Date: Fri, 8 Nov 1996
From: David Wisbey (dwisbey@roadshow.com)
Thanks for the info on the O.F. The Music of Enya CD! Is this the "Enya for Orchestra" CD that was mentioned several times, or is it a different orchestra? I was told by a friend that "Taliesin" is related to Merlin or something like that, huh huh. Uh, like, does anybody else know more about it? I would have guessed a Russian or other Eastern European orchestra--just looks that way to me, who knows nothing about Merlin.
Date: Mon, 11 Nov 1996
From: David Smith (david.smith@utoronto.ca)
Taliesin was actually a wizard/magician in Welsh legend; there was a powerful sorceress whose son, Gwydion Bach, was born horribly ugly, so she felt that to at least make up for it, she would perform an enchantment that would make him a wise sorcerer as well. At the last minute though, a servant boy pushed Gwydion out of the way and received the potion instead. The sorceress, of course, immediately started to chase him, but he now had magic powers and was able to change shape into a number of different animals. The sorceress had the same power, and she chased him until he took the form of a grain of wheat, while she took the form of a hen. She ate the grain, but then gave birth to him months later, and she named him Taliesin; he went on to become one of the most famous magicians in Welsh legend.
Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996
From: David Smith (david.smith@utoronto.ca)
Well, now that I've heard it, I can offer a short review of the "Orinoco Flow: the music of Enya" CD.
My reaction is somewhat mixed. On the one hand, I have heard in several interviews that, among other things, Enya would like to be remembered for composing beutiful melodies. This CD certainly proves that her melodies are beautiful (as if that was ever in doubt.)
On the other hand, a "big" sounding orchestral arrangement (for lack of a better description) changes the whole nature of some songs. For example, "Athair ar Neamh" is a religious song and as such works with a scaled-down, "introspective" arrangement; I found that an orchestral arrangement took a lot away from the character of the song.
I'm sure that everyone who hears it will have their preferred tracks; I happen to think that "Orinoco Flow" and "Book of Days" sound the best.
Date: Tue, 10 Dec 1996
From: MDWongII@aol.com
On the whole I think that it's very worthwhile listening to these songs. Some purists may be put off, and I was at first resistant to these interpretations, but after a while it begins to make sense, and I started to enjoy it. What's immediately apparent voice. I liked their version of "Book of Days", which reminded me of the Enya's Gaelic version. "The Celts" was very heavy on percussion and sounded really good. "No Holly for Miss Quinn", a piece that Enya performs with the piano alone, was orchestrated to include more instruments, and I thought that came across well. However, for some reason the title track "Orinoco Flow" didn't seem to do it for me. There's just something about that song in particular which doesn
Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996
From: Tim Haynes (tshaynes@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca)
I don't know why people are whining over the CD. I just LOVE it. Some people say it sounds like elevator music -- I say it sounds like a movie score. It's just gorgeous. Ever wonder what "No Holly for Miss Quinn" would sound like as a rich piece instead of a minimalist piano piece? Wonder no more! Want to hear some horns in "Book of Days"? They're there. And the best part -- you can listen to the CD while drifting off to sleep in bed, and there are no lyrics to di
A great CD -- go out and buy it today. My thanks to the Taliesin orchestra -- great job!
Date: Thu, 12 Dec 1996
From: Marc Borza (mborza@wpsmtp.grossmont.k12.ca.us)
Yeah, I completely agree. I've been listening to it for several weeks now and I'm not going to go into the minor quibbling about what I would do different here and there, the point is someone else did this album and it's THEIR arrangement. If you want to
I have a new appreciation for "No Holly for Miss Quinn" and "From Where I Am". I think the main thing I realized after listening to this album is that Enya's music can stand alone. In other words, it doesn't rely on multi-layers of Enya's vocals and proce
Date: Fri, 13 Dec 1996
From: MDWongII@aol.com
Yes, I think that Mark and Tim make a good point. I usually hate it when someone says that they like "most" of an artist's music. Typically, though, there is a tendency to compare versions with the original. However, people have different tastes, and for some it takes time to get accustomed to new approaches. I've had it for a couple weeks now, and I'm listening to it ALOT. I found much of good music in it and I'm finding more as I listen to it further. The Taliesin o
Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997
From: "Jon Geldert" (geldert@cleo.bc.edu)
I finally found the Orinoco Flow: The Music of Enya CD the other day. I couldn't wait until I got out of the mall to pop the CD into my car and enjoy the hour ride home. As the first chorus of Orinoco Flow began playing a huge smile started spreading across my face. This is a little embarassing, but I actually let out an emphatic "Yessss!" I had the strongest urge to just wave my arms in an attempt to conduct the orchestra that was filling my car, but I thought it would be unsafe while driving, so I controlled myself.
On the whole, I like their choice of songs, except for "Bard Dance," which has to be my least favorite Enya song of all time. They found a way to make it worse. My favorites on the CDare Athair Ar Neamh, The Memory of Trees (absolutely majestic), The Celts, and Orinoco Flow. I was a little disappointed by Book of Days, because it's my favorite Enya song. I found it a little lacking in power. The final verse/chorus of BOD is so powerful with the percussion, and I felt that this version didn't measure up. Is the version on the Hollywood's Greatest Hits CD better?
