Celtic Woman: The women behind the Irish musical phenomenon

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Lisa Kelly, Lynn Hilary, Máiread Nesbitt, Alex Sharpe and Chloe Agnew of Celtic Woman.

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Each member’s singing voice and style is very different, allowing her to put her unique stamp on songs. Despite the predetermined structure, Lynn said that they can’t help but eventually show their personalities a little on stage.

“I know with Máiréad from the beginning she’s always had her style…she has to move with her music and she uses the whole stage. So that’s her being very individual and unique, showing her energy and passion for the music.” Chloë “sparkles…she’s a bubbly person in real life and very funny as well, and she’s smiling the whole time [on stage] because she loves it.” Lynn calls herself “the shy one,” something that she has embraced and that has made her more relaxed on stage.

The girls also have different musical influences – they mentioned everything from the Beach Boys and Michael Jackson to Sinéad O’Connor and Beyoncé – and different styles they enjoy performing, which is often reflected in the selections made by Downes for each album. This time around, the five women are backed up by their usual 6-piece Celtic Woman band and also by a veritable army of collaborators: a 12-member Aontas Choir, 27-piece film orchestra, 20-member Discovery Gospel Choir, 10-member Extreme Rhythm drummers and 11-piece bagpipe ensemble. The result is a beautiful, lush sound that ranges from a roar to a single voice, never losing pace.

Much of the album feels like a cohesive performance piece, the way the songs build and meld into one another.
While the album relies on the tried-and-true method of mixing covers of contemporary and classical songs with original pieces, the songs that beg to be listened to repeatedly are, unsurprisingly, the traditional Irish ones. “Nil S’én La,” which is famously performed by fellow Celtic crossover group Clannad, is reworked as an upbeat tune and given English lyrics that emphasize the song’s title (in English: “It is not day yet”) as a chance to continue celebration. A true testament to the group’s fusion of many musical styles, towards the end there is a funk-inspired bass-beat as the song continues to build in excitement to its halting end. 

Also included is the hauntingly beautiful “My Lagan Love,” which has been covered by everyone from The Corrs to Kate Bush to Van Morrison. Here it is a solo sung by Lynn Hillary, who cites it as one of her favorite songs to perform, and includes a rich string accompaniment.

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