Orriel Smith's New Folk Album Reviewed;"Throughout, her crystalline voice tickles the heavens, never less than emotionally enthralling."

To read about Orriel's career, hear some tracks and see original video's from her early career go TO THIS LINK

To hear all tracks from this new CD which is available for purchase AT THIS LINK

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Orriel Smith: A Voice Forever In the Wind

From: EFolk music.com

Orriel Smith's debut album, A Voice In The Wind, was released by Columbia nearly 50 years ago. In the intervening years, Ms. Smith has released several albums of “cluckoratora”, wherein she clucks famous arias from the likes of Mozart, Verdi, and Puccini. However, her heart has always been close to the folk songs of her youth. She returns there for her new release, A Voice Forever In the Wind.

This from Jeff Penczak's review on Terrascope:

Accompanying herself on guitar and with sparse orchestral arrangements performed by Don French, Smith delivers an impassioned collection of traditional folk songs from Ireland, Britain, America, Mexico, Russia, and Aotearoa/New Zealand. The backing ranges from a softly intertwined guitar and orchestra on opener, ‘She Moved Through The Fair’ to her gently plucked acoustic guitar on ‘Lady Mary’ and ‘Songs My Mother Taught Me’, to the a capella marvel, ‘Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies’ that finds her in as fresh and fine a voice as those early recordings.

Throughout, her crystalline voice tickles the heavens, occasionally operatic, but never less than emotionally enthralling. Think back to that voice wafting from the radio towards the end of the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers and you’ll get an idea of the immaculate purity and emotion in Smith’s vocal pyrotechnics.

 ‘Danny Boy’ is as heart wrenching as any version you’ll ever hear, and her other tales of death, forbidden love, and lost virginity snuggle warmly up alongside songs of faith and devotion, including the a capella ‘Were You There When They Crucified My Lord’ / ‘Amazing Grace’ medley that’ll bring tears to the eyes of angels. Record companies don’t release albums like this any more, which may explain why Ms. Smith has elected to release it herself. You can find it at the link above. It’s one of the summer’s earliest treats. (Jeff Penczak )

Orriel Smith Artist Page
CLICK ON PICTURE TO HEAR THIS STUNNING VERSION OF POKARE KARE ANA

Pokare kare Ana, Po Atarau (Now is the Hour)

by orriel1 • 15,237 views

Orriel Smith from the 2011 release "A Voice Forever in the Wind" Pokarekare Ana is a traditional New Zealand love song, Po Atarau is a farewell to Maori soldiers in the World Wars 1 & 2 translated...

All Comments (2)

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  teddybort 3 months ago

  Haunting........nobody should be able to sing like that

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  Bruce Smith 6 months ago

  A beautiful Voice for a Beautiful Song

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My New Catholic Followers On Twitter Are Fascinating. I Wish I Could Be A Catholic

Since I wrote some posts recently which touched on Catholic values,challenges and reactions, and especially since Lisa Graas, "Catholic Lisa" and I became mutual Twitter followers,
I have seen a substantial number of Tweets from Catholics on subjects all and sundry.

And quite fascinating, entertaining, interesting, scholarly and challenging they,the tweets and the Tweeters, are too.

Apart from the social/political aspect and content, what Ifind particularly interesting is the seeming utter dedication to their faith for so many, the rewards that brings to them and, above al,l their living a life of utter certainty.

It is that last aspect which I find most intriguing, coming from a Protestant ethos. That is not to say of course that untold numbers of Protestants, particularly Evangelicals, don't lead a life of complete religious certainty but, in my experience, it is not something I have personally encountered that often.

To have, not only a total faith without question, but to go even further in it than I have ever seen expressed, is a new expereince for me. To quote, or paraphrase one Tweet (as best I remember it) "my day is complete as I experience God intertwined with every fabric of my being".

I would dearly love to have such certainly of faith. It would free up a lot of mental to-ing and fro-ing over the meaning of life and all that but I don't think I ever will within the Protestant framework. There are trade-offs I gather though-I, on the other hand will not experience "Catholic guilt' whatever that is, which I understand (from plays and movies at least) is a real thing!

