An Ancient Muse

by Loreena McKennitt

Overview

Canadian Celtic/new age/worldbeat architect Loreena McKennitt may be an odd choice for the legendary jazz label that released benchmark albums from Charlie Parker and Miles Davis, but Verve may have been moved by the undeniably talented harpist/composer/vocalist's large collection of globe-spanning gold, platinum, and multi-platinum sales awards. McKennitt's records (this is her first set of new material since 1997's Book of Secrets) tend to play like independent soundtracks to National Geographic documentaries -- kind of like a more ornate, expensive version of Dead Can Dance. An Ancient Muse may break little new ground for McKennitt, but it won't disappoint longtime fans. Her fascination with Celtic, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern instrumentation (hurdy-gurdy, nyckelharpa, kanoun, uilleann pipes, bouzouki, lyra, and oud) and her preoccupation with mythology and poetry have won her great favor with the new age/adult alternative crowd, and rightly so, as Irish-tinged ballads such as "Never-Ending Road (Amhran Duit)" and "Penelope's Song" are just Enya songs with more instruments than vocal tracks. Her penchant for quality instrumentals, in this case "Kecharitomene" and "Sacred Shabbat," sets her apart from the more stereotypical new age artists like David Arkenstone and John Tesh, and her extensive, diary-like liner notes invoke ancient archeological sites and obscure Rumi poetry without coming off as too self-absorbed. This CD was nominated for a Grammy award in 2007 for Best Contemporary World Music Album. ~ James Christopher Monger

Product Details

Release Date:	09/30/2016
Label:	Quinlan Road / Verve
UPC:	0774213501097

Tracks

1. Incantation
2. The Gates of Istanbul
3. Caravanserai
4. The English Ladye and the Knight
5. Kecharitomene
6. Penelope's Song
7. Sacred Shabbat
8. Beneath a Phrygian Sky
9. Never-Ending Road (Amhr¿¿n Duit)

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Loreena McKennitt   Primary Artist,Harp,Piano,Vocals,Accordion,Keyboards,Percussion
Choristers of Westminster Abbey   Primary Artist,Orchestra,Choir/Chorus
Ensemble Plus Ultra   Primary Artist,Ensemble,Orchestra,Choir/Chorus
Brian Hughes   Guest Artist,Oud,Bouzouki,Guitar (Electric),Guitar (Synthesizer),Guitar (Nylon String),Oud,Guitar (Electric),Guitar (Synthesizer),Guitar (Nylon String)
Petros Kourtis   Krotala,Percussion
Malgorzata Ziemkiewicz   Viola
David Martin   Vocals
Nicholas Morris   Vocals
Clive Deamer   Drums
Nigel Eaton   Hurdygurdy
Jason Hann   Percussion
Tal Bergman   Drums,Percussion
Ben Grossman   Hurdygurdy
Roman Borys   Cello
Carol Fujino   Violin
Rick Lazar   Percussion
Steafan Hannigan   Uillean Pipes,Vocal Director,Turkish Clarinet
Stuart Bruce   Percussion
Haig Yazdjian   Oud
Panos Dimitrakopoulos   Kanun
Hossam Ramzy   Percussion
Donald Quan   Viola
Manu Katche   Drums
Lawrence Wallington   Vocals
Caroline LaVelle   Cello
Hugh Marsh   Violin
Andrew Pask   Bass (Acoustic)
Annbjorg Lien   Nyckelharpa
Annalee Patipatanakoon   Violin
Charles Pott   Vocals
Tim Landers   Bass
Ed Hanley   Udu,Tabla
Natasha Kraemer   Cello
Alexander Pott   Vocals
Louise Hogan   Viola
Evangelos Karipis   Percussion
Charlie Jones   Bass (Acoustic)
Christopher Redfield   Viola
Andreas Papas   Percussion
Daniel Blackman   Viola
Julian Empett   Vocals
Bridget Hunt   Violin
Carina Reeves   Cello
Warren Trevelyan-Jones   Vocals
Georgios Kontogiannis   Bouzouki
Elliot Thompson   Vocals
Wendy Rose   Violin
Sokratis Sinopoulos   Lyra
Thomas Hobbs   Vocals
Carol Lynn Fujino   Violin
George Crawford   Violin

Technical Credits

Walter Scott   Composer
Brian Nebin   Editing,Engineer
Paul Grady   Digital Editing,Assistant Engineer
Traditional   Composer
Paul Klingberg   Editing,Engineer
Bob Ludwig   Mastering
Kevin Killen   Editing,Engineer
Ben Findlay   Engineer
Brian Gascoigne   Arranger,String Arrangements
Lewis Jones   Digital Editing,Assistant Engineer
Jeff Wolpert   Mixing,Editing,Engineer
Steafan Hannigan   Vocal Drone
Claire Lewis   Digital Editing,Assistant Engineer
Stuart Bruce   Mixing,Engineer,Vocal Drone
Dominic Monks   Digital Editing,Assistant Engineer
Brian Hughes   Editing,Engineer,Vocal Drone,Assistant Producer,Vocal Drone
Donald Quan   Vocal Drone,Production Assistant
Frank Wolf   Editing,Engineer
Loreena McKennitt   Arranger,Composer,Producer,Liner Notes
Sir Walter Scott   Composer
Marco Migliari   Editing,Engineer,Vocal Drone,Digital Editing,Assistant Engineer
Jeremy Murphy   Digital Editing,Assistant Engineer
Gordy Davidson   Digital Editing,Assistant Engineer
Gabe Moffett   Engineer
Claude Gortin   Translation
Alexander Pott   Performer
Demetris Koilalous   Photography
Steve Price   Editing,Engineer
Ann Cutting   Photography
Nicholas Morris   Performer
Selina Stewart   Translation
Dafni Viorre   Translation
Kostas Mouroulis   Editing,Engineer
Elliot Thompson   Performer
Ange Zhang   Illustrations
John Welsman   String Arrangements
Ann Reid Reynolds   Translation
Kostas Kousoulos   Editing,Engineer
Ensemble Plus Ultra   Performer,Orchestration
Choristers of Westminster Abbey   Orchestration