No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: COULTER/GALWAY
Title: WINTER'S CROSSING
Street Release Date: 08/25/1998
Domestic
Genre: CELTIC

1998 BMG Music

Average Customer Review: ( 20 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.

If you have heard the Legends CD by Phil Coulter and James Galway, and liked it, or if you like Celtic music, you will like this. Read the jacket to understand the background behind each of the songs.

15 of 15 found the following review helpful:

Stunning musicNov 15, 2000
By Karen Davidson
Winter's Crossing is one of the most beautiful musical "experiences" in which I've engaged. The listener is taken on a journey with the emigrant, from the quayside in County Antrim, through the difficulties of the crossing itself, to the Shores of Amerikay. When the Irish newcomers arrive in this land they experience the sadness, the longing for home, that all such immigrants must have known. The music of Coulter and Galway perfectly and stunningly guides the listener through every emotion of the journey and the process of becoming assimilated but never losing the Irish spirit or the lilt of their music."

17 of 18 found the following review helpful:

Truly SpecialNov 30, 2002
By Allyn "pianogirl"
Once in a while, you find a CD that really is "moving" and special. I knew that "Winter Crossing" was one of these CDs the moment I put it in my CD player and pressed "play."

"Winter Crossing" is the "musical" story of Irish immigration. The fact that this CD is a "story" is one of its many unique aspects. Often, we listen to CDs that are simply a series of "pretty" or "cool" music, but these CDs aren't trying to tell us or show us something. Yet in "Winter's Crossing," it is apparent that by choosing certain songs in a chronological order, the makers of this CD were seeking to capture the many emotions-anticipation, anxiety, nostalgia, fear-of an Irish immigrant.

Galway, Coulter, and their orchestra not only tried to capture these emotions and "make" us feel them as well, they succeeded in their attempt. "Winter's Crossing" opens with a haunting ballad, "Steal Away." Complete with "throaty" Irish pipes and soulful Irish voice, this song captures the feelings that many Irish must have had when they decided to leave their native country. Other moving "farewell" songs include the bagpipe/Irish pipe duet "Farewell to County Atrim," and the poignant narrative-set-to-music, "Thousands are Sailing." The next "phase" of "Winter's Crossing" shows the Irish experience on the actual journey (via ship) to America. Perhaps my favorite of these "journey" songs is "Gartan Mother's Lullabye," which uses the tones of Galway's calming, angelic flute to capture the sounds of a mother singing her baby to sleep amidst the squalor of the ship. The final "phase" of this CD deals shows us how the Irish adjusted to their new life in America. This final section opens with nostalgia (in the form of ballad "On the Shores of Amerikay") and ends with joy and triumph ("Appalachian Roundup")

Galway, Coulter, and the orchestra involved in making this CD certainly deserve thanks for creating such a moving "work of art." When a piece of history is so wonderfully told, who needs the textbook?

17 of 18 found the following review helpful:

WOW!Jun 09, 2000
By Mark Mahaffey
This is the best CD I own. I love it! I play both flute and piano and hail my celtic ancestry. James Galway and Phil Coulter are masters! This recording is absolutely glorious, and deserves praise for its creativity, power, originality, beauty, and everything else about it. Incredible!

12 of 12 found the following review helpful:

A wonderful choice!!!!May 31, 2001

We purchased Winter's Crossings about a year ago and have listened to it just about non-stop since then. It's a wonderfully varied CD, with quiet, peppy, and thoughtful music-it's hard to pick out a single track that we don't like. It was our first introduction to James Galway and Phil Coulter and we're back looking for our next purchase(s). We highly recommend this CD to anyone.

See all 20 customer reviews on Amazon.com