A Thistle & Shamrock Christmas Ceilidh

Altan (Artist), Lunasa (Artist), Capercaillie (Artist), Tannahill Weavers (Artist), Cherish the Ladies (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 7, 2000)
• Original Release Date: October 10, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Green Linnet
• ASIN: B00004XSIH
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #162,913 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not a Christmas album, January 22, 2001

By 

Ann (Tucson, AZ, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Thistle & Shamrock Christmas Ceilidh (Audio CD)

I was looking forward to this album, but as with many Celtic Christmas albums I have purchased, this was a major diappointment. It didn't particularly have anything to do with Christmas. The album title and list of artists made me think that this would include traditional Christmas songs from the Irish and Scottish traditions. I would love to find such an album. This definitely was not it. On the other hand, unlike my other Christmas music, it is something I can play year-round as well as at Christmas time. I just would have liked to know that before I bought the album.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Festive, feisty and full of fun!, May 25, 2003

By 

Brianna Neal (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Thistle & Shamrock Christmas Ceilidh (Audio CD)

Don't expect traditional Christmas carols here, or (unfortunately) any narrations by The Thistle & Shamrock's Fiona Ritchie, but nonetheless, this is an enjoyable collection of boisterous party music and a few wistful winter recollections from artists on the Green Linnet label. Featured is an all-star cast at their best: Altan, Andy M. Stewart and Manus Lunny, the House Band, Liz Carroll, Capercaillie, John Renbourn, Touchstone, Milladoiro, Phil Cunningham, Patrick Street, Cherish the Ladies, Niamh Parsons and the Loose Connections, Wolfstone, Lunasa, Manus McGuire, the Tannahill Weavers, and Kips Bay. Radio host Fiona Ritchie's selections are always well-chosen, and the tracks on this album are no exception. And while we don't hear her voice, the liner notes do contain a lengthy narrative penned by Fiona, as well as a recipe for Mrs. Walkinshaw's Dundee Cake. Beannachtai na Feile!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars + 1/2 stars...A Wonderful Celtic Collection, November 10, 2007

By 

Steve Vrana (Aurora, NE) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Thistle & Shamrock Christmas Ceilidh (Audio CD)

Fiona Ritchie, the host of NPR's Celtic music program "The Thistle & Shamrock," compiled the 17 tracks found on this wonderful collection of Celtic music. For those disappointed reviewers who thought they were buying a collection of well known American Christmas songs, they obviously didn't read the track listing. [Did you think "Maneo Da Ulla" was perhaps Gaelic for "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"?]

So what is a "ceilidh" (pronounced kay-lee)? After a quick google.com search, I learned that it is simply "an Irish or Scottish social gathering with traditional music, dancing, and storytelling." The hour's worth of music on this disc (taken from the vaults of Green Linnet Records) is--to quote the liner notes--"to echo the spirit of her village Christmas Ceilidh." It is not Christmas music per se (only John Renbourn's solo guitar rendition of "I Saw Three Ships" and the Tannahill Weavers' gorgeous reading of "Auld Lang Syne" are recognizable holiday songs), but the music certainly captures the feeling of the holiday as Fiona Ritchie envisioned it. [As a bonus, the booklet includes a recipe for Mrs. Wilkinshaw's Dundee Cake--one of the prizes awarded as part of the Christmas Ceilidh raffle.]

One benefit of this not being recognizable holiday music is that you can enjoy it year 'round. So throw another yule log on the fire, hoist a pint of your favorite ale, and enjoy! [Running Time - 62:43] HIGHLY RECOMMENDED