The following is a review of the book "Celtic Women in Music" from the Los Angeles Times. All rights reserved® by the LA Times.
The following is a review of the book "Celtic Women in Music" from
the Los Angeles Times. All rights reserved® by the LA Times.
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Music News and Reviews
Review by Don Heckman, LA Times,
November 5, 1999
"If you want to find out about something, who better to ask than someone who does it for a living? And Celtic singer Maireid Sullivan was the perfect choice to be the author of "Celtic Women in Music," a collection of interviews with many of the major female Irish artists. The Los Angeles-based Sullivan is a highly regarded vocalist with a particular interest in exploring and sustaining the philosophical roots of Celtic culture. As such, she has interacted with her subjects in a fashion that has an impressive degree of forthrightness, both on a personal and professional level.
The 30 artists profiled range from such veterans as Dolores Keane and Grainne Yeats to such high-visibility current performers as Loreena McKennitt, Eileen Ivers and Sheila Chandra. Some of the most insightful entries are those in which Sullivan's interest are most in sync with interviewees: a fascinating conversation with singer Noirin Ni Riain touching on everything from gender issues in Celtic music and the Catholic Church to comparative thoughts on the pain and pleasure of performance; a historically informative interview with singer-harpist Maire Ni Chathasaigh; and an entirely different perspective on Celtic music from American-born singer Connie Dover. The book is an easy and fascinating read, with Sullivan's gentle but persistent questioning allowing her subjects to illuminate themselves in a fashion that inevitably provokes a desire to hear their music. "
Thanks to Don Heckman and the Los Angeles Times for this reprint.
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