What do you get when you cross one of the world’s most loved tunes with a supergroup of talented Celtic singers? A stunning performance that is approaching 100 million views on YouTube.
Celtic Woman sang the classic melody to a live theatre back in 2009 and the performance was so moving it is one of the most popular recordings of the song on the internet.
Amazing Grace is a much-loved song the world over, thanks to its beautiful melody and moving lyrics.
It is commonly sung at New Year’s Day celebrations and is also strongly associated with the Christian religions.
There is no doubting that Amazing Grace is an iconic song, but it has a fascinating origin story that many may not know.
The lyrics were written in 1773 by an English priest named John Newton. He was a former sailor involved in the slave trade but underwent a life-changing moment when his ship got caught up in a storm off the coast of Donegal and nearly sank.
Fearing for his own life and that of those on board, Newton asked God for help and incredibly a cargo bag came loose and plugged the hole in the ship to stop it sinking.
The moment had a huge effect on Newton who became a priest and began working towards the abolition of slavery.
He first performed the lyrics to Amazing Grace as a spoken sermon, under the title Faith’s Review and Expectation.
The words were such a hit that more than 20 musicians tried to add music to them, but it took 60 years for the iconic melody we all know and love to create the song we have today.
It was an American Baptist leader named William Walker, or Singin’ Billy to his followers, who wrote the melody and added it to Newton’s words.
It was an immediate hit and quickly spread across America and beyond. It was a popular song in gospel choirs up until the 1960s when mainstream musicians also began recording it. So Celtic Woman had some pressure on them to do the song justice but they excelled as always and performed a moving and poignant rendition.
Accompanied by Scottish bagpiper and a classical orchestra, the ladies sing and harmonise beautifully to take away from their audience.
The result is a wonderful rendition of one of the world’s most loved songs performed by talented singers and musicians. No wonder it is doing so well online.
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