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PostPosted: Fri May 11, 2007 7:24 pm    Post subject: From The Columbia Harmonious Washington Celtic Woman Reply with quote

Friday, May 11, 2007
BY ALAN SCULLEY for The Columbian

The circumstances that brought together the featured members Celtic Woman did not bode well for the group's longevity.

The four featured vocalists, along with fiddle player Máiréad Nesbitt, all came to the group having already established themselves as solo artists with notable success and viable careers. They also didn't know each other beforehand.

In many cases, that would mean five solo artists with five career agendas and quite possibly egos to match. Plus, there was no guarantee that their personalities would mesh.

Yet 3 years after the group's first performance, Celtic Woman is going stronger than ever. The group has become a favorite of PBS programmers and viewers and now dominates the world music charts - apparently enjoying every moment along the way.

So what went right?

To Órla Fallon, one of the four original singers, one reason for the group's success might be that there was no advance plan for Celtic Woman to be an ongoing entity.

Celtic Woman was created for a one-off television special filmed in Ireland. Musical director David Downes and producer Sharon Bowne recruited the four singers -Fallon, Chloë Agnew, Lisa Kelly and Méav Ní Mhaolchatha -along with Nesbitt to perform that single concert.

The women didn't go through a rigid audition process and weren't tied down to specific vocal roles in a group. So essentially Celtic Woman had to invent itself once opportunities for recording and touring presented themselves.

"I think part of the charm is we were thrown in the deep end and we had to get to know each other," Fallon said. "We're very close and I think part of the charm is because everybody is so different. ? I think we complement each other."

In fact, Fallon said the very fact that the four singers came to Celtic Woman with careers and experience in performing may have promoted professionalism, helped keep egos out of the equation and allowed musical chemistry to develop.

"I think maybe if we had been maybe a bunch of kids who had never done anything before, it might have been different," Fallon said. "But the fact that we had a few years under our belts was good."

The original Celtic Woman show recorded in Dublin went on to become a popular fund-raising program for PBS in spring and summer 2005. The concert DVD sold more than a million copies, while the group's self-titled studio album became entrenched at No. 1 on Billboard magazine's world music chart for a record-setting 68 consecutive weeks.

The group recently released a second studio CD, "A New Journey," and a concert DVD, "A New Journey, Live at Slane Castle, Ireland," both of which feature the group's new addition, New Zealand singer Hayley Westenra. She'll be with the group for its Portland appearance.

Fallon said she sees musical growth in both the new CD and DVD, even as both releases stay true to the original blueprint of mixing traditional Irish songs and Irish-accented contemporary fare (including covers of "Over the Rainbow" and "Beyond the Sea").

"As performers, we have developed so much," Fallon said. "When I listen to the vocals on the first album and I listen to the vocals on this album, I think everybody's vocals are so much stronger. ? There's a new confidence."

The new releases are being supported with an extensive tour that once again features Celtic Woman backed by a live band and eight-member choir. But there will be many new elements to the show, Fallon said.

"We have a completely new (stage) set," she said. "There's completely different choreography and movement and completely new costumes, a whole new lighting rig and then there are lots of new songs as well. I think people will be surprised."

Celtic Woman headlines a concert May 11 at the Rose Garden arena. (Photo courtesy of Celtic Woman)
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