"When friends rejoice, both far and near, how can I keep from singing?" ~ Enya
Celtic singer Enya was born Eithne Ní Bhraonáin (1961-) on this day in County Donegal, Ireland, the fourth of nine children. Her unusual name is derived from Nordic legend.
"Enya was a goddess condemned to live on a island to not marry. In case of marriage it was destiny that her husband killed her father," she explained. In 1986, her music was featured in the six-part BBC documentary, The Celts.
Enya's hauntingly beautiful voice is unlike any other. Like an angel, her captivating notes, sung in a harmony of Latin, Irish Gaelic, and English, lilt and soar. She inspires dreams and inner visions. Synthesizers carry the imagination away.
"Lift your heart, walk through the storms," she sang. "Come through the storms."
An international success, with multi-million records sold, Enya is an enigma. Her 1988 Orinoco Flow (Sail Away) and 1991 Caribbean Blue linger in the head and heart. Her themes of immortality and freedom bring the gifts of hope, comfort, and peace.
Passionate about her privacy and protective of the integrity of her art, the New Age phenomenon has said that music followed her since childhood.
Her voice helped create the ethereal world found in the Lord of the Rings films. Could anyone else so magically celebrate the trilogy's conflict between the forces of light and dark?
"There are a lot of artists who are bigger than their music," said the sensitive performer. "But for me it's the other way about."
"Success depends on how the public understands my work."
More MUSIC Quotations | Video: Caribbean Blue
