tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2085317684343212965.post2581461231390999594..comments2023-10-20T08:35:15.710-07:00Comments on Inside World Music: CD Review: Orla Fallon's 'Distant Shore'Paula E. Kirmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05525909060268135159noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2085317684343212965.post-15078288345039122922010-05-12T07:38:29.187-07:002010-05-12T07:38:29.187-07:00Orla Fallon’s Distant Shore is a delightful and up...Orla Fallon’s Distant Shore is a delightful and uplifting album for me. I am a pastor with experience in choral singing. I have appreciated Orla’s singing and harp playing for several years. Unless my memory fails me, she was a member of Ireland’s magnificent ensemble Anuna prior to joining Celtic Woman, as were Meav ni Mhaolchatha and Lynn Hilary. Michael McGlynn, Anuna’s demanding leader, chooses only the best singers. <br /><br />I compare Orla to the great Kathy Mattea. Kathy expanded her musical scope from “Country” to “World” when she visited Scotland to explore her Celtic roots, and the result was the inspiring CD Roses. Orla came in the opposite direction from Ireland to Nashville, and gives expression to the common heritage shared by “Celtic,” “Bluegrass” and “Country” music. If Orla and Kathy ever collaborate musically, as I fondly hope they will, their exquisite voices, as well as Orla’s harp and Kathy’s guitar, will complement each other perfectly. <br /><br />I never thought I would hear a version of “Simple Love” which would equal Alison Krauss’ for sheer beauty and depth of feeling, but Orla has done it. “Hard Times Come Again No More” is one of Stephen Foster’s most powerful songs and is as socially relevant today as it was in the 1850s. Orla has scored a musical triumph with it. I’d love to hear Orla sing Foster’s moving lullaby “Slumber, My Darling,” which Alison Krauss elegantly recorded with accompaniment by no less than Yo-Yo Ma and Mark O’Connor. Orla and Alison would create another thrilling musical collaboration, both vocally and instrumentally. Fiddle and harp are intended to be played together, especially by musicians of these ladies’ caliber.Rogerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11099735682171599937noreply@blogger.com