Loreena McKennitt - An Ancient Muse
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Free Music Notes for An Ancient Muse
Free Music Review: NOT More of the Same
Hit: 5 Stars
I've heard it said that An Ancient Muse is just "more of the same" from Loreena.
I say, that's ridiculous.
For years and years I listened to Eric Clapton play the notes of the blues. He could play the notes, yet it always seemed to me that he was missing the SOUL of the blues. But then his son died. And when I first heard Eric play Change the World a few years after that tragedy, I remember saying to myself, "Now THAT is the blues." Don't misunderstand me, I wouldn't wish that loss and pain on anybody, but that event profoundly affected Eric's heart and soul, and it showed in his music.
For somebody as sensitive as Loreena, how could the events of the past 7 seven years NOT pierce her to the core? The deaths of her fiancé and friends, and her travels through the conflict-torn Middle East.
Oh yes, this album is VERY different from her previous releases.
Her voice has never been more beautiful. And yet there is a restrained and plaintive quality to it that I have never heard before. Very different.
Also, I sense a more complete and somber maturity in An Ancient Muse than I sensed in her earlier work. Very different.
This is an extremely thoughtful and carefully crafted production. That much is not different from what we've come to expect from such an accomplished artist.
I have a playlist that I call Loreena's Power 15.
[In no particular order: The Mystic's Dream; All Souls' Night; Samhain Night; She Moved Through the Fair; The Mummer's Dance; Marco Polo; Skellig; Night Ride Across the Caucasus; Stolen Child; La Serenissima; Dante's Prayer; The Highwayman; Bonny Portmore; Bonny Swans (live version); The Old Ways (live version)]
Whenever I want to watch somebody who has never heard Loreena before, I play her Power 15 and watch their jaws drop in astonishment. Heh.
Will any songs from An Ancient Muse take a place as a member of the Power 15? I honestly can't say today. I can't say because the songs from An Ancient Muse are so DIFFERENT.
I believe, though, that Caravanserai, The English Ladye and the Knight, Kecharitomene, Beneath a Phrygian Sky, Penelope's Song, and Never-Ending Road are all definite candidates. Gosh, that's most of the songs on the entire album isn't it?
I think it was Martin Luther King who said something like, "We must learn to live as brothers or we'll all die together as fools." When I listen to Loreena sing Beneath a Phrygian Sky, I am deeply reminded of MLK's words.
There is only ONE reason that I am not giving this album Five Stars (well, I WANT to give it 4.5 stars, but since Amazon forces me to choose between 4 and 5, then I choose 5). I feel an anguish in this album that I have never felt before from Loreena (very different). [Just listen to those last notes of the bagpipes in Never-Ending Road.] And that anguish troubles me.
Free Music Review: Loreena is back!
Hit: 5 Stars
The wait was really long, but "An Ancient Muse" is definitely worth buying & listening. Almost an hour of perfect music: what more can you ask? Loreena goes more "political" here: songs like "Caravanserai", "The English Ladye And The Night" and "Beneath A Phrygian Sky" demonstrate that Loreena hopes for integration, peace and protection of diversity. "There's much more to bind us than to tear us apart", she writes in the introduction to the album contained in the booklet; "An Ancient Muse" is a hymn to the power of love and a desperate cry, calling out for peace and asking all humanity to raise up for that.
"Incantation": great opening track, it brings you straight to the atmosphere of the whole album. It reminds me of the old times, somehow it sounds as "violent" as "Blacksmith" from "Elemental".
"The Gates Of Istanbul": the intro is very very fine, but when Loreena starts singing it's even better. Maybe it's just a little too long, but the closing part of the song with Loreena singing "na na na ni na...." is wonderful .
"Caravanserai": absolutely great intro. Absolutely great track. Well chosen as the first single.
"The English Ladye And The Knight": the boys choir is a most successful choice, and the strings are most touching. And, it goes without saying, Loreena's voice is more perfect than ever. The lyrics are stunning, it reminds me of "The Lady Of Shalott". Sir Walter Scott would be delighted, I think.
