Loreena McKennitt - An Ancient Muse
|
List Price: Our Price: $14.89 You Save: $4.09 (22%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $4.93 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for An Ancient Muse
Free Music Review: Another Flower from Her Musical Garden
Hit: 5 Stars
In this very humble devotee's opinion, Loreena McKennitt could sing "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall" and it would sound as if inspired by a great poet of yore, sung by the priestess of a mystic goddess. Needless to say, all of her CDs receive my highest rating. The only difference between them in my estimation is that one or the other my have certain all time favorite songs or poems--and ALL of them feature a lot of those.
McKennitt continues her exploration of Middle Eastern musical phrasing, so wonderful & prominent in NIGHTS FROM THE ALLHAMBRA.
Another element that really shines out in this CD is the superlative quality of the accompanying instrumental composition & musicians. "Kecharitomene" is a powerful non-vocal composition & performance. It's really great to hear the hurdy gurdy played on many of the pieces. I can't single out any performer because they all sounded wonderful. Also, there were some instruments I wasn't familiar with--and synthesizing made identification difficult at some points. The lead instrument in the "Caravanserai" selection sounded like a violin. was SO GOOD. In fact, it reflected a very pleasant overall romantic feel to this CD.
"Caravanserai" bestows "the gift of tears" (at least for me) and beckons like a ray of light in this very sad world. This lovely song can be heard as a musical prologue to the next song The English Ladye and The Knights, with its Palestrina like choral intro and conclusion.
"Kecharitomene" is a powerful non-vocal composition & incredible performance.
Nights from the Alhambra - (Jewel 2 CD + DVD)
The Book of Secrets
The Mask and Mirror
The Visit
Elemental
Parallel Dreams
Free Music Review: Loreena/Joanna for all people
Hit: 5 Stars
I've not been lucky enough yet to be in the same space with Ms. Mckennitt, so I'm eagerly awaiting the virtual nights at the Alhambra, via PBS.
She is unquestionably an original mind, a magnificent writer and certainly one of the crucial interpreters of world music on the planet. Each of her offerings has been a course in world history for those of us who choose to follow her threads, and work out the tapestry.
I'm troubled, though, by the advent onto the scene of a young woman who must be.....should be.....could be....Loreena's daughter? I'm referring to Joanna Newsom, and perhaps you're all familiar with her, but I just came across her work 'YS' about a month ago.
Encapsulated, YS is a peculiar, disturbed, inward, magnificent, stunning work. It affects me in a troubling way, because I feel this young woman might be in over her head, though her lyrics show an immersion in and a mastery of influences; some of the same ones that Loreena has found as inspiration. Both artists seem so related, or linked, both musically and physically (by thier images), that I'm having trouble sorting it all out. Loreena is confident traveling the world. Joanna still seems to be in the (albeit perfectly appointed) schoolroom. Both of them always want (and all deities bless this urge) to "go outside".
If they haven't met yet, they need to. If they haven't performed together, they must consider the possibility. Loreena is not only a scholar, but (as I said) an incomparable...voice..interpreter?....for "the old ways". Imagine Loreena mentoring Joanna. Or the other way around? As mothers and daughters do. The whole scenario makes all my little hairs stand up!!!
'The Ancient Muse' is of course my major holiday gift for all my friends, no matter of what persuasion or origin. Just as an aside, if there is anyone out there who has not yet read David Abram's 'The Spell of the Sensuous', you'd better. It's not a new book, but it's fast becoming a classic.
Surely I'm fantasizing, because I don't know about or follow anything of Ms. Kennitt's personal life....all I wait for is her next artistic effort, and I am in bliss with "An Ancient Muse".
Free Music Review: An auditory journey for lovers of all kinds of music...
Hit: 5 Stars
I'm a fan of all kinds of music - rock, rap, country, anything - but I also appreciate artists like Enigma, Sarah McLachlan, and Enya as well as Classical music and other stuff off the beaten path. I've heard "The Mummers Dance" on the radio and in the movie "Ever After" a long time ago, but haven't heard anything else from Loreena since then.
So, on a whim I bought this CD along with a few of her others just to try it out, and... I just can't stop listening to it! Out the 700-some CD's I own, THIS ONE... this one is a masterpiece, and has become an unlikely favorite for a rocker like me.
