Before I joined the informal and unofficial club of boychoir music enthusiasts I had other musical passions. One of those interests was Irish music. There’s something about the language, the rhythms and the instruments that, maybe, awakens some ancestral memories.

That’s why I was so happy to finally get this 1999 CD titled Air by the Boys Air Choir. It combines the best of the two genres.

There are 11 songs on here, mostly with English lyrics with a bit of Gaelic tossed in for fun.

Silent, O Moyle is a poem written by Thomas Moore and here it’s sung by Andrew Johnson accompanied by a harp. It relates part of an old tale about children who were turned into swans and it sounds really sweet.

Sliabh Geal gCua is a classic poem by Padraig O Mileadha and is one of Ireland’s greatest songs of exile. Those special Boys Air Choir harmonies really get to shine on this one.

I think my favorite might be Shule Aroon, sung by Patrick Burrowes. It’s a foot tapping tune, very traditional sounding.

Dulaman also sounds very traditional and is faster paced.

The haunting song O magnum Mysterium is a responsorial chat from the Matins of Christmas.

All of the songs are great and I love that the music supports the voices without overpowering them as happens on some recordings by other choirs.

If you look at Amazon you probably will be surprised to see this album going for as much as $98, used. I opted for the $35 one. The price was one reason I held back for so long on ordering this but I suppose it isn’t going to get any cheaper. I should have invested in music CD’s instead of bank CD’s.