"Kecharitomene": my least favourite on the album (up to now). I have to listen to it some more times; it has not impressed me as the other tracks (up to now). The crescendo is fine, but I find it a little too repetitive. The inspiration behind this track is one of the best on the album, though.
"Penelope's Song": the theme of steadfast love is set out better than in "The Highwayman". I love it when Loreena says "And in the night when our dreams are still...". Her voice in this track is kind of magic.
"Sacred Shabbat": I like this song much more than "Kecharitomene", talking about instrumentals. It's sort of "tango".
"Beneath A Phrygian Sky": this one deserves to be a single (maybe the second single after "Caravanserai"?). Loreena goes "political": I like it. The lyrics and the liner notes are full of wisdom.
"Never-ending Road (Amhràn Duit)": this is the most heartfelt track on the album, and one of the most heartfelt ever! Loreena's high notes are more moving than ever, but lower notes are stunning as well. The closing part of the song, and of the album, is well conceived: it says "it's over, the muse has shut up shop", if you allow me to use this sharp metaphor.
"The Visit" is hard to beat, it will always be my favourite album; however, "An Ancient Muse" is now close second: it's surely better than "The Book Of Secrets", which already was a magnificent work.
Free Music Review: Return of the "muse"
Hit: 5 Stars
After the death of her fiance, Loreena McKennitt went into retirement for several years. But when she returned, she came back in a big way -- "An Ancient Muse," a haunting little album filled with Middle-Eastern grandeur and Celtic bittersweet beauty. In other words, McKennitt picked up where she left off, and the years have not dulled the richness of her music.
In a way, the album feels like it follows a day all across Europe and the Middle East. It begins with "Incantation," a slow sunrise of a song filled with murmuring vocals and dark sweeps of strings, before segueing into the lazy half-lit twangs and angles of "The Gates of Istanbul" and the peppy sand-swept ballad of "Caravanserai."
Then McKennitt moves into colder climates with the wistful, string-soaked ballad "The English Ladye and The Knight" (all about a lady in love with a Scottish knight -- cue tragedy), the swirling "Kecharitomene" and the painfully lovely "Penelope's Song." With the final leg of the album, she drifts into the twangy Eastern European flavors of "Sacred Shabbat," the lush twilight tones of "Beneath a Phrygian Sky," and finishing with the soft lulling beauty of "Never-Ending Road (Amhrán Duit)."
"An Ancient Muse" is only nine songs long, but it's one of those albums that feels like a full meal once you've finished it. There are a couple songs that aren't quite brilliant all the time ("Sacred Shabbat" just didn't grab me), but overall McKennit picks up where she left off in the late nineties -- lush multi-instrumental music laced with angelic vocals, flavored with the mystical.
Her music brims over with silky strings, piano, guitar, keyboards, harp, angular accordion and earthy drums, as well as more exotic instruments like the bouzouki, the oud, the Turkish clarinet, the tabla and the lyra. And she evokes some truly spellbinding music with those instruments -- she can bring to life misty forests, Turkish marketplaces, colorful nighttime dances, and stately medieval processions. Although, I heard hints of "The Mummer's Dance" in a couple of the melodies.
Her voice is also incredibly lovely, rich and angelic in all the songs she sings in. Her lyrics are similarly rich -- she seems to make nature itself into a light-filled temple ("The sand was shimmering in the morning light/And dancing off the dunes so far away"), even as she often sings of yearning and lost love ("And in the night when our dreams are still/Or when the wind calls free/I'll keep your heart with mine/Till you come to me").
It took many years for Loreena McKennitt to make a full return to musicmaking, and "The Ancient Muse" is a short but good reminder of why she was worth waiting for. Not quite perfect, but close enough.
Free Music Review: "Muse" is perfectly apt for McKennitt
Hit: 5 Stars
It was during a morning acoustic radio program that I heard a portion of "The English Ladye and the Knight." I was instantly taken with the song. After hearing the artist was Loreena McKennitt, I quickly searched for her on Amazon. Upon finding "An Ancient Muse," I was captivated by the deep hues of blue and the soft glows of orange on the album cover. Though I was unable to listen to the samples, I immediately decided to order the CD. After the first and now many listens later, I absolutely adore this recording.