AMAZING instrumentation, lyricism, and harmonic quality just completely saturate every track. Loreena's voice is so perfectly in tune, and so effortlessly beautiful, so unique. Each track of this thematic album links together a story that takes place in ancient Persia that is so poetic, inspiring, and peaceful to hear in the form of a song. Her blend of instruments has matured since her first albums, and has arrived at a diverse harmony of both new and old style sounds that you just cannot hear anywhere else. While a departure from her lovely, melodic Celtic music, it's written to be very technically perfect and yet it comes together so naturally that you don't realize how appealing and relaxing it is at first.
Toward the end of the CD, before the d'enouement of the story, "Beneath a Phrygian Sky" will leave you stunned and wanting more. The seemingly random assortment of intstruments become made for each other and chime in against a rhythmic beat, as she brings you into a moving vision she has on a desert night. The poetry of the song will sweep you off your feet, and the cellist will bring tears to your eyes and send shivers up your spine. If there was ever such a thing as a "perfect" song, this is it. And, for me, that's saying something, especially for music that's completely outside of my normal range of listening.
Yes, it is that good. It's like nothing I've ever heard, and I love it. And, regardless of what you normally listen to, you will like it too. If you're interested enough to read the reviews and you're teetering...
BUY IT. RIGHT NOW.
Free Music Review: The Musical Vistas of Loreena McKennitt
Hit: 5 Stars
AN ANCIENT MUSE. Just the title seems to suggest songs celebrating the past. Fans have waited a decade for this album, myself included. Many reviewers will tell you it falls short of expectations or explores no new territory.....in some ways I find I have to agree...
The album opens with the sun illuminating ancient landscapes in "Invocation" an instrumental chant both haunting and beautiful. We walk through "The Gates of Istanbul" starting our journey thru the ruins of the Ottoman Empire and the splendor of modern Turkey. The song is steady and rhythmic and Loreena's voice has the same banshee/angel quality it always had...no disappointment here.
The night finds weary journeymen who have camped for the night at a "Caravanserai"...an inn for the caravans of Asia. She weaves a story of the many adventures and scenery she has seen before stopping to rest...on a journey home. Easily her best song....great live performance can be seen at her website.
Next a tale of Scotland's woe...words by Sir Walter Scott set to an arrangement of music by Loreena...as she sings of the tragic love between "The English Ladye and the Knight". This kind of poetic adaption has been done before by McKennitt...."Snow", "Dark Night of the Soul" and "The Highwayman" to name a few examples. Her voice is strong and emotionally charged.....the most beautiful song on the album.
From here on out....the rest of the album delivers some fine songs. However, they are not as striking as the first four. Disappointed? I'm not...these songs will grow on me...I didn't wait 10 years just to tear apart her new album!! So for now, I can say it is worth buying.
If you like stories of history, tragic love affairs, and poetry...listen to Loreena McKennitt's AN ANCIENT MUSE.
Free Music Review: No Journey's End
Hit: 5 Stars
Loreena McKennitt is my favorite recording artist (my Prozac, my muse), and her long awaited album "An Ancient Muse" is everything I had hoped for and more. Loreena's music is my chocolate, my endorphin; she calms my pulse, brings serenity to my mind and at the same time stimulates my imagination ... her music comforts my soul.
"An Ancient Muse" differs ever so slightly from previously produced albums. The most profound difference is the progression of Moroccan musical influences. Which are stronger in "An Ancient Muse" than in any of her prior works. Yet, there is something hauntingly familiar about each song ... each new melody is like an old friend's homecoming. The familiarity is enduring ... a Loreena McKennitt signature!
On one of my favorite tracks "Beneath A Phrygian Sky," Loreena's intonations rise and fall with mystical proportions giving no doubt to her ancient Celtic heritage. In "The English Ladye and the Knight" (a poem by Sir Walter Scott) Loreena does what she does best, weaves her musical enchantment within the words of ancient bards. Poets, long dead but willingly resurrected to dance once more at Loreena's request.
"An Ancient Muse" is not a remix of old material, but a subtle continuation of her musical and spiritual journey. The familiarity of rhythm and rhyme, within each note played and sung, is the magic of her music.
Loreena is not merely a singer of songs. Each song reflects her passion ... not just for the music, but also for the ancient muses that guide her lyrics and arrangements. I have enjoyed every step of the journey, and am overjoyed in the knowledge that, "There is no journey's end."
Dee-Marie