Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0774213121097
Label: Verve
Manufacturer: Verve
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Verve
Release Date: November 21, 2006
Studio: Verve
Disc 1:- Incantation
- The Gates Of Istanbul
- Caravanserai
- The English Ladye And The Knight
- Kecharitomene
- Penelope's Song
- Sacred Shabbat
- Beneath A Phrygian Sky
- Never-Ending Road (Amhrán Duit)
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
It's been nearly a decade since Loreena McKennitt's last studio album, The Book of Secrets, but An Ancient Muse picks up the caravan exactly where she left off on her mystical journey through the cultures of the Middle East and northern Sahara. The Canadian singer opens this album the same way as she did her last two recordings: with an incantation, calling out in a wordless voice across an echoing space, cleansing the air and the mind. What follows is a lot like those albums as well, a pan-global excursion centered on Middle Eastern themes and instruments cast into a dramatic exotica. Oud, dumbek, kanoun, hurdy-gurdy, duduk, nyckleharpe (a Swedish-keyed fiddle), and other ancient sounds from the region and beyond ornament her music, though "ornament" might no longer be accurate. With the exception of Hugh Marsh's gypsy violin solos and a handful of other players, it's the Western instruments that serve as ornaments on An Ancient Muse. McKennitt long ago evolved the Celtic sound that launched her career. She's virtually abandoned the harp, which hasn't appeared on her CDs since 1991's The Visit. The lone uillean pipe on "Beneath a Phrygian Sky" sounds like an echo calling from the McKennitt's past. Nevertheless, the Celtic ballad form remains central to her music, and she still draws inspiration from ye olde writers of the British Isles. Lyrics from Sir Walter Scott adorn "The English Ladye and the Knight," recalling "The Lady of Shalott." But despite McKennitt's soaring alto, the tale drags under the dirge-like meter and ponderous arrangement. The epic track of this album is the aforementioned "Beneath a Phrygian Sky," with distorted electric guitar accents and an acoustic guitar melody carrying McKennitt on another journey into her romanticized version of the ancient world. --John Diliberto
Album Description:
An Ancient Muse is "eclectic celtic" - singer/composer Loreena McKennitt's highly-anticipated first new studio recording in nine years. Taking up where her previous work left off, McKennitt fuses the melodic sensibility of Celtic Balladry with musical traditions from Greece, Turkey, Spain, and beyond. Once heard, never forgotten, Loreena MacKennitt leads the listener on a timeless journey from the Scottish borders to the caravanserais of the Silk Road to the wine-dark seas of Homer's Odyssey. McKennitt's worldwide multi-platinum sales culminated in her most recent album, 1997's The Book of Secrets, which reached #17 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart.
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
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 ... Read More
Rating:  -
People new to Loreena McKennitt's music are often surprised by how incredibly loyal her fans are. And that's because to date her music has been unique and wonderful. Her music is exotic, her lyrics are poetry, and her voice is beautiful. Her albums are journeys into the past, the east, and the imagination. But she's more than talented. She's also incredibly enthusiastic. She pours herself into her songs and her concerts. That's part of the reason its so enjoyable to see her live.
Yet her new album, while smoothly produced and competently performed, just sounds bland. There are some good songs, such as the languid Gates of Instanbul and the subtle Kecharitomene. But the passion and energy in her earlier albums just isn't here. Her voice has always been her best instrument and there is less of it here than on any previous album. But more to the point, she sounds bored. And her lyrics are generic versions of her earlier work. The otherwise good Caravanserai is bogged down with ... Read More
Rating: -
This is one of my favorite pieces of music. Wonderfully uplifting and soothing at the same time.
Rating: -
I love Loreena McKennitt both in person and on CD. I come from an English, Irish heritage and her music moves me back centuries to my family roots. I have all her CDs and can listen to them for hours.
Rating: -
Beautiful CD in McKennitt's clear, beautiful voice and mystical style. I especially liked Penelope's song.
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