Customer Reviews

Celtic Solstice

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I became hooked on Paul Winter's music some four years ago, when it was recommended to me that I listen to "Prayer for the Wild Things." That album grabbed and has yet to let go, and it led to my acquiring all of Paul Winter's albums, most recently "Celtic Solstice."

I have now had "Celtic Solstice" for some four weeks, and have since lost count of the number of times it has been played. More-or-less coincident with St. Patrick's Day, and purely as a lark, I decided to be a "music reviewer" for the album, without amazon.com in mind. (The original intended audience was significantly smaller.)

Being able to write this review is a double treat: If it happens that I am an early customer to write an amazon.com review of "Celtic Solstice," that would be a personal honor. At the same time, it gives me an opportunity to share my opinions with other amazon.com browsers, which I trust can be helpful to them. It is difficult for me to imagine just who would be disappointed with this album.

The results ended up being equal parts whimsy, comments on the musicianship evident in the album, heart-on-sleeve reaction to the music's effect on me, and "referential" in terms of how each new album by Paul Winter succeeds in bringing to mind his earlier works. But I let you, the readers, judge for yourselves. Below are some excerpts:
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"Karan Casey's... is a voice that comes straight from Heaven. She-and Paul Winter and Paul Halley-in `Golden Apples of the Sun,' will move you, quite probably to tears. Twice."

"...a 20-year odyssey to find ever better acoustical magic in this massive edifice (the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC). Winter has raised to an art form the ability to use this vast space to intimate perfection. ...like being there!"

"...alternately bluesy and toe-tapping; a romp!"

"...the perfect instrumental trio for this venue. The combination of Spillane's reedy pipes, Winter's limpid sax and Halley on the Cathedral organ is guaranteed to reduce the listener to quivering jelly. If you are one who thinks that `The Sea of Dreams,' `Sun Singer' and `Nightwatch' represent the best work to date of these three, then I have very good news for you."

"...Mar bhrata sróil le seolta gleásta..."

"Paul Winter recently wrote `...our best work is yet to come.' It has already arrived. `Celtic Solstice' is the apogee of a very long arc, ...distillation of a lifelong musical vision and a credo that `less is more,' and again demonstrates that his circle of friends is boundless."

"...not an ordinary desert island album, this is the one I'll take with me to my old brown earth."

"This album finds Paul Halley at the top of his form. It has been the better part of two decades since we last heard him commit improvisations this good to recorded posterity."

"...brilliantly conceived, perfectly recorded and flawlessly performed, from the first note to the last fading echo."

"A Blues Cathedral dweller's dream come true. ...instant Grammy..."

"...the one that hits home. Had you been there, by dawn you would have been changed forever."

"...Boiled Potatoes for the Soul..."
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The true Paul Winter aficianado will recognize many, if not all, of the references buried within the quotes. (Unless you are fluent in Irish Gaelic, one quote does demand that you dig into the text of the liner notes for "Celtic Solstice" for decoding. Once having done that, you will likely agree that the quote is apt.)

For the Paul Winter newcomers among you willing to accept the above "reviews" as a purchase recommendation, you are about to go on a fantastical musical journey. I feel comfortable in stating that "Celtic Solstice" will be just the first step of this journey and that the journey will be enjoyable indeed.

It is with some bemusement that I find this remarkable artist and impresario to be not better known or appreciated. An explanation may lie with the fact that his music knows no conventional genre barriers, and defies pigeonholing; another would appear to be related to what I perceive to be his modesty and absolute lack of interest in self-promotion. That his music typically ends up with the "New Age" rubric is misleading and unfortunate, since virtually nothing in this genre can be taken seriously, whereas his music wears amazingly well under repeated listening (surely a must for music to be considered "good"). His Consort members, collaborators and musical circle of friends have come from all fields, including classical, folk, jazz, pop, gospel, ethnic and world music. His albums have encompassed musical forms and forces both large and small. I most readily connect with what I choose to call "world chamber music," utilizing very reduced forces to convey small-scale yet vivid tonal pictures, as well as what I call "Cathedral blues." This latter describes the sense of the music that he and Paul Halley, his long-time collaborator, keyboardist and Consort composer, have achieved time and again, both in performance and on recordings. It is also a tongue-in-cheek take-off of a title in "Callings," the first album he produced and recorded in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine nearly twenty years ago.

