| Áine Minogue | |
| Birth Date: | 1977 5, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Borrisokane, County Tipperary, Ireland |
| Instrument: | Harp, vocals |
| Years Active: | 1994–present |
| Label: | RCA Victor, BMG, Sounds True |
| Associated Acts: | Seán Ó Sé, Johnny Cunningham, Séamus Connolly, Séamus Egan[1] |
Áine Minogue (born 27 May 1977, Borrisokane, County Tipperary) is an Irish harpist, singer, arranger, and composer, now living in the Boston area.[2] She has recorded thirteen solo albums in styles generally categorized as Celtic, world, folk, spiritual, and new age.
Áine Minogue was born in Ireland to a family of ten, which often played and sang at traditional Irish events such as fleadhs and Hunting the Wren.[3] She was 12 when she started playing the Irish harp at a boarding school in Galway. Minogue became a harpist at Bunratty Castle in County Clare. She obtained a Master's Degree in Traditional Irish Harp Performance from the University of Limerick.[4] She moved to Boston in 1990.[5]
Minogue's debut album, Were You at the Rock, consisted of traditional dance and concert pieces.[6]
Mysts of Time (1996) was a mix of traditional tunes and original songs, with mostly Gaelic lyrics. It was seen as belonging to the Irish wave of New Age/Celtic fusion and associated with the sound of Enya. Her voice was described as "fragile, lilting... like a gently windblown satin sheet."[7] To Warm the Winter's Night (1996) was a popular collection of Celtic and English midwinter and Christmas music.[8]
Circle of the Sun (1998) was a musical journey through the seasons with a focus on the four Celtic calendar festivals of Lughnasadh, Samhain, Imbolc, and Beltane.[9] She mixed her own Celtic harp with guitars, cellos, fiddles, flutes, and bodhráns, but also folk instruments from other traditions such as didgeridoo and djembe.[10] Celtic Lamentations (2005) explored how ancient people used music to mourn.[11] It won Zone Music Reporter's Best Celtic Album award.[12]
A Winter's Journey, a CatholicTV Christmas special produced by Minogue where she plays Celtic music with her friends in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston, was nominated for a New England Emmy Award.[13]
| Year | Title[14] | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Were You at the Rock | Beacon Records |
| 1996 | Mysts of Time | North Star Music |
| To Warm Winter's Night | Evergreen Music Recordings / Music Design | |
| 1997 | Between the Worlds | RCA Victor / RCA |
| 1998 | Circle of the Sun | RCA |
| 1999 | Vow: An Irish Wedding Celebration | North Star Music |
| 2004 | Twilight Realm | Little Miller Music |
| Celtic Meditation Music | Gemini Sun / Sounds True | |
| 2005 | Celtic Lamentations | |
| 2008 | Celtic Pilgrimage | |
| 2012 | Close Your Eyes, Love: Lullabies of the Celtic Lands | CD Baby |
| 2014 | Winter a Meditation | Self-published |
| 2017 | In the Name of Stillness | Little Miller Music |