Search - Various Artists :: Holding Up Half The Sky: Voices Of Celtic Women II

The second volume of Voices of Celtic Women features some of the finest singers in Ireland and Scotland. The music ranges from the ultratraditional a cappella of Ray Fisher to the techno beat of Talitha MacKenzie. This collection overcomes the potentially jarring musical transitions such a wide stylistic gap can create by skillfully choosing songs that have slower tempos and similar themes. Sorrow and longing are the threads that tie traditional performances like Dolores Keane's "The Low Low Lands of Holland" and Maighread Ní Dhomhnaill's "Martha, the Flower of Sweet Strabane" to more modern songs like Susan McKeown's "Banks of Claudy" and Antoinette McKenna's "O Ro Song of the Sea." There are many laments and tragic ballads here, but the dignity and emotional power of the singers keep the songs from becoming mere tearjerkers. This is music to listen to in solitude, perhaps when you are trying to mend a broken heart. --Michael Simmons