THE WEXFORD CAROLS by Caitríona O’Leary and featuring Tom Jones, Rosanne Cash & Rhiannon Giddens is Album of the Week, this week, on RTÉ 1 Radio.
The album reached the Number 1 slot on the Billboard World Albums Chart in January 2015.
Here’s what Tom Jones had to say on his Facebook page when he heard the news.
Preview some tracks from THE WEXFORD CAROLS
Buy THE WEXFORD CAROLS CD
Download on iTunes or Amazon
Robert Hugill of Planet Hugill has reviewed Roger Doyle’s TIME MACHINE.
“Each movement has its own distinct timbre and tint… so that the whole feels like a unified work.”
Available to buy now on CD and Download
Find out more about Roger Doyle
At 8pm, on Friday October 16 2015 in Dublin’s Smock Alley Theatre, the celebrated Irish singer Caitríona O’Leary will perform a concert of works in Irish by the legendary Canadian singer songwriter Joni Mitchell. The concert entitled SWEET FIRE: The Joni Mitchell Project (ÍDE NA TINE: Tionscadal Joni Mitchell) is being produced and presented in conjunction with IMRAM, the Irish Language Literature Festival.
Joni Mitchell’s lyrics have been translated into Irish by poets Liam Ó Muirthile and Gabriel Rosenstock. For the concert Ms. O’Leary has assembled a band comprised of leading Irish jazz and rock musicians including, Dick Farrelly (guitars), Nick Roth (saxophone), Dave Redmond (bass) and Graham Hopkins (drums). The visual artist Margaret Lonergan has created evocative projections to accompany and enhance the performance and mise en scène.
The poetic translations of Mssrs. Ó Muirthile and Rosenstock and Ms. O’Leary’s poignant and emotionally intense interpretations and arrangements will result in a unique and artistically powerful way in which to experience the remarkable repertoire of Joni Mitchell.
Joni Mitchell has been described by Rolling Stone as ‘one of the greatest songwriters ever’. Her intensely poetic lyrics probe romantic themes of longing, joy and disillusion, as well as social and environmental concerns. Her music ranges from acoustic folk, rhythm and blues, and pop to harmonically complex jazz experiments.
Hear Caitríona O’Leary discuss Joni Mitchell on Lyric FM’s Culture File.
In 2014 Ms. O’Leary was commissioned by IMRAM to create PORT A’ TSAOIL: Tionscadal Kate Bush/ JIG OF LIFE: The Kate Bush Project, which she performed to SRO audiences at venues in Dublin and Belfast.
Smock Alley Theatre
Admission – €15/€10 (Concession)
Book tickets online or call (01) 677 0014
MusicWeb International has reviewed TIME MACHINE, the new release by Roger Doyle.
“This is a remarkable release…”
“If you are looking for something theatrical and contemporary that doesn’t bamboozle you with avant-garde angularity or batter you with tediously heavy dance rhythms then Time Machine is a wonderful place to explore.”
“Jonathan Prelude is an instrumental preamble to Coat-Hanger Kisses in which the late broadcaster and journalist Jonathan Philbin Bowman improvises a poetic “stream of consciousness message”…”
CD available from the Heresy Shop – FREE DELIVERY WORLDWIDE
Classical Ear is an iPhone app and website that delivers a new, professionally written classical CD review to your phone every weekday, along with sound clips and links.
Roger Doyle’s TIME MACHINE is awarded a 5 rating and in it, they say:
“Time Machine confirms Roger Doyle as Ireland’s leading composer. At 66, ‘the godfather of Irish electronic music’ remains a towering figure…”
“It’s a hypnotic exercise in eavesdropping, in Proustian recall and, above all, in bittersweet hindsight, its surface immediacy beautifully meshed with sub-cutaneous autobiographical poignancy.”
“Shifting between narcotic swathes of electronic washes, now vigilant, now keening strings and doleful piano, this is ineffably sensitive music profoundly alive to the widest of emotional registers.”
Available to buy now on CD and Download
Find out more about Roger Doyle
Heresy Records is proud to release TIME MACHINE by the celebrated Irish composer, Roger Doyle. TIME MACHINE has been described by the Irish Times as “a richly rewarding work that runs the full, glorious gamut of human emotion” and as “A deeply meaningful release” by Ambient Exotica.
TIME MACHINE is centered on a body of telephone answering machine messages that Mr. Doyle recorded and saved between 1987 and 1989. The messages give a strong impression of what it was like to be a composer living the bohemian life in Dublin in the late 1980s.
The album presents the listener with a fascinating dramatis personae including, the composer’s parents, Paddy and Gwen, his son Paavo, his new-born grandson Oisín, the renowned actor and director Steven Berkoff, the actress Olwen Fouére, the poet/broadcaster, Jonathan Philbin Bowmen, the composers, Daniel Figgis and Vincent Doherty amongst others.
The album operates as a memento mori and achieves a sense of gravitas from both the remarkable and emotionally trenchant music Mr. Doyle has composed and as a result of the many people on the album who are no longer alive. Philbin-Bowman, died tragically, Mr. Doyle’s parents passed away, children have grown, friends have become estranged and new life has sprung up in the person of his grandson and his compositions themselves.
Mr. Doyle composed, produced and performed all the works on the album.
Photography: Laelia Milleri
Graphic design: Ciaran Byrne
Art direction by Eric Fraad
Available to buy now on CD and Download
Caitríona O’Leary & Dúlra perform Händel In Ireland at the world renowned Händel Halle Festival in Germany tonight, June 10th.