But really my only serious problem with this CD is the fact that they switched back to the original key after the bridge in China Roses!!! The bridge (A new moon leads me too...) changes keys from F Major to Bb Major in Enya's version, but on this CD it switches back to F when it returns to the chorus. It destroys much of the beauty of this song, and I have no idea why they did it.
One thing that I did realize by listening to this CD is Enya's true genious as a composer. By placing her music in a different musical setting it is put to the test, and it passes it unequivocably. Enya has said countless times that her first love is melody, and that is apparent more than ever after listening to this recording.
Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997
From: hsarkas@earthlink.net (Harry Sarkas)
I just want to add some more tidbits of information on the release Orinoco Flow by The Taliesin Orchestra. First, is that the work was produced by Trammell Starks who was involved in another Enya remake. Trammell Starks, Ricky Keller, and Friends released an album called Carpe Dium which includes an instrumental remake of "Storms In Africa". (Posted info. on this about a year ago to the mailing list)
Secondly, it amazes me sometimes how small the world is and this is just another example. The Orinoco Flow/Taliesin Orchestra release was mixed and distributed by Intersound Inc. which is located in Roswell, GA which is just down the road from my home here in Alpharetta, GA. Charles Sayre, the conductor and arranger resides in Atlanta. Glad to see the local connection.
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997
From: Simon Fleming Ong (ongsf@dnet.net.id)
If there is to be an orchestra for Enya's songs . . . , I think Enya herself should do the composing and the conducting !!! Charles Sayre didn't even close to make my imagination wander.
Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997
From: MDWongII@aol.com
No, it attempts to replace just the melodies, which is actually interesting. Yes, the music is deficient. I thought that it was elevator music when I first heard it. I gave it a chance, and gradually, it didn't suck. What I thought it did was show that Enya's melodies survive even the most distortive of orchestrations. Still, I've got to admit that I did like a couple of tracks. I did like "No Holly For Miss Quinn", and I don't apologize for that. I also liked "The Celts". I disliked the OF title track, and said so flat out at the time. So, it seems a milestone, although a sputtering one. (If you thought that was bad, you should hear the London Symphony Orchestra performing the music of Sting. Talk about elevator recordings. I get the sense that they're all like that, so I tend to be forgiving of them.)
I think that I and perhaps others have been on this list long enough to hear this same "go around" several times over. At this point, I'm looking at this stuff out of the corner of my eye and posting with just a touch of sarcasm. A list composed singularly of critical discussions would be a boring one after a while, wouldn't you think? There's room for all kinds of perspectives (humorous or not) although some might be disagreeable. For what it's worth, I agree with you and others about perceived imperfections in Enya's music. I listen to it with just standard equipment, and it's fine. (For those who want to get technical, it sounds as if some equipment is overdesigned for Enya's music.)
Still, if one could enjoy Enya's music without it being perfect, why couldn't the same be said of appreciating the discussions on the list without them being perfect either? (True, some of them have gotten a little elitist and nitpicky lately...)
Date: Sat, 29 Mar 1997
From: Spectre897@aol.com
Taliesin Orchestra. I agree, it's not that great. If any of you have had the pleasure of buying a Starlite Orchestra ripoff CD (50 Andrew Lloyd Webber songs for $10!!!), this is what I compare it to. Not that it is that bad... it's just uninspired. See, the way I see it is this. Enya, Nicky, and Roma may do incredibly simple things, but you can tell that they believe in what they're doing, and this feeds their work. Enya is not the best vocalist or composer in the world - but what she does comes straight from her soul, obviously, so it transcends notes and harmonies.
Case in point. To those of you who are Bjork fans, you might know of her new album called Telegram, which is a collection of Bjork song covers. To those of you who don't know what Bjork is, it's techno-pop alterna-chicky dance music. Anyway, in this Telegram CD, there's a cover of Bjork's Hyper-Ballad song, but instead of synths and bass, it was totally rescored and recreated with a string ensemble. The feeling I get from the entire performance of this is that there was a group of classical musicians who really loved Hyper-Ballad, and one of them had inspiration to make a new arrangement of it, and passed this inspiration on to the others. The cover adds so much to the song - rather than arranging it, they have recreated it.
And that is what someone must do to transfer Enya's work into another form. Mr.. Sayre simply doesn't have the talent. My apologies if he's reading this. He adds his own original melodies periodically, but they are static and unimaginative, and they eventually progress into a straight rearrangement of Enya's songs, with a "Hmmm... let's use an oboe for this part, that would sound neat, I think" rather than "This part says to me... through my soul... it must be... an OBOE!!!" Sure, I'm getting a little dramatic there, but that is what is necessary to turn a piece of work into art. Without the inspiration, the soul-searching, Mr. Sayre's arrangements have become elevator music.
So what is required is someone who loves Enya's work, who sings along and makes up counterpoint melodies that don't already exist in the music, that either add another dimension to the music or change the tone altogether. Imagine something like River set in a minor key, with thundering orchestrations - it might be WAY too far out there, but just imagine Enya's melodies twisted into something totally different, and perhaps something better, rather than being used over and over for the same thing.