"Celtic Solstice" is Cathedral blues perfected.

Bob Zeidler

I got this albmu shortlyafter it won the 1999 Grammy award and I must say, I'm glad I did. This music is very soft, quiet, soothing, and very peaceful. It filled the atmosphere with wonderful sounds from the uillean pipes, organ pipes, low whistle, harp, and many other wonderful instruments, even the soprano saxaphone. I was very amazed that the soprano saxaphone, played by Paul Winter, made such a serene heavenly sound. There were many talented musicians like Davy Spillane, Eileen Ivers, Carol Thompson, and many others. Karan Casey very beautifully sang "Golden Apples of the Sun" and "Sweet Comeraghs". This music expressed the Celtic spirit and emotions. It transported me all the way to Ireland and sounded so much like the soundtrack of Ireland. It is pure Celtic. The only problem is that this CD has been labeled "New Age" rather than Celtic. This music expresses the many feelings of the Celts, today and long ago.

The combination of soprano sax,organ and pipes is an awesome sound.One is transported to Ireland with sound. Hauntingly beautiful! We have listened to it a number of times and with each session a new image appears. Paul winter is magical and the voice of Karan Casey is breathtaking!

"Celtic Solstice" by Paul Winter and Friends, remains of those indulgences I dig out of my collection and play in the winter. Recorded in New York's Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the music serves both as documentary of this event and a reminder that ritual and celebration have their place in life. His ensemble of friends here is eclectic and talented, and his longtime cohort Paul Halley deserves being singled out for the deep, earthbound sounds he evokes from the pipe organ.

This set of mostly traditional songs and some originals is warm and cheerful without being artificially sanguine, the sort of music that goes well with fires, fog, and firs. Of course, there is an irony here in that "Celtic Solstice" celebrates the summer, not the winter, solstice. Perhaps that's why I prefer its warmth during the dark times.

If one likes Celtic music and the way Paul Winter does it, this is a must have! The concert takes place at the Cathedral church of St John the Divine in NYC; the largest Gothic cathedral in the world. But it is the music that shines thru in this production. If one likes Celtic music, one should have this CD.

My wife and I went to Ireland and Scotland in 2000, and bought this CD when we came back. It is permanently in my vehicle, I mean IN the CD player--It is so restoring, so restful, so inspiring! Don't worry, I have another copy in my home!

Imagine waiting in the world's largest gothic cathedral in the predawn hours of the Summer solstice. Now imagine that huge space with it's vaulting ceilings, mighty piers and somber shadows being filled with music and light. The soaring of a pipe organ, a jazzy and passionate alto saxophone, the soul-stirring Uillean pipes and ethereal voices weaving through the space to create something beautifully meditate and powerfully soul-inspiring. Can you see it? Then you have some idea of this CD and the background in which this music was created.

The Celtic Solstice CD showcases Paul Winter's musical feast on the Summer Solstice performed at St. John the Divine in New York City. With a melding of Irish and North American artists, he crafts an awe-inspiring experience that dips and soars through the soul with slow grace and timeless elegance. The fusion of jazz and traditional Celtic-of international sounds and modern instruments create something new and wonderful-something that truly is "the music of what happens". So, what does happen when you bring together renowned Uillean pipe player Davy Spillane, Riverdance fiddler Eileen Ivers, ethereal vocalist Karan Casey and whistle-player Joanie Madden with a host of other musicians in a space both sacred and joyful? Pure magic.

There's a real delight in witnessing extremely skilled musicians joining together to spin music. The opening performance on this CD, "Triumph" provides listeners a taste of what they are in for with the amazingly soaring and yet somber trio of Paul Winter on alto sax, Paul Halley on pipe organ and Davy Spillane on pipes. Vocalist Karan Casey, a member of the Irish group Solstice, contributes her ethereal vocal talents to two of the tracks on this CD. The first is "Golden Apples of the Sun", inspired by W.B. Yeats' poem "Song of the Wandering Aengus", the second is one of my favorite recordings on the CD, "Sweet Comeraghs". There aren't many vocals on this album, so the few that appear truly capture the listener. "After The Fleadh/ Running through the Woods with Keetu" is my favorite instrumental set of the performance, featuring eight different musicians, and an energetic backbeat of non-traditional percussion. Being a huge fan of Davy Spillane, the stunningly beautiful "Dawnwalker" has not lost its intrinsic power and poignancy no matter how many times I've heard it.