The songs are epic and sweeping in nature. While listening, one is transported to another time and place. There is a dramatic and literary quality to her lyrics and music. One can easily envision her songs accompanying an epic motion picture. They tap depths of feeling and emotion. Her voice is quite remarkable. There is a sense of deep wisdom and maturity. There is a humanity and universality within. I do not know how the mere sound of a voice could convey such things, but it does. Fittingly, the music is organic. It sounds real and vibrant compared to a lot of the synthetic music that might be associated with this genre. I do not recognize fully half of the instruments in use, but they sound wonderful. Her voice and the music blend beautifully. It is something special to behold.
Additionally, there is a cultural infusion in her songs that I have experienced nowhere else. Arabic, Jewish, Celtic; the influences are vast. She is obviously well-read and traveled. There is a scholarly air to her writing and speech. There is a real depth to her.
Whereas I love the entire album, three tracks stand out above all others. "The Gates of Istanbul" is my favorite. The organic instrumentation, the beat; it is hypnotic. I feel transported to a scene from Arabian nights with desert sand and vibrant tents. "Penelope's Song" is just gorgeous. It is an epic love song (written from Odysseus' wife's viewpoint as she awaits his return). Finally, "Never-Ending Road" is simply beautiful. It has a Scottish or Celtic feel. I would truly feel a loss if these songs were somehow no longer part of my musical library.
I heartily recommend "An Ancient Muse", as well as her two previous recordings, "The Mask and Mirror", and "The Book of Secrets." Those two albums share the qualities of this most recent. Her earliest recordings lean much more heavily to the Celtic influence with harp and minimalist accompaniment. If that is your preference, she does it better than anyone.
If you enjoy this style of music, I know of no artist who does it any better.
Free Music Review: Haunting and beautiful
Hit: 5 Stars
I came across Loreena McKennitt when I bought "Celtic Chillout" which featured "The Mummer's Dance". It took me to "The Book Of Secrets", which drove me to her other albums - both studio and live. As I continue to discover her development from her more folk-orientated music to what would now be described as World Music (if we must use categories!), my love of her music grows, to the point where I have had a real longing for the release of this album.
I was not immediately certain about the music I heard until I had listened to it four or five times but, now, I can't get enough of it. Such is her ability to enchant, captivate or charm me that, amongst all the large amounts of music I listen to, I keep coming back to Loreena.
The thing about her is that it is not just an album but a magical mystery lesson in history, set to music. You buy the whole package including her immersion in the research which goes into the making of the album and the story of the journeys she makes.
Once the research is done, it seems that the knowledge her fantastic mind has gained is used to piece together a travelogue which sends the listener on a similar journey to which the artist has been on. This is, I guess, what she sets out to do - and she succeeds wonderfully.
For this album, she has brought together a brilliant set of musicians - Brian Hughes, Hugh Marsh, Caroline Lavelle, Rick Lazar and Donald Quan - to name five and who have featured on previous albums.
So what we have is such a fantastic album that I can't stop playing it. Loreena's singing is sensational and with such clarity that she you can hear every word. Add the aforementioned musicians and nine gorgeous tracks - my personal favourites are "Beneath A Phrygian Sky" and "Penelope's Song", but all are brilliant - and you have a fantastic album which will be among my all-time favourites for a long time.
Incidentally, she has recently finished tours of Europe and Canada + the US. Her only English concert was in London's Barbican Theatre and she and her fellow musicians were simply fantastic. Fans should look out for a 2xCD/1xDVD box set of the concert she performed in September 2006 at the Alhambra in Granada, Spain, which was on sale at her concert venues - it is brilliant.
So, this relatively new fan has fallen in love with Loreena McKennitt's music and I strongly recommend that if you have a vague interest in her music, but the album and you will not be disappointed - it is a hauntingly, beautiful collection of music from a brilliantly talented artist.