Firedance: Songs for Winter Solstice

Jaiya (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 12, 2003)
• Original Release Date: December 12, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Indie
• ASIN: B000CAFP76
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #58,984 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Firedance is filled with freshness, style and clarity. It is freely given, with conviction and passion." --CBC Radio, December /03

Product Description

"Jaiya" means "triumph" in Sanskrit. Blending Celtic sensibility, Jazz energy and world-beat rhythms, this band from the Gulf Islands of British Columbia celebrates the land and its seasons. Jaiya's unique sound combines harp, accordion, rhodes piano, guitar, whistle, and drums with two strong female voices in harmony. Jaiya's original songs express a pagan sensibility -- one that recognizes the power and beauty in the earth's yearly patterns. Firedance: Songs for Winter Solstice, celebrates Yule, the longest night of the year. The album invites us to feast, dance and make merry in honor of the returning light!

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Pagan Solstice Music, June 16, 2006

By	MandolinOrange (Astoria, NY) - See all my reviews

I adore this album for Solstice-time. "Yule is Come" is such a happy, upbeat song, that I've used in ritual since hearing it. "Gaia's Lullaby" is one of the most moving songs I've ever heard and makes me tear up. "Bring Us Good Ale" is hilarious and for some reason makes me think of Hobbits..."Dance to Your Shadow" will make you do just that.

Buy it, love it, and put it on constant repeat right after Samhain!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ancient Songs in the Celtic Sphere., July 25, 2006

By	Green-man "Nate" - See all my reviews

Very rarely is one able to find songs that both date back to old times in Celtic and Northern European life and new songs that connect the ancient to the modern. But this album does just that.

The songs are good for celebrating the entire Celtic season of Samhain, and are good for both Christian and pagan purposes. Though the songs are all good, the best ones are probably tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 9.

Song one is about celebrating life in the midst of death, an old Celtic way of viewing the New Year. The second song is a mix of ways of celebrating Yule; it begins with a Medieval Gregorian chant, then moves onto an older Celtic view of Yule (using the same mellody). Track four is about the year being renewed by the beginning of winter; track five is an old (Northumbrian?) Medieval English song sung in pubs on cold nights. Song seven is the Greensleeves mellody with more traditional/ancient words. And song nine is an old Scottish-Christian tune about the Christ Child.

This is a wonderful collection of songs to either add some mystery (and older ways) to your Christmas holiday or to celebrate Christmas and/or the Winter Solstice.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Firedance - a warming winter brew, April 13, 2006

By	Sylvie Dupont (Quebec) - See all my reviews

I loved this music! I've always been really into Yule, but for years I've been looking for music that celebrates the season, not the Christian holiday. This is a lovely collection of songs, some traditional, some original, that remind us what Yule is all about: joy, light, music, good friends and warming celebrations during the darkest time of the year.