aine minogue: winter: a meditation

Winter: a meditation

There’s always a visual component to music, whether it’s the sight of musician at work, what’s going on around you, or some totally imagined landscape that the music suggests, or a combination of all that. Aine Minogue, who plays and composes Celtic music, decided to offer a set of visions to go along with and extend her musical ideas for the winter season.

The eleven tracks on her dvd range from dancers suggesting ancient myths to landscapes both contemporary and those seeming older than time. There are forest scenes at sunset and at sunrise, and scene of snow. There’s the burning fire of the Jezebel carol, which may suggest yule logs or an even older ceremony; there are half glimpsed dancers and half heard song on the journey too, and the familiar Christmas dance melody of Noelle Nouvelle.. All this is led by Minogue’s music on the harp. well supported by fiddle, whistle, cello, and percussion. the ideas and imagery leave space for winter holiday meditation, whatever holiday you may celebrate, and invitation to walk the paths of what you may learn from this season of darkness and season of light.

you may also want to see

Boston Celtic Music Festival , coming up 9 and 10 January

Wilderness Plots: the dvd

a short film about Julie Fowlis and sending good wishes to Julie, who is up for best folk singer of the year at the BBC 2 folk awards. the awards will be announced on 2 February