By Ashley Taylor

Irish singer and harpist Orla Fallon, known as an original member of the Irish band, Celtic Woman, will perform songs from her new CD, “My Land,” at the Somerville Theatre Saturday at 8 p.m.  Fallon described the music in the show:  “We do some American hymns, like ‘I’ll Fly Away’ and ‘Down To The River To Pray,’ but it’s very Celtic centered, as well, so it’s a lovely mixture of Celtic music with a few American treasures thrown in.”

Fallon, who lives in Ireland, is touring 17 cities in the Northeastern US this April and May. She will be back again in August to complete her US tour.  Touring with her is the Nashville folk band, Tin Cup Gypsy.

Since starting her solo career, in 2008, Fallon has been releasing CD’s in conjunction with Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) television specials.  “Orla Fallon’s Celtic Christmas” aired on PBS and was released as a CD this past December, and “My Land,” Fallon’s second solo recording, is on PBS stations now.

In the past, Fallon sang with Anuna, the Irish National Choir and the original choir for the show, Riverdance.  From 2004 to 2008, she sang with Celtic Woman, which did several PBS specials and whose albums were #1 hits on the Billboard magazine’s World Music charts, with the album “The Greatest Journey:  Essential Collection” staying on the chart for 68 weeks.

In YouTube videos, Fallon’s voice is clear, high, and without vibrato, and she savors long, gentle unwavering notes over the plinking of her harp—unwavering until one note moves to the next, often with some kind of turn connecting the two.  That’s a musical description of Celtic music.

“Irish and Celtic music are really one and the same,” Fallon said.  “Being Irish, I am a Celtic person. Ireland is one of the Celtic countries of the world.”  The Celtic “countries” are regions of Europe where people speak what are known as Celtic languages, which may be countries, such as Ireland, where the Celtic language is Gaelic, or regions, such as Cornwall, England (Cornish), and Brittany, France (Breton).

Unlike many Irish people, who only learn Gaelic at school, Fallon grew up speaking the language at home.  “My mother grew up in a Gaelic-speaking area, so I grew up speaking Gaelic with her and with my grandparents…My family gave me a great love of the language.”  The name Orla means golden princess in Gaelic, Fallon said.

“Yes, there’s a lot of Gaelic in the show,” Fallon said.  “And I even taught the American musicians some Gaelic songs, and they’re doing great.”

Seats in the upper balcony are $26, and $36 for the lower balcony and ground floor.