I don’t know what I really expected from the instrumental wizard Tim Edey’s Christmas album – but it sure wasn’t what I got, and that is just great!
Because when it’s Tim Edey’s A Celtic Christmas and because there’s Ross Ainslie, Donald Shaw and Steve Cooney, one would probably think of classic seasonal tunes played in very, very Irish-Scottish trad styles.
But no. Instead, Master Edey presents us with a fabulously lush, varied and marvelously warm Christmas experience. Ding Dong Merrily On High does open the album with Celtic colours but right after it, The Snowman (Walking In The Air) wears a much more Continental, dare I say French-leaning, outfit. That tune has never been my favorite but Edey’s arrangement is so tasteful and unlike the original, I quite enjoy it.
And Edey makes some surprising, and successful. choices along the way. The Wexford Carol is almost deconstructed into an acoustic ambience; you need to know the tune to recognize it here.
It’s a pure coincidence that this release coincided with Shane McGowan’s passing, but it only emphasizes the moving tenderness of Edey’s solo acoustic guitar interpretation of The Fairytale of New York. I literally stood still to take in every note of Tim’s heartbreakingly lovely playing and, in my mind, raised a glass to the departed man…
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen has seen many interesting arrangements over the years by different artists (my favorite is Loreena McKennitt’s epic, Middle Eastern flavored version) and here the song finds a brilliant home in some unspecified area between France (again!) and Spain. Very nice!
Not only is the playing absolutely lovely throughout, the string arrangements by Mary Frances Leahy (she’s Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy’s daughter) are very tasteful and add just the right touch here and there. Robin Wynn’s production also deserves to be mentioned as the album’s rich sound feels like a Xmas blanket to wrap around you.
I don’t know what I expected, but I got much more than I could have wished for. Thank you Tim and everyone – and a very Merry Christmas to everyone involved in creating this lovely gift ❤️🎁🎄
FolkNotes 