The concert speculatively re-imagines Händel’s famous visit to Ireland in 1741 – 1742 during which time he premiered his most famous work, Messiah. During his sojourn to Ireland he travelled to Cork. On his travels he most certainly stayed at the great houses and had the opportunity to hear music of the folk – 18th century Irish Trad.
Händel In Ireland features some of the world’s most celebrated Irish traditional musicians who are joined by European world music stars, Andrea Piccioni and Matthias Loibner. The performance features arrangements of works by Händel, Irish composers of the day and popular songs and dances of the period all played and sung through the prism of traditional Irish music.
The band features, Caitríona O’Leary (voice), Dónal Lunny (bouzuki and string instruments), Adrian Hart (fiddle), Eamonn de Barra (flute and whistles), Eamonn Galldubh (flute, whistles, uillieann pipes), Kate Ellis (cello), Matthias Loibner (hurdy- gurdy) and Andrea Piccioni (frame drums and percussion).
More information at handel-festival.com
The concert is made possible through a generous grant from Culture Ireland.
We are delighted to announce that THE WEXFORD CAROLS by Caitríona O’Leary and featuring Tom Jones, Rosanne Cash & Rhiannon Giddens has jumped four places from last week’s Number 5 to the Number 1 slot on the Billboard World Albums Chart.
Here’s what Tom Jones had to say on his Facebook page yesterday.
Preview some tracks from THE WEXFORD CAROLS
Buy THE WEXFORD CAROLS CD
Download on iTunes or Amazon
International Record Review has reviewed THE WEXFORD CAROLS by Caitríona O’Leary.
“I found the result compelling, haunting in its timeless beauty…”
You can buy THE WEXFORD CAROLS CD with its beautiful book-style packaging from the Heresy Shop – FREE DELIVERY WORLDWIDE.
THE WEXFORD CAROLS is also available as a digital download with a digital booklet on iTunes, Amazon, Classics Online and other digital service providers around the world.
The Independent newspaper’s culture section Radar has given THE WEXFORD CAROLS a 3 Star review.
Preview some tracks from THE WEXFORD CAROLS
Buy THE WEXFORD CAROLS CD
Download on iTunes or Amazon
German magazine IMAGE-HIFI features THE WEXFORD CAROLS in its roundup of Christmas CDs in an article by Winifried Dulisch.
“The Wexford Carols are more than just songs for the holiday season. Their lyrics and melodies attest to the indomitable faith of the Irish Catholics, who were banned from saying holy mass since 1678 by their English oppressors. The singer Caitriona O’Leary recorded these long-lost carols with Tom Jones, Rosanne Cash and other celebrated colleagues from Europe and the USA.
In this transatlantic session sparks fly from the combination of the performers devotion to these remarkable folk songs and their highly concentrated virtuosity. Irish Folk meets Americana. Blues and gospel blend harmoniously with gestures from early music. The Dublin record producer Eric Fraad said that the reason he is releasing The Wexford Carols on his label, Heresy Records, is “This world premiere meets all of the criteria for a totally convincing and compelling Christmas album. Top popular stars communicate the spiritual message of the music in the most serious and convincing manner and the feelings these artists evoke can be appreciated by every listener. “”
Read the article – PDF (German Language)
Preview some tracks from THE WEXFORD CAROLS
Buy THE WEXFORD CAROLS CD
Download on iTunes or Amazon
The Los Angeles Times have again featured THE WEXFORD CAROLS in an article History sings as Caitríona O’Leary reclaims ‘The Wexford Carols’ by Randy Lewis.
“For the vast majority of holiday albums that surface at this time of year, it often seems the biggest artistic choices involved are whether the featured artist sings “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” or “Jingle Bells.”
Irish singer Caitríona (pronounced Katrina) O’Leary digs considerably deeper than that with her just-released “The Wexford Carols,” an album that features guest singers Tom Jones, Rosanne Cash and Rhiannon Giddens, all under the guidance of respected Americana producer-songwriter Joe Henry.”
Last month The LA Times featured THE WEXFORD CAROLS in its roundup of new holiday music releases saying:
“This is easily the year’s most ambitious undertaking…”
“Producer Joe Henry brings a fitting gravitas to the selections…”
You can buy THE WEXFORD CAROLS CD with its beautiful book-style packaging from the Heresy Shop – FREE DELIVERY WORLDWIDE.
THE WEXFORD CAROLS is also available as a digital download with a digital booklet on iTunes, Amazon, Classics Online and other digital service providers around the world.
THE WEXFORD CAROLS has been voted ‘hands down my favorite‘ by Ron Hogan in a list of his favourite holiday albums of 2014 on Beatrice.com
“It’s also the most beautifully sounding record of this year’s holiday season, as Joe Henry’s production gives the proceedings an almost tangible atmosphere of place, with guest appearances by Tom Jones, Roseanne Cash, and Rhiannon Giddens.”
Read the full article
The Wexford Carols Artists
Buy THE WEXFORD CAROLS CD
Download on iTunes or Amazon
Early Music Today has reviewed THE WEXFORD CAROLS by Caitríona O’Leary featuring Sir Tom Jones, Rosanne Cash & Rhiannon Giddens
You can buy THE WEXFORD CAROLS CD with its beautiful book-style packaging from the Heresy Shop – FREE DELIVERY WORLDWIDE.
THE WEXFORD CAROLS is also available as a digital download with a digital booklet on iTunes, Amazon, Classics Online and other digital service providers around the world.