Celtic Woman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celtic Woman is an all-female musical ensemble conceived and assembled by David Downes, a former Musical Director of the Irish stage show Riverdance. His concept was to tap into the American marketplace's taste for Celtic music and culture by creating a group that blended the Irish elements of music and dance which Michael Flatley had successfully exploited with the structure of all-girl pop groups such as Spice Girls and Pussycat Dolls. To accomplish this, he recruited an aggregate of five Irish female artists who had not previously performed together: vocalists Chloë Agnew, Lynn Hilary, Lisa Kelly, and Alex Sharpe and fiddler Máiréad Nesbitt. All of these became the first representatives of the Celtic woman, as he perceived it. Downes proposed a repertoire that would range from traditional Celtic tunes to modern songs. To date, four albums have been released under the name "Celtic Woman": Celtic Woman, Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration, Celtic Woman: A New Journey, and Celtic Woman: The Greatest Journey. The group has undertaken a number of world tours. Cumulatively, albums by Celtic Woman have sold over 50 million records worldwide, making it currently one of the most commercially successful musical acts in the world.

The foundation for Celtic music's popularity outside of Ireland and Europe was built by tapping into the success of artists such as Enya and Clannad, along with stage shows Riverdance and Lord of the Dance. Celtic Woman has been described as being "Riverdance for the voice." 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.celticwoman.com