Celtic Woman, appearing at SeaGate Convention Centre Ohio

[Don]

FROM THE HEART
Celtic Woman, appearing at SeaGate Friday, puts modern twist on Irish music

Look up "soul music" and you're not likely to find "Danny Boy."

Except in Orla Fallon's book.

Irish music, declares the singer and harpist, "is like soul music. It just reaches down into your heart and soul."

"The melodies are very haunting, and they always strike a chord. I think it covers every human emotion," she adds.

Come hear for yourself when Fallon takes her place on stage Friday evening with three other vocalists and a violinist who make up Celtic Woman, in concert at SeaGate Convention Centre, 401 Jefferson Ave. Toledo, Ohio downtown. An all-male Irish ballad group, the High Kings, will open the 8 p.m. show.

Toledo is stop No. 33 on Celtic Woman's three-month, 49-city tour, their fifth swing through the United States. The schedule includes multiple-night performances in New York City, Chicago, Seattle, and San Francisco.

Millions more people have seen Celtic Woman on PBS. Their first special was broadcast in March, 2005. Others have followed - most recently A Christmas Celebration: Live From Dublin in 2007 - and network television appearances, including NBC's Mrs. Dash Skate for the Heart in January.

And their recordings have been equally successful. According to the group's Web site, www.celticwoman.com, "Between their self-titled debut, their Christmas CD 'A Christmas Celebration,' and 'A New Journey' CD, Celtic Woman has held the No. 1 position on the Billboard World Music Charts for a record-breaking 95 consecutive weeks. Their CDs and DVDs have gone platinum in the U.S. and South Africa, as well as going gold as far afield as Australia and Japan."

We're hooked on Irish music, it seems, no matter what our ancestry.

Celtic Woman's two-hour fix for the addicted will offer "a wide spectrum of styles and tastes, something for every musical taste, and a wide variety of emotions," promises Fallon in a telephone interview from St. Louis, hours before a recent concert there. The show will include selections from the albums "Celtic Woman" and "A New Journey."

Born in southeast Ireland, Fallon performed and recorded as a soloist and member of other Irish groups before being asked to join Celtic Woman in 2004.

The group was formed, she says, for what was expected to be a one-time PBS special. "We met two days before the special, and the rest is history," Fallon says.

Their concert set list ranges from Irish standards and classical favorites to original compositions by the group's musical director, David Downes, and some contemporary tunes such as "Beyond the Sea" and "Over the Rainbow."

All get "a very distinct Celtic Woman treatment," Fallon says, defining that sound as precise harmonies of the four vocalists (Fallon, Alex Sharpe, Lynn Hilary, and Chloe Agnew) accompanied by Mairead Nesbitt on the fiddle, and backed by an eight-person chorus and a six-member band that includes traditional Irish instruments. The set and costumes make for a visually beautiful show as well, she says.

"Our show is very elegant and refined, because we're five ladies and everyone has a unique and ladylike style. The presentation is very elegant, but there's still a great sense of fun and celebration of life and joy in the music," Fallon continues.

The show celebrates Ireland as a thriving nation, she says. "We're very proud of our achievements. ... This Celtic Woman show is a modern interpretation which still has respect for the [Irish] tradition and style."

Fallon describes herself as a traditional vocalist who puts a lot of ornamentation in her voice. "I never sing the note straight," she explains - and demonstrates by sending one dancing over the phone line.

"I always sing the low lines," she goes on. A former music teacher once described Fallon's rich sound as "the meat in the sandwich."

One of the songs Fallon performs is a Gaelic tune - "Siuil A Run" - that has a family history. "My late grandmother used to sing it," she says. "It means 'Walk My Love,' and it gets a very good response."

Fallon has a family connection to Toledo, too, although she says she has never been here before. "It will be very poignant for me to come to Toledo," she says, explaining that her grandmother's only remaining sibling, Nora Keaveny, lived here until her death last summer. Two cousins still live in the area and saw her in concert with Celtic Woman in Detroit, she says.

For her Toledo appearance, Fallon says, "My great-aunt will be there in spirit."

By ANN WEBER
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Article published April 9, 2008
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