Ella Forel and Celia Homer
Known for their beautiful close vocal harmonies, Ella Forel and Celia Homer are sisters who are leaving a mark, or should we say a glow wherever they perform. Close harmony is an arrangement of the notes of chords within a narrow range, usually notes that are no more than an octave apart. Close harmony or voicing can refer to both instrumental and vocal arrangements. It can follow the standard voice-leading rules of classical harmony, as in string quartets or Bach’s Chorales, or proceed in parallel motion with the melody in 3rds or 6ths.
Celia Homer, Alto
Vocals/Bodhran
Ella Forel, Soprano
Vocals/Guitar
Impressionist composers like Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel often used close harmony in their works and other intervals, such as 7ths, 9ths, and 11ths may be used, since the chords have 4 or more notes and the harmonies are more complex. In jazz, this influence flowered in the works of George Gershwin and Duke Ellington.
Ella and Celia started singing together as early as the teen years, matching each other and singing to the radio. Normal American girls, they liked everything from folk to pop. The joy of their youth and the feeling of home formed the foundation for their unique duet.
As most siblings do, Ella and Celia grew up, and their lives went separate ways for many years. But in 2008, they found themselves together, and reignited the spark they once knew. It happened through a group called, The Christmas Revels. The rest is history still unfolding, while a new era of the joys of sisterhood has begun.
Ella and Celia have not only continued on with The Christmas Revels but are leaders in the community having joined the BOD of Revels Houston. The unstoppable sisters also share their gifts of song with Revelry, the outreach ensemble for Revels Houston, where Ella serves as accompanist on guitar, and Celia serves as percussionist.
In 2016, Ella and Celia partnered with Cehlena Solus and performed as The Wenches of Wylde Meade at a variety of venues around Houston, including Newman’s Castle, The White Swan, Last Concert Café, and Urban Harvest Farmers Market, utilizing intricate three-part harmony.
Since then, Ella and Celia have started singing as a duo again, most recently at Platypus Brewery as part of their Irish Nights, and recently as guests of Constant Billy at EQ Heights.