Winter's Crossing

Phil Coulter, James Galway | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 30, 2011)
• Original Release Date: August 25, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000007OMT
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,281 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #13 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Noels
  • #17 in Music > World Music > Celtic > Fusion
  • #18 in Music > World Music > Celtic > New Age

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: COULTER/GALWAY
Title: WINTER'S CROSSING
Street Release Date: 08/25/1998
Domestic
Genre: CELTIC

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very moving; dramatic; well orchestrated and played, October 23, 1999

By 

Naomi Foflygen (Frederick, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Winter's Crossing (Audio CD)

Winter's Crossing is a dramatic presentation in musical form that depicts the story of a group of Irish who left their homeland in 1866 and came to America. It describes the heart wrenching separation of family members with somber music, and the coming together of different Celtic groups in tunes that begin tentatively and become lively and so full of emotion that it makes any listener want to join in the dance that was surely accompanying the players. The beautiful combination of melodies that form over one another in the Hymn For the Heartland is my favorite. Liam Neeson (Oscar Schindler) gives a dramatic reading of a contemporary letter that describes the separation at the dock of family members who know they will never see each other again.

If you have heard the Legends CD by Phil Coulter and James Galway, and liked it, or if you like Celtic music, you will like this. Read the jacket to understand the background behind each of the songs.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning music, November 14, 2000

By 

Karen Davidson (Montana United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Winter's Crossing (Audio CD)

Winter's Crossing is one of the most beautiful musical "experiences" in which I've engaged. The listener is taken on a journey with the emigrant, from the quayside in County Antrim, through the difficulties of the crossing itself, to the Shores of Amerikay. When the Irish newcomers arrive in this land they experience the sadness, the longing for home, that all such immigrants must have known. The music of Coulter and Galway perfectly and stunningly guides the listener through every emotion of the journey and the process of becoming assimilated but never losing the Irish spirit or the lilt of their music."

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly Special, November 30, 2002

By 

Allyn "pianogirl" (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Winter's Crossing (Audio CD)

Once in a while, you find a CD that really is "moving" and special. I knew that "Winter Crossing" was one of these CDs the moment I put it in my CD player and pressed "play."

"Winter Crossing" is the "musical" story of Irish immigration. The fact that this CD is a "story" is one of its many unique aspects. Often, we listen to CDs that are simply a series of "pretty" or "cool" music, but these CDs aren't trying to tell us or show us something. Yet in "Winter's Crossing," it is apparent that by choosing certain songs in a chronological order, the makers of this CD were seeking to capture the many emotions-anticipation, anxiety, nostalgia, fear-of an Irish immigrant.

Galway, Coulter, and their orchestra not only tried to capture these emotions and "make" us feel them as well, they succeeded in their attempt. "Winter's Crossing" opens with a haunting ballad, "Steal Away." Complete with "throaty" Irish pipes and soulful Irish voice, this song captures the feelings that many Irish must have had when they decided to leave their native country. Other moving "farewell" songs include the bagpipe/Irish pipe duet "Farewell to County Atrim," and the poignant narrative-set-to-music, "Thousands are Sailing." The next "phase" of "Winter's Crossing" shows the Irish experience on the actual journey (via ship) to America. Perhaps my favorite of these "journey" songs is "Gartan Mother's Lullabye," which uses the tones of Galway's calming, angelic flute to capture the sounds of a mother singing her baby to sleep amidst the squalor of the ship. The final "phase" of this CD deals shows us how the Irish adjusted to their new life in America. This final section opens with nostalgia (in the form of ballad "On the Shores of Amerikay") and ends with joy and triumph ("Appalachian Roundup")

Galway, Coulter, and the orchestra involved in making this CD certainly deserve thanks for creating such a moving "work of art." When a piece of history is so wonderfully told, who needs the textbook?