If this certitude is so attractive, then why don't I simply apply for membership? I am too long in the Protestant tradition-Anglican/Episcopalian fancy dress is as far as I will ever go as far as ritual is concerned (I found Presbyterian services too stark on the other hand).

 I would prefer my church leaders to be married (to the opposite sex). Whilst doctrine is not something I concern myself with all that much if I had to vote I would prefer the Protestant mass and the Prtotestant's democratic hierarchy.

I have discovered a new, strikingly beautiful sweet shop but will make do with the plainer more homely  sweets I was raised with. On the other hand, in an odd sort of way, seeing the depth of Catholic's faith has uplifted and reinforced mine for which I am grateful.

Left Agrees;"Not ALL Women Should Be Front Line Troops Only "Matching" Women" (Calling Boadicea)

Yes, I actually saw that bow to common sense (in part of course) on a leftist website. Even the blinkered left can't ignore the reality of the physical differences between males and females. Where these "matching" in size and strength females are to be found I am not sure ( and frankly don't want to know either) but, "calling Boadicea, the tribe of Amazons and of course Joan of Arc."

Obviously  in a combat situation a man can carry a heavier load and has more physical endurance. In spite of leftist feminist wishes, Mother Nature created them that way.

In a combat situation where a wounded comrade needs rescuing under fire and to be carried bodily a long distance it is ludicrous, and potentially life threatening to both the rescued and the rescuer, to have a woman attempt to carry e.g. a 230 pound man.

As much as the feminists say that it is old fashioned and paternalistically "patriarchal" it is a very real possibility that a male may act differently in the face of a wounded female companion than if it were a male-again, to possibly both their detriment.

As for rape, kidnapping and bearing a rapist child, those too are very real possibilities-which I have discussed at length.

I note the radical left "Wonkette" has seen fit to ridicule opponents of having women in front line combat. I note they have not  addressed the very real and very dangerous situations outlined above. 

The editor, one Rebecca Schoenkopf, or "Commie girl" as she is self-styled, is never going to be (especially as a self-styled "big breasted Jewess") in the position of carrying a combat opponents child, nor bodily carry a 220 pound wounded man under fire. 

Rather Schoenkopf and the other radical leftists can, like her, pontificate and prescribe for the "sisterhood" from the comfort and ease of her Los Angeles office whilst women and men die needlessly and sacrificed 
on the altar of leftist feminism.

Women In Combat; "Rape" The Ultimate Challenge To Catholics

I was watching a documentary on the Congo and the wars to control the minerals used in cellphones. The mass killing, gross exploitation of the miners and the country as  whole, the vice and corruption, the terrible lack of basic facilities were inhumanities almost beyond comprehension.

What was beyond comprehension was the use of terror as a political and military tactic. This was used against women and children primarily. Children, if not killed outright, were dragooned into guerilla forces and forced to under go a harsh regime of training-in reality utter brutalization. Women,were subjected to the most reprehensible dehumanization possible.

The documentary, which was not a propaganda piece as the results of this deliberate program of cowing communities into submission was clearly visible without any commentary, interviewed women who, in their will to live and grow, provided the  only spark of humanity.

The "rebels' if they didn't kill women outright cut of their hands and raped them. The program visited an hospital which specialised in reconstructive surgery as many women also had their genital slashed and it was there that a significant problem which may well arise for American women in combat surfaced.

One woman was carrying a two year old child which was the result of her having been raped. She, the mother, was as positive for the future as could be expected under the circumstances-allowing for the fact of course that she was in the sanctuary of the hospital. The child was smiling, was well fed, physiacally perfect and appeared innocent of any circumstances surrounding its life. It could, if given the chance, lead a happy and successful life.

This situation could well arise for American servicewomen in a front-line combat situation. If, for example, a woman was taken captive in e.g. the Middle East and was raped and held in captivity for three or more months and then was rescued what would her attitude to the unborn child she was carrying? If she was a devout Catholic would she carry the child to full term or would she abort it?

If the child was passed the stage where an abortion was legal/practicable safe would she keep it or put it our for adoption?  If the latter case she would have to carry the mental and moral responsibility for her actions. That is not a judgement, it is a reality as in all these scenarios we are dealing with a life.

