c. 1997 Religion News Service

UNDATED _ It’s going to be a Celtic Christmas.

Celtic music and culture are enjoying a revival thanks to the worldwide success of the”Riverdance”and”Lord of the Dance”revues, the films”Braveheart”and”Michael Collins,”best-selling books such as”Angela’s Ashes”and”How the Irish Saved Civilization,”and perennially popular recording artists such as Enya and the Chieftains.

And now, Celtic music, which originated in Scotland, Wales and Ireland and was once the prized possession of a small but rabid band of traditional and folk music purists, has busted out of its subgenre ghetto, scoring impressive gains in sales and radio airplay.

As Celtic music has been making its mark, a whole new trend has emerged _ the Celtic Christmas category. And nobody is more responsible for its growth than Maggie Sansone, founder of Maggie’s Music, Inc., in Annapolis, Md.

A virtuoso on the hammered dulcimer, Sansone used to play her music on street corners and only began recording after people asked where they could buy her beautiful music.

She founded Maggie’s Music in 1988, and released”Sounds of the Season,”which features her pristine arrangements of traditional Christmas carols and dances.

In 1990, Sansone recorded”Sounds of the Season II,”followed by 1993’s”Ancient Noels,”which features the five-member Ensemble Galilei, and 1996’s”A Scottish Christmas,”with fiddler Bonnie Rideout, guitarist Al Petteway, and piper Eric Rigler, who helped create the”Braveheart”soundtrack.

None of these Celtic Christmas releases feature red-nosed reindeer, and one will listen in vain for chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Instead, these recordings explore older and deeper holiday traditions with music that is at once haunting and happy.”I think the music has an intimate quality, and a personal quality,”Sansone said.”There is the melancholy, but there is also the joy, and we try to capture both.” The woman who gave birth to the current Celtic Christmas craze is Loreena McKennitt, a Canadian vocalist and harpist who released”To Drive the Cold Winter Away”in 1987.

The album features traditional English, Irish and Scottish carols and seasonal songs, some of which were recorded in Ireland’s famous Glenstal Abbey. McKennitt’s artful arrangements complement her rich, mellifluous voice, which echoes through the century-old abbey and gives these songs a warmth that makes them the perfect accompaniment to a cold winter night.

Windham Hill released its first”Celtic Christmas”album in 1995, and followed it up with last year’s”Celtic Christmas II.”Those two releases have combined sales of 600,000 units.

This year’s”Celtic Christmas III,”however, shows signs the series may be cooling off. While 10 of the 12 cuts on the album are either traditional Celtic numbers or new compositions written in a Celtic style, only two have any real connection to Christmas. The music is nice, if not magnificent, but as a service to confused consumers, someone should have called this collection”Windham Hill Sampler”number umpteen instead of”Celtic Christmas III.” Narada, a small New Age label, has previously released 10 Christmas albums and 10 Celtic albums, but this year’s”The Night Before … A Celtic Christmas”is its first Celtic Christmas release.

With music sung and performed by Dordan, four talented women from Ireland’s County Galway who have a taste for their island nation’s traditional music,”The Night Before”is a charming alternative to Christmas-music-as-usual.

The album includes standards such as”Silent Night,”but these are done in refreshing new ways. There are also more obscure tunes, like”Christmas Eve Reel”and”Mistletoe Waltz,”that offer a new energy as you trim the tree. In addition, there are carols sung in Irish, still spoken in Galway and much of Ireland’s West, giving the collection an authentic feel lacking in some of the other, more commercial Celtic Christmas recordings.

Eds: Windham Hill’s”Celtic Christmas”series is available in most major music stores. The other albums can be ordered direct from the labels. Maggie’s Music is at 410-268-3394. Narada is at 414-961-8350. Information about Loreena McKennitt can be found at http://www.quinlanroad.com).

MJP END RNS