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Reviews
Working on the Christmas EP for Target was a very special project, because few years back, many years back I recorded Silent Night - Oiche Chiun as it's known in Gaelic, my first language being Gealic. When we recorded this, it was very successful, and we had thought a lot about at some stage doing a Christmas album. So therefore, we were very excited when we were approached by Target to work on the EP for the Christmas songs. (NBC, Nov. 2006 ) I have a very fond memory of my first time going to midnight mass with parents, because you have to be a certain age to be able to stay up so late at night. And I have a fond memory of being in the choir and singing Silent Night, Oiche Chiun in Gaelic. I do remember as a child in Gweedore, which is in the north-west of Ireland, having snow at Christmastime. And it does add to the atmosphere, to actually wake up and have the snow, to be able to go out and build the snowman. So it's quite exciting for a child to see snow, it was something that was quite magical for Christmas. (WM Japan, Dec. 2006) Other highlights include her wonderful harmonies on the children's tune, "Toy Soldier" and a Gaelic version of "Silent Night," titled "Oiche Chiuin." (Blog Critics, Nov. 2008 ) In the end Enya sings Silent Night in her native Irish. It is one of the most heartfelt versions of the song I have ever heard. When the angels sang about Baby Jesus to the shepherds, I guess it sounded something like this. I would gladly buy the complete album just for this incredible version of Silent Night. (New Age Music, Nov. 2008) A new version of Silent Night (Oíche Chiuín), a song Enya sings in Gaeilge that has proved hugely popular over the years. "It was exciting to re-live Silent Night because I sung that twenty years ago," enthuses Enya. "It is re-released every year in America and it was so nice to go back and do something different with it." The new rendering of Oíche Chiuín (Chorale) incorporates what Nicky describes as the "choir of one", a technique he first fully adopted during the recording of Watermark that finds Enya performing multi-layered vocals to create a mellifluous sea of harmonies. "I enjoy the process, I love the excitement of not knowing if it will work," admits Enya. (Warner Music, Sept. 2008) A Gaelic rendition of "Silent Night" make the holiday element fairly prominent in some cases. But those unwilling to accept that the Christmas season now starts before Thanksgiving could skip these tracks and still find themselves exploring an album with rich depth and discover a few tunes hinting at possible, more energetic things to come from the Silver Lady in the future. (The Badger-Herald, Nov. 2008) |