There have been many reasons advanced against having women serve in front line situations but the four letter word "rape" and its consequences, have not been raised or certainly addressed by those ultra-feminists who seem to want to push their barrow, no matter what the consequences might be for the  women involved and their unborn or born child subsequent to a rape, in a combat situation.

This might be a matter for the Catholic hierarchy to weigh in on now before the consequences of women in combat becomes a moral issues after the fact.

Leftist Meme: 'Dem's Won 3/4 Last Presidential Popular Votes" Is Hubris.GOP Won 12 Of 18 In Their Ascendency

One of the latest leftist meme's in their ongoing post election gloating (which will end shortly as all these things do in the ongoing election cycle) is that the GOP is finished because of demographics etc etc. 

They point to the Republicans losing the popular vote in three out of the last four elections as proof that the Republicans are forever a minority party of "old white men". 

We've been through this before of course, after the 2004 election Republicans were gloating that "we control everything  the presidency, both houses of Congress, a majority of governorships, and the Supreme Court. Four years later all that was reversed.

But to put the current 'three out of four losses" in perspective lets look at, courtesy of Wikipedia, the elections from 1860, when the Republicans first won the presidency, to the end of their first ascendency  in 1928. Of the 18 elections, in the popular vote totals the GOP won 12 to the Democrats only 6 (in the Electoral College the score was Republicans 14 Democrats 4). 

In point of fact it is more than possible that if it were not for Black voter suppression/Jim Crow laws the Republicans would have won the popular vote in 1876 and 1884 making the true margin 14 Republican popular vote wins to the Dem's 4.

Thus for the gloating Dem's to see another one of the mystical 'permanent-majority" scenarios ( enter the party of your choice) which have surfaced every time there is a big win for either party, is just the result of hubris.

1876	Rutherford Hayes	Republican	47.92%	−3.00%	4,034,142	−252,666	Samuel Tilden	Democratic
26	1888	Benjamin Harrison	Republican	47.80%	−0.83%	5,443,633	−94,530	Grover Cleveland	Democratic
24	1880	James Garfield	Republican	48.31%	0.09%	4,453,337	1,898	Winfield Scott Hancock	Democratic
25	1884	Grover Cleveland	Democratic	48.85%	0.57%	4,914,482	57,579	James Blaine	Republican
27	1892	Grover Cleveland	Democratic	46.02%	3.01%	5,553,898	363,099	Benjamin Harrison	Republican
33	1916	Woodrow Wilson	Democratic	49.24%	3.12%	9,126,868	578,140	Charles Evans Hughes	Republican
28	1896	William McKinley	Republican	51.02%	4.31%	7,112,138	601,331	William Jennings Bryan	Democratic
21	1868	Ulysses Grant	Republican	52.66%	5.32%	3,013,790	304,810	Horatio Seymour	Democratic
29	1900	William McKinley	Republican	51.64%	6.12%	7,228,864	857,932	William Jennings Bryan	Democratic
31	1908	William H. Taft	Republican	51.57%	8.53%	7,678,335	1,269,356	William Jennings Bryan	Democratic
20	1864	Abraham Lincoln	Republican	55.03%	10.08%	2,211,317	405,090	George McClellan	Democratic
19	1860	Abraham Lincoln	Republican	39.65%	10.13%	1,855,993	474,049	John Breckinridge	Democratic
22	1872	Ulysses Grant	Republican	55.58%	11.80%	3,597,439	763,729	Horace Greeley	Democratic
32	1912	Woodrow Wilson	Democratic	41.84%	14.44%	6,296,284	2,173,563	Theodore Roosevelt	Progressive
36	1928	Herbert Hoover	Republican	58.21%	17.41%	21,427,123	6,411,659	Al Smith	Democratic
30	1904	Theodore Roosevelt	Republican	56.42%	18.83%	7,630,557	2,546,677	Alton Brooks Parker	Democratic
4
35	1924	Calvin Coolidge	Republican	54.04%	25.22%	15,723,789	7,337,547	John Davis	Democratic
34	1920	Warren Harding	Republican	60.32%	26.17%	16,144,093	7,004,432	James Cox	Democratic