A mix of everything: The Celtic Tenors’ eclectic repertoire with harmony-driven music sung by classically trained voices

The Celtic Tenors (George Hutton, Daryl Simpson, Matthew Gilsenan)

The Celtic Tenors is an Irish trio comprising singers Matthew Gilsenan, George Hutton, and Daryl Simpson. Known for their signature harmony-rich style, they blend opera, classical, Irish traditional, and pop influences. The group was founded in 1999 and Matthew Gilsenan is the sole surviving founder member. Their live album The Celtic Tenors: Live at The Empire Theatre is out now on all major streaming platforms. I recently chatted Daryl Simpson to find out more.

Daryl describes their repertoire as ‘a mix of everything’, though he adds that over the years this has evolved and that in the early days they were more strictly classical crossover with an Irish/Celtic slant. He feels that they are more about harmony-driven music sung by classically trained voices, though they lighten things off for the more pop-influenced numbers. They sing music that inspires and moves them; if it doesn’t inspire them then the chances are it won’t inspire their audience either.

Their audience largely consists of those aged forty and above, but there are also families with three generations. Daryl points out that this is sometimes off the back of the trio having been in the business 25 years so that they attracted the grandparents first! They were founded in 1999 and Daryl celebrates 20 years with the group in June.

They perform around 70 to 80 concerts per year.
Currently, they are very busy in North America along with concert tours to Ireland and Europe. Pre-COVID they toured to Australia and New Zealand but the pandemic knock them off their cycle, and they are still reevaluating how to make such concert tours work. 

The new album arose because they recorded a show at The Empire Theatre in Belleville, Ontario, Canada for PBS. This was a TV special and off the back of it they made the live album. The TV show was released two months ago in the USA and Canada, and they have recently released a streaming version of the album. [See their website for details]

The programme features a lot of well-known songs including some not necessarily associated with the group. Coldplay’s Viva la vida is the sort of up-tempo pop number that they might not have performed in years gone by but for the album they’re bringing an Irish flavour to it with strong harmonies. Ed Sheeran’s Perfect Symphony receives what Daryl calls a classical crossover treatment. They sing it first in English and then in Italian which takes the song into a different zone, very much harmony driven. Guns and Roses’ Sweet Child of Mine is turned on its head and slowed down so that it is half Crosby Stills & Nash and half folksong with three-part harmony.

All three are trained tenors, but all three have other interests. Matthew is known for singing traditional Irish songs. George also comes from a strong Irish tradition and as well as his classical training sang in the Irish vocal ensemble Anúna with its close-harmony Irish songs. Daryl was a young artist at Zurich Opera. He was also drawn to piano driven jazz and contemporary music, but was keen not to muddy the water of his classical training. One of their challenges is knowing how to balance the need for classical technique with when to back off. Daryl adds that you don’t have to come at every song like Pavarotti.

The Celtic Tenors

When I chatted to Daryl the group was just back from a tour of the USA and Canada. Looking ahead, they are performing Ceili at the Castle, at Hillsborough Castle on 26 June. Hillsborough Castle, the official residence of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and the official residence in Northern Ireland of the British monarch, is also open as a working tourist attraction and they have recently allowed concerts. This year there is a three-night outdoor festival with the Celtic Tenors performing on the first night. Daryl comments that the surrounds are beautiful and that the group is looking forward to this new initiative, opening the venue to new things.