The Very Best of Celtic Christmas

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 26, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B0003035E0
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #121,985 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. The Wexford Carol - David Agnew

2. Cornphiopa Ciorcalach - Maire Breatnach

3. On A cold Winter's Day/Christmas Eve - Kevin Burke

4. Third Carol For Christmas Day - Maighread Ni Dhomhnaill

5. Circle Of Joy - Lisa Lynne

6. Sior-Uaine - Phil Cunningham

7. Lully Lullay - Nightnoise

8. Galician Carol - Carlos Nunez

9. King Holly, King Oak - Johnny Cunningham

10. A Raven In The Snow - Brian Dunning

11. Soillie Na Nollag - Altan

12. I'll Rock You To Rest - James Galway

13. Sails Of Galway - Snuffy Walden

14. On A Winter's Day - Karan Casey

15. Ga Greine - John Fitzpatrick

16. The Dove's Return - Aine Minogue

17. Angels In The Snow - David Arkenstone

18. An Driochead - Liam O'Flynn

19. Flow Gently Sweet Afton - Benjamin Verdery

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Ten years on, there are five volumes available in Windham Hill’s hugely popular Celtic Christmas series and this collection gathers together more than 75 minutes of highlights from them. Special gems include the Irish band Altan’s lovely and ethereal Soillse Na Nollag, the late Scottish fiddler Johnny Cunningham’s King Holly, King Oak with its quote from one of the oldest lullaby carols of all, and Karan Casey’s delectable vocals wending their way through On A Winter's Day. Galician piper/flautist Carlos Núñez' frisky Galician Carol adds a welcome touch of Iberian light and joy amid what sometimes feels like unremitting reflection and restraint. The songs and carols are heard primarily in acoustic settings, from which marshmallow-like synth lines extrude from time to time. For the most part, though, the musicians lean toward organic textures even when exploring more contemporary treatments, so the overall effect is modern yet homey, warm and peaceful. --Christina Roden

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars You can never go wrong with Windham Hill, January 1, 2005

By 

Thomas E. Graham Jr. (mechanicsburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Very Best of Celtic Christmas (Audio CD)

I recently purchased this CD and I am listening to it as I write this.There are quite a bit of tracks from Celtic Christmas Three so to me this CD feels more like a reissue of that CD, so if you already own that CD you may want to reconsider this purchase.The CD as a whole is what I'd expect from Winham Hill and they always seem to deliver the same high quality music. Although this CD is labeled as a Christmas CD it can be played throughout the entire year, yes, there are a few standard Christmas selections but a majority are original compositions. The only gripe I have is Patrick Cassidy's "Lament" has not been included on this CD,and is one of the most beatiful songs I've ever heard.
If your a Windham Hill fan, this CD is well worth the money.
Great for playing at Holiday get togethers for that added intamecy, or when your sitting in front of the fire on a cold winters night.....OR anytime during the year!
Simply magnifecent!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Celtic music, January 26, 2008

By 

Lady Faye (Layton, UTAH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Very Best of Celtic Christmas (Audio CD)

For the most part I liked this CD, but I almost wouldn't consider this a Holiday CD. The music was soothing & more like just regular Celtic music. It did have Altan & David Arkenstone on it, which is a major plus. I always like these artists.

5.0 out of 5 stars Bought this last Christmas for 1 song and 1 song only..., November 19, 2009

By 

LukasJHU (Clifton, NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Very Best of Celtic Christmas (Audio CD)

Bought this last Christmas for 1 song and 1 song only... #7, Lully Lullay by Nightnoise. All I can say is ... WOW! The feelings that run through my body, my heart, my brain, and my soul... phenomenal!

I can't believe it's been almost a year since I bought this (December 2008) and it's almost December 2009. Just listened to it and it made me realize how much Christmas is about the spiritual feelings, rather than the gifts and sales and everything else that's been commercialized.

If you can, buy song #7... if you can't, then buy the entire CD (which is what I did) and listen to Lully Lullay by Nightnoise. The $8 price is worth just for that 1 song... can't get enough of it.

Thank you, Nightnoise!!!

-Lukas