Brennan grew up as the eldest in a very musical family in a remote parish in the northwest of Ireland, a place where the Irish language and tradition was and still is very much alive. She sang along with her siblings in the family pub, Leo's Tavern. She also took part in many pantomimes in Amharclann Ghaoth Dobhair, the local theatre, usually dancing and singing.
It was during 1970 that she joined her two brothers Pól and Ciarán and their mother's two twin brothers Noel and Pádraig Ó Dúgáin and eventually formed Clannad. After enjoying a decade of being the world's foremost traditional Irish act, they graduated to chart success in 1982 with the album Magical Ring. Moya Brennan was at the forefront of the group's success and her voice suddenly became synonymous with celtic music and Irish music at the time. She has recorded 17 albums with Clannad and has won a Grammy, a BAFTA and an Ivor Novello award with the quintet.
Moya Brennan released her first solo album in 1992, Máire, on Atlantic Records. Misty Eyed Adventures on BGM followed three years later. In 1998, Brennan signed with Word Records and released Perfect Time, and Whisper To The Wild Water a year later. The album was nominated in the Grammy Awards of 2001 for Best New Age Album. Her music is usually classified as New Age or Celtic. She accepts the Celtic label, but has at times indicated a slight discomfort with being seen as "New Age" as much of her music is strongly Christian, with several of her songs centering on maintaining a relationship with Jesus Christ. Some of her songs show influences from her Catholic upbringing or seem relational due to her own views concerning the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In total Brennan has recorded 25 albums, and has sold over 20 million records. Since 2002, she has promoted herself as Moya Brennan — a spelling closely resembling the phonetic pronunciation of her name for those not familiar with the Irish variant of the spelling.
Brennan, along with Clannad, are considered as the inventors of contemporary celtic music and are held in high esteem for their vast contribution to modernizing old Irish songs. It is Brennan's haunting voice that has left the most lasting legacy, it has become synonymic with Clannad's work and with Irish music in general. Her ethereal vocalization is considered the archetypal sound of Ireland and strains of her style have been acquired in the soundtracks to Titanic and Riverdance. Brennan is also famous for her harp playing, she has featured it on many Clannad records and her album Two Horizons is based on the discovery of the harp.
Moya is also a member of Irish traditional group, T with the Ms.
Joy to the World
Moya Brennan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing and heaven and nature sing
And Heaven and heaven and nature sing
Joy to the world the Savior reigns
Let men their songs employ
Repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy
He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love and wonders of His love
And wonders and wonders of His love
Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing and heaven and nature sing
And Heaven and heaven and nature sing
The lyrics to Moya Brennan's "Joy to the World" are a celebration of the coming of the Lord, and an invitation to prepare one's heart to receive Him. The opening lines of the song, "Joy to the world, the Lord is come, Let earth receive her King", serve as an exclamation of the joy and excitement that the occasion brings. The following line, "Let every heart prepare Him room", is a call to action for people to make room in their hearts and minds for the arrival of the Lord. This is followed by the repetition of "And heaven and nature sing", which highlights the joyful mood and atmosphere that permeates the occasion.
The second verse of the song continues the celebration, this time focusing on the Savior's reign. It encourages people to use their voices to express their happiness and gratitude about the occasion, "Let men their songs employ". The next line, "While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains, repeat the sounding joy", implies that the joy of the occasion is not limited to human beings but extends to all of nature. The verse ends with the repetition of "Repeat, repeat the sounding joy", a call to continue the celebration and spread the joy throughout the land.
The final verse of the song speaks to the impact of the Lord's arrival. It suggests that He rules the world with truth and grace, and His presence makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love. The verse ends with the repetition of "And wonders and wonders of His love", a testament to the infinite love of the Lord.
Line by Line Meaning
Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let us rejoice because Jesus Christ, who is our Lord, has arrived
Let earth receive her King
Let the whole world welcome Jesus Christ as their King
Let every heart prepare Him room
Let us make a space in our hearts for Jesus Christ
And heaven and nature sing and heaven and nature sing
Both heaven and nature celebrate the coming of Jesus Christ
Joy to the world the Savior reigns
Let us be thrilled because our Savior, Jesus Christ, is in charge
Let men their songs employ
Let people sing songs of praise for Jesus Christ
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
All elements of nature- from fields to floods to rocks, hills, and plains- are joining in the celebration
Repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy
Let us keep singing and rejoicing in Jesus Christ
He rules the world with truth and grace
Jesus Christ governs the world with both truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
Jesus Christ makes the nations demonstrate the glory of His righteousness
The glories of His righteousness
The reputation of Jesus Christ's righteousness is magnificent
And wonders of His love and wonders of His love
The wonders of Jesus Christ's love are endless
And wonders and wonders of His love
There are infinite wonders to discover about Jesus Christ's love
Joy to the world, the Lord is come
It is a time for rejoicing because Jesus Christ, our Lord, has come
Let earth receive her King
Let the whole world open their hearts to welcome Jesus Christ as their King
Let every heart prepare Him room
Let us make a space in our hearts for Jesus Christ
And heaven and nature sing and heaven and nature sing
Both heaven and nature celebrate the coming of Jesus Christ
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BRIAN SCOTT BENNETT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
SHAYDJ08
lovely voice great singer moya rocks
Edanargu
love music!! she's awesome
sonho1234
I love it!!
camposi
thank you moya for this phantastic Version ... and thanks G.F, Handel for writing this Piece!
noodle3681
Fantastic video Tim! Hope this is the first in a long line of Moya's videos we get to see ;) noodle/Barry
Roman
... a Angelsong , absolut very nice , love it ...
DavidePV
Fantastic.
Tara Wills
she is the best11! i won even compare she is the older sister she has the authenticity and experience and also one of the mst beautiful voices in the celtic world and more1!11 Nollaig shona
DavidePV
I'm been playing since 6 years and want to continue.
sonho1234
@onfirecelt I like them both, they're both different and great in their own way