Last in the series

Celtic Christmas IV; A Windham Hill Sampler

This album concludes my Celtic Christmas series. I enjoy it every bit as much as the three albums before it. Other than that, I have very little to say about the disc except that I appreciate and listen to the music on this CD from the same vantage point that I described in yesterday’s entry.

The name W. G. “Snuffy” Walden appears on Celtic Christmas III and IV as the composer of “Sails of Galway” and “St. Stephen’s Green”. I know his name because I saw it every week after the main title theme music to “The West Wing”. Mr. Walden received an Emmy Award in 2000 for composing the music to this show. He also wrote the music to thirtysomething, The Wonder Years, Roseanne, Ellen, The Drew Carey Show, Once And Again, along with music to many more TV shows.

I don’t know how to define Celtic music. I would guess that style and instrumentation come closer than any other criteria to determining a song’s Celticness. I hear Irish influence and Scottish influence. Some of the lyrics to the songs are Welsh. I suppose some powerful, sway-holding body governs what characterizes a song as Celtic. I intend to stay many miles outside of their jurisdiction, yet remain steadfastly susceptible to the charms of the music that they deem as Celtic.

Credits: To the folks at Windham Hill, for championing folk music and world music and bringing it to the world’s ears.