This is a slow moving performance-and may not be appreciated by listeners who are looking for a more traditionally fast-paced Celtic selection. Most of the CD is instrumental, so if you prefer vocals, this will probably not be what you want. Also, Paul Winter's style of music is not necessarily accessible to every listener on the first try. It took me witnessing a performance at St. John the Divine cathedral to start my fascination with this artist, and it has taken several rounds of listening to CDs before I can really start to hear the amazing qualities of Paul Winter's compositions and the joy of such a rare musical combination.

I encourage the curious to try out Winter's CDs, as the process of discovery has been a wonderful one for me. A remarkable reviewer named Bob Zeidler made me aware of Paul Winter. Bob encouraged me into reviewing Paul Winter's MISSA GAEIA CD and I finally posted the review last year, around his birthday, much to his delight. I'm dedicating this review to the memory of Bob, his love of music, and his reviewing. He will be sorely missed, and he will be well remembered.

May you find your own delight in the music of what happens.

Shanshad.

This is not the earthy, foot-pounding fire of "Riverdance" or Gaelic Storm, but instead a reverent, soulful, easy-going take on Celtic music--the Celtic and neo-Celtic equivalent, perhaps, of smooth jazz. Despite the large number of participants in the project-as-a-whole, many of the numbers are quiet trios. Joannie Madden and Davy Spillane steal the show with their wistful, achingly mournful playing of whistle and pipes. There is also a fair amount of Paul Halley's pipe organ artistry, which is wonderful to hear in this music. The organ is so often a solo instrument when in concert, unmatchable in volume or range, and is elsewise relegated to the accompaniment of choirs in conventional religious works. It's nice to hear it do its own thing here--its own improv--and yet also be an integral part of so many of the compositions. All in all, "Celtic Solstice" is an innovative, dreamy and gently-rollicking escape from a world that is often all too hectic. Try Paul Winter's other cool "Solstice" albums as well, and for more gentle Celtic music, check out the work of Maggie Sansone.

This is not the earthy, foot-pounding fire of "Riverdance" or Gaelic Storm, but instead a reverent, soulful, easy-going take on Celtic music--the Celtic and neo-Celtic equivalent, perhaps, of smooth jazz. Despite the large number of participants in the project-as-a-whole, many of the numbers are quiet trios. Joannie Madden and Davy Spillane steal the show with their wistful, achingly mournful playing of whistle and pipes. There is also a fair amount of Paul Halley's pipe organ artistry, which is wonderful to hear in this music. The organ is so often a solo instrument when in concert, unmatchable in volume or range, and is elsewise relegated to the accompaniment of choirs in conventional religious works. It's nice to hear it do its own thing here--its own improv--and yet also be an integral part of so many of the compositions. All in all, "Celtic Solstice" is an innovative, dreamy and gently-rollicking escape from a world that is often all too hectic. Try Paul Winter's other cool "Solstice" albums as well, and for more gentle Celtic music, check out the work of Maggie Sansone.

This album brings together a sterling group of musicians and some terrific material, but I felt that the results added up to less than the sum of the parts. The traditional tracks, in general, are performed with zest as well as sensitivity, and some of the new traditional-style tunes (e.g., the "After the Fleadh" set) are fun to listen to. And the quality of the musicians' performances is excellent throughout. On the other hand, I felt that the improvised tracks were comparatively weak: Winter's improvisations seem to have fallen into a rut (the melodies all tend to follow the same slowly rising pattern), and when the same arrangements reappear in the non-improvised pieces (e.g., "Golden Apples of the Sun"), the album becomes repetitious -- my reaction to the two reprise tracks at the end was "Oh gawd, not again!!" The album is pleasant and makes good background music, but as a listening experience I found it more sleep-inducing than stimulating.