Secret Garden is an Irish- Norwegian band specialised in new instrumental music, led by the duo consisting of Irish violinist and singer

Fionnuala Sherry Fionnuala Sherry (born 20 September 1962) is an Irish violinist and vocalist. Together with Norwegian musician Rolf Løvland, she makes up the Celtic-Nordic group Secret Garden, which won the Eurovision Song Contest 1995 with the predominantly ...

and Norwegian composer, arranger and pianist

Rolf Løvland Rolf Undsæt Løvland (born 19 April 1955) is a Norwegian composer, lyricist, arranger, and pianist. Together with Fionnuala Sherry, he formed the Celtic-Nordic group Secret Garden, in which he was the composer, producer, and keyboardist. He be ...

. The group came to fame when they won the

1995 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 1995 was the 40th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 13 May 1995 at the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (RTÉ) and presented by ...

, representing Norway with the composition " Nocturne". In the course of a partnership lasting over 25 years, they have sold millions of albums worldwide, many of which went platinum in numerous countries.

History

Eurovision Song Contest

The group won the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

for Norway's second time in 1995 with the composition " Nocturne". It was the only time that a predominantly instrumental piece has won the Eurovision Song Contest, although a few Norwegian lyrics, written by screenwriter Petter Skavlan, were included to ensure that the entry adhered to the contest's rules. Norwegian singer Gunnhild Tvinnereim sang the song in the Eurovision Song Contest, with Hans Fredrik Jacobsen on penny whistle and Swedish nyckelharpist

Åsa Jinder Åsa Tindra Jinder (born 9 October 1963 in Upplands Väsby, Stockholm County, Sweden is a Swedish nyckelharpa player, composer, producer, songwriter, author and lecturer. She has scored album chart successes in Sweden. She lives in Stockholm. 20 ...

guesting on the occasion, although none of them are regular members of the group. Ten years earlier, Rolf Løvland wrote the song " La det swinge" (Let it swing) that secured

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

its first Eurovision Song Contest victory in 1985.

Debut album

Their success at Eurovision spearheaded the success of their first album ''

Songs from a Secret Garden ''Songs from a Secret Garden'' is the first international album by Secret Garden. Released in 1996, it includes the Norwegian winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1995, " Nocturne". Reception The Allmusic reviewer Carol Wright awar ...

''. It sold a million copies around the world going platinum in Norway and Korea, gold in Ireland,

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

and New Zealand and spending two years in the Billboard

new-age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...

charts in 1996 and 1997.

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

adapted "Heartstrings" from this album as the song "I've Dreamed of You" on her '' A Love Like Ours'' album. She also used "Heartstrings" in her wedding to

James Brolin James Brolin (, born Craig Kenneth Bruderlin; July 18, 1940) is an American actor. Brolin has won two Golden Globes and an Emmy. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 27, 1998. He is the father of actor Josh Brolin. He ...

Further albums

Their sophomore album '' White Stones'' followed in 1997, and also made the top ten on Billboard New Age charts. ''

Dawn of a New Century ''Dawn of a New Century'' (released 20 April 1999 by Universal Music, Norway – 546 120-2 / Philips) is the third album by Irish-Norwegian duo Secret Garden, released by Philips Records in 1999. Capercaillie's frontwoman Karen Matheson perfo ...

'' was released in 1999 as their third studio album, and again featured lyrics by Norway's Petter Skavlan. Their 2001 studio album ''

Once in a Red Moon ''Once in a Red Moon'' (released 2001 by Universal Music – 548 678-2) is the fourth studio album by Secret Garden, excluding the compilation album ''Dreamcatcher'', a Best Of. The second track, "You Raise Me Up", has since been recorded by mo ...

'' also enjoyed success around the world, including reaching Billboard's

top ten. A compilation album, '' Dreamcatcher'', was released in 2000. Secret Garden released a ''Dreamcatcher: Best Of'' album for its tour through Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

in 2004, and this reached the top of the Australian New Age charts and the ARIA top 50 album charts. After several other albums, they released their tenth album, ''Storyteller'', in 2019.

Notable songs

Secret Garden's most famous song "

You Raise Me Up "You Raise Me Up" is a song originally composed by the Norwegian-Irish duo Secret Garden. The music was written by Secret Garden's Rolf Løvland, and the lyrics by Brendan Graham. After the song was performed early in 2002 by the Secret Garden ...

", originally performed by Johnny Logan and Brian Kennedy, has been recorded by more than a hundred other artists including

Josh Groban Joshua Winslow Groban (born February 27, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States, wi ...

, Russell Watson,

Westlife Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporar ...

, Sissel Kyrkjebø, Becky Taylor,

Celtic Woman Celtic Woman is an all-female Irish musical ensemble conceived and created by David Kavanagh, Sharon Browne and David Downes, a former musical director of the Irish stage show ''Riverdance.'' In 2004, Downes recruited five Irish female music ...

, Lena Park, Robert Tremlett,

Il Divo Il Divo (; ) are a multi-national classical crossover vocal group. The male quartet, which originated in the United Kingdom in December 2003, consists of tenors Urs Bühler, David Miller, and Sébastien Izambard. It also included baritone ...

, Rhydian, and

Sergio Dalma Josep Sergi Capdevila Querol (born 28 September 1964), professionally known as Sergio Dalma, is a Spanish singer. He is one of Spain's best-selling recording artists, having topped Spain's official Productores de Música de España national alb ...

. " Nocturne" won the 1995

. Their piece "Adagio", with a

cor anglais The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn in North America, is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially an al ...

solo, was used in the

Wong Kar-wai Wong Kar-wai (born 17 July 1958) is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films are characterised by nonlinear narratives, atmospheric music, and vivid cinematography involving bold, saturated colours. A pivotal figure ...

film

2046 In contemporary history, the third millennium of the anno Domini or Common Era in the Gregorian calendar is the current millennium spanning the years 2001 to 3000 (21st to 30th centuries). Ongoing futures studies seek to understand what is l ...

which was released in 2004.

Autobiographical book

In 2015, Secret Garden published a book titled ''You Raise Me Up: The Story of Secret Garden'' co-written by Rolf Løvland with Fionnuala Sherry. The book tells their story of their triumphs as well as the trials and tribulations they endured along two decades.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

External links

*
Official YouTube channel

References

{{Authority control Irish folk musical groups Norwegian folk musical groups Eurovision Song Contest winners Celtic music groups Melodi Grand Prix contestants New-age music groups Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Norway Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1995 Melodi Grand Prix winners Male–female musical duos Irish musical duos Norwegian musical duos