Irish born Fionnuala Sherry is the celebrated violinist, vocalist, and fairer side of the music duo Secret Garden, which she shares with equally gifted Norwegian composer and pianist Rolf Løvland. Together as a team the pair of music professionals are admired and loved by millions for their award winning melodies, some of which were performed by stars like Barbara Streisand, Josh Groban, and UK prominent artists Westlife.

Fionnuala Sherry herself arrives from a family of musicians who began her music career at an early age, and I can say with near certainty that it was not luck of the Irish or mere happenchance that she is presently one of the most popular musicians produced in modern day Ireland. After graduating with honors from the College of Music of Trinity College, she relocated in Dublin to continue her musical ambitions. During her tenure as a seasoned professional she remained a member of the RTE Concert Orchestra for 10 years. In addition she has performed with a broad range of top artists over the years, including The Chieftains, Sinead O’Connor, Van Morrison, Chris de Burgh and Bono of U2 fame, along with her role in several Hollywood film scores with the Irish Film Orchestra.

Songs From Before is as you can imagine, unique and personal by her wonderful expressions on violin with instrumental accompaniment, remaining true to character in regards to the fine melodies for which Fionnuala is famous. Her contemporary instrumental album highlights renditions on some of Ireland’s most beloved melodies, and some unreleased material. Given the modern theme which reproduces various songs made for the popular music standards of today, it brings us back to the lineage of her solo release.

Secret Garden is where Fionnuala shares a starring role with composing musician Rolf Løvland from Norway. Together their achievements run deep, having won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1985 and 1995 with sold out concert tour performances to multitudes of people worldwide. It is estimated they have sold well over 5 million albums as the music group Secret Garden, some of which were platinum or gold records, along with their recording status on the Billboard New Age charts.

Fionnuala Sherry breathes new life into the 10 songs which have been in the planning stages for years. Some born of Irish heritage, her contemporary revisions capture traditional moments with charm and charisma during a fine performance on an English John Edward Betts violin from the 1790 time period. The overall sound quality is rich and opulent, uplifting at one moment to deeply poignant in another. Descriptive words like elegant and graceful are often overused, but truly merited in this case. I felt every song has a melodic tenor of sophistication without being overly classical and beautiful in depth without a veiled shroud of mystery.

While fame and success as the fairer side of Secret Garden is a principal achievement which precedes her solo album, Fionnuala Sherry’s Songs From Before is an shining example for her all inclusive music heritage. The 10 pieces are a moving experience and inspirational beacon showing her in a new light. May the light continue to shine far and bright.

Visit fionnualasherry.com homepage and valley-entertainment.com music store for pre-orders, and Amazon.com or iTunes when officially released in June 2011. Visit Fionnuala and Rolf at their secretgarden.no homepage and music webshop page.

Cover art courtesy of fionnualasherry.com.

Fionnuala Sherry

But note that the album is available internationally on CD from this page!

Here is a presentation of the album from the press release:

One of Ireland’s most successful musicians, Fionnuala Sherry, releases her debut solo album. Entitled “Songs From Before” the album features an enchanting collection of some of Ireland’s most cherished and recognisable melodies. On the concept of the album Fionnuala says “for a long time I have wanted to record some of the beautiful traditional Irish songs that I grew up with. This year the dream became a reality”!

Following in the footsteps of her violinist grandfather, Fionnuala wanted to reflect the new and modern Ireland in her interpretation of some very old Irish airs including “An Cuilfhionn”, “My Lagan Love” and “Our Wedding Day”, also known as “She Moved Through The Fair”.

So far I have only been able to sample the clips on iTunes – but they tell me that this is a very promising release – and that Fionnuala Sherry is one of the most interesting artist today.

Thank you Jeff Wasserman for telling us about this release!

See information here, where you can also get tickets.

This CD has been in an embryonic state for many years and I was just waiting for the right moment to record it. There are many songs from my childhood featured in this CD as well as new previously unreleased material.

On this CD, Fionnuala has worked with the well known Norwegian composer/arranger Kjetil Bjerkestrand. Mr. Bjerkestrand says: “We are so looking forward to its release and very happy with where the magical journey of making this CD has taken us!”

More updates coming soon. See pictures from the studio here.