The Celts by Enya (CD, Jun-1995, Reprise)

I love the inspirational feeling of Enya's Celtic New Age music, which this CD is full of. My favorite songs on this CD include "The Celts" and "Dan Y Dwr."

I enjoy listening to the calming, peaceful sounds of Enya. I like all her music, I wanted to complete my collection with this CD.

Enya's first album, originally done as a score for the BBC series "The Celts" and called simply "Enya," it works fine on its own, mostly for relaxation and meditation.
1)The Celts: Gaelic. An energetic opening to a mostly calm album. I can feel the ground beneath me as my horse runs along and I see the green trees. Vocals are at a minimum here, almost like they are accompanying the music rather than the other way around.
2)Aldebarran: instrumental. The synthesizing here serves to remind us of the twinkling stars, though it was too excessive for me.
3)I Want Tomorrow: English. The only English language track on the album, and a beauty. I see myself in a boat slowly rowing towards the horizon, the sky orange and yellow with gray clouds. Great for meditation.
4)March of the Celts: Gaelic. Not much to say here, except that I’m slowly warming up to this one.
5)Deireadh an Tuath: Gaelic. It’s very calming. I don’t care much for it.
6)The Sun in the Stream: instrumental. Wow. One of the most calming compositions I’ve ever heard, played on Uilleann pipes. That middle section absolutely sears through your heart and fills you up. I listened to this song while reading the end of “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” and it perfectly matched the scene. If you could color songs, I'd color this one orange and gold.
7)To Go Beyond: instrumental with vocalizations. This could be Enya’s shortest song, and it doesn’t end so much as it is cut off after barely a minute. It’s like a preview to “To Go Beyond II,” which is waiting at the end of the album.
8)Fairytale: instrumental with vocalizations. Very relaxing. It feels like a lullaby. A little too delicate for me, but great for meditation or for falling asleep.
9)Epona: instrumental. Another lullaby-like piece, I often confuse this one with track 8. Nothing special, but is reminiscent of old times and stars.
10)Triad: Gaelic/instrumental/vocalizations. This is made of three sections. My favorite is the instrumental middle section, but all are strong as they mark a change from the lullaby-like moods of the last few compositions.
11)Portrait: instrumental. For some reason this reminds me of the theme for The Shawshank Redemption. It doesn’t stun me, but is fine background music. It was extended from the original piece on "Enya."
12)Boudicaa: Gaelic. One of her more popular pieces. I'm not a fan of this one.
13)Bard Dance: instrumental. Another short one, but I like it. I can see people slowly dancing around a fire, and I like the simplicity.
14)Dan y Dwr: Welsh. A reworking of track 5. I still don’t care for it.
15)To Go Beyond II: Here is where we see the payoff of “To Go Beyond,” and it delivers. The first minute is identical to track 7. Then we arrive at the violin solo. I love this solo so much that I sat down with my violin and this CD and transcribed it, as the sheet music for this piece is currently unavailable. It was the first time I ever transcribed a piece of music, and it took me twenty well-spent minutes. It sounds like a lament, like it’s playing in the snow and wind and cold and sadness. The third minute then reprises the first minute, which has new significance as we come full circle to close the album.

I enjoyed the mysterious Irish music very much. Enya achieves the epitomy of professional musicianship.

I bought this cd because I enjoy the music of this entertainer. The case was defective, but that was a minor problem.

I love Celtic music so this singer was recommended to me. This CD has a lot of Celtic overtones. Enya really captures the Celtic spirit in an ethereal way. This is exactly the kind of easy listening, relaxing music that I need when I'm washing away all of the day's stress.

Yet another beautiful work of art by Enya. She takes the Celtic heritage and transforms it into beautiful music with her unique voice. Well arranged, and perfect for relaxing and daydreaming.

more background than foreground music ... a definite crowd pleaser for dinner parties, studying or just chilling out. my 6-week old loves the rhythms!

Absolutely wonderful, Enya's best work. It just takes me away to another world, back to the land of my ancestors.

This was a good buy and it arrived quickly! Would buy from this seller again if I wanted more CDs or items.