.....However, hearing Órlagh talk while someone else is signing Harry's Game is just a tad disconcerting... even if it is Moya Brennan.
Moya Brennan could say the same about Órlagh, as it was Moya's song from the start in 1982, as part of the group Clannad.
The TV mini-series "Harry's Game" about the troubles in Northern Ireland, was made by my old employer - Yorkshire Television.
They used Clannad and Moya's hauntingly beautiful voice for the Theme song, so it was she who made this song famous throughout Europe. It won the Ivor Novello Award, and was nominated for a BAFTA,
the first song in Irish to achieve that distinction.
Moya was known at that time by her real name Máire, it was changed to the phonetic spelling later.
Ten years later in 1992, the song finally came to the USA and went to the top of the Billboard Charts.
Here is the original single cover from 28 years ago:
Now for the bad news, at least for CW fans, Órlagh's on screen for about 5 seconds though she talks for about 10. And while Máiréad is in the opening... she doesn't actually appear anywhere in the show itself. I went through it twice just to be sure because that doesn't make any sense but she's nowhere to be found. I'd imagine that the footage we're seeing is from the second part of the special that is supposed to feature CW.
Yes Celtic Woman will be on the second DVD in September / October.
Quote from
http://www.wliw.org/productions//performance/more-about-music-of-ireland/648/"A sequel to Music of Ireland – Welcome Home is planned for late 2010 spotlighting more recent artists including U2,
Celtic Woman, The Cranberries, The Corrs, The Irish Tenors, and singer/songwriters like Glen Hansard and Damien Rice, as well as the rise of Irish music festivals and the use of Irish music in film and television. For more information, visit musicofireland.comI watched the DVD last night. Tremendous music and performers, but for me there were no surprises.
I grew up immersed in this kind of music (except U2 of course) my Dad and my uncles were singing songs
which the Clancy Brothers later sang, when the Clancys were in diapers.
Traditional music has been played and sung by families in Irish homes through the ages.....it is ingrained in the spirit.
It is how Irish people express their joys, sorrows, fears, triumphs.....every emotion. It is heard at every celebration....baptisms, confirmations, weddings, and of course wakes.
It's very competitive as well, you have to work your way up through the fleadheanna ceoil (music festivals)
winning medals so you can enter the next stage. To be an All-Ireland Champion like Máiréad is quite an achievement.
I was a young lass when I first heard the Chieftains and the Clancy's, about the same time in the early 1960s.
I have accumulated most of their albums / CDs.
I was in Tipperary in the mid 1960s and there was somebody going to Carrick-on-Suir to a pub session.
I was offered a ride with them, and was delighted to see the Clancy Brothers singing in the Pub, they were
home from the USA for a holiday. Most of the Music in Ireland is played just for the love of music.
Just as their National GAA Sports are played for the love of sport, not for financial gain.
The problem is that Irish people take their music for granted......until they see what an impact it can have
on the rest of the World. I think that's why the ladies of CW always say they are amazed by the reaction of audiences in the US. Plus it gives people like me a new appreciation of our musical heritage.
Here is the introduction to "Music of Ireland - Welcome Home" There are several sections:
http://www.wliw.org/productions//performance/music-of-ireland-%E2%80%93-welcome-home/637/Here's the PBS Schedule for each State:
http://www.musicofireland.com/Broadcast/tabid/689/Default.aspx