of music, the world of legends and lights.

Unfortunately, I unexplainablely lost this CD somewhere. And I've been seeking it all around in my country though it seems to be unfound anywhere. And I do recall the extraordinarily beautiful music of the CD. I have got it echo in my mind. So, A Celtic Romance remains a sound of the past, a sound of memory (to me).

I heartily recommend this CD. It's for all true music listeners in the world.

I bought this CD because I loved the music Jeff Danna wrote for the movie "Uncorked" (and why doesn't that movie have a soundtrack available?). I thought the guitar piece in that movie was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever heard and wanted to hear more of his work. I was certainly not disappointed with this CD. I loved it on the first listen and it just got better every time. Every song on the CD is lovely, but several are astonishingly beautiful.

I didn't care for the story included so much. I didn't read it until after I'd listened to the CD all the way through once, and I thought that the scenes I'd imagined fitted the music better. I also tend to skip the vocal numbers most of the time in favor of the instrumental pieces, which are so much better.

Listening to this CD is a beautiful experience. It makes me happy to know that there are people in the world who are able to create music like this.

When you buy this CD, I recommend listening to it in private with headphones. The headphones are so you can get totally immersed in the experience, and the privacy is so nobody spoils the mood by asking you why you're smiling and crying at the same time.

If you were impressed by the hauntingly beautiful music portrayed in Michael and Jeff Danna's A Celtic Tale then A Celtic Romance will be a must have for you!!

I must give thanks to the movie, Boondock Saints, for introducing me to Jeff Danna's music. The movie used one of their songs "The Blood of Cu Chulainn" as their theme song and now I am hooked!