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Product Details
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Track Listings
| 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 (Amhrán Duit) |
Editorial Reviews
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
Product 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.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
96 of 101 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
After a decade, it's nice to have a new Loreena McKennitt CD!
... even if it IS perhaps her least innovative work to date. Sorry to say it, but there's much familiar ground covered here. In particular, McKennitt seems to be revisiting musical realms already visited on MASK AND THE MIRROR (M&tM). I don't simply mean in the style or choice of instruments; there are melodies and arrangements here that strongly echo tracks from that album (and other albums of hers).
Even so, the CD is a joy to listen to. I love the thematic thesis for this album--McKennitt as the wandering minstrel, collecting old stories as she strolls through the Mediterranean--and ultimately I like this album better than M&tM. McKennitt is one of those artists whom, even when she produces something imperfect, is still producing something much more beautiful and worthwhile than the majority of artists out there.
Now, hopefully it won't be a decade (or even half a decade) before her next one!
... even if it IS perhaps her least innovative work to date. Sorry to say it, but there's much familiar ground covered here. In particular, McKennitt seems to be revisiting musical realms already visited on MASK AND THE MIRROR (M&tM). I don't simply mean in the style or choice of instruments; there are melodies and arrangements here that strongly echo tracks from that album (and other albums of hers).
Even so, the CD is a joy to listen to. I love the thematic thesis for this album--McKennitt as the wandering minstrel, collecting old stories as she strolls through the Mediterranean--and ultimately I like this album better than M&tM. McKennitt is one of those artists whom, even when she produces something imperfect, is still producing something much more beautiful and worthwhile than the majority of artists out there.
Now, hopefully it won't be a decade (or even half a decade) before her next one!
164 of 177 people found the following review helpful
By Mars Velvet
Format:Audio CD
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.
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.
40 of 40 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
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.
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.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Incredibly beautiful!
Beautiful, timeless music, that transports to a deep and spiritual place. Loreena is a truly unique artist! Love every track
Published 28 days ago by ash sturcke
5.0 out of 5 stars
I love Loreena Mckennitt
What more is there to say? You should definitely listen to some of her music on YouTube and then buy this album because it is worth it.
Published 1 month ago by Dude H
5.0 out of 5 stars
CD Ancient Muse
This was the perfect CD to buy. I loved the music and the purchase was easy to negotiate.
Nan Singh Bowman
Nan Singh Bowman
Published 1 month ago by Nan Singh-Bowman
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Music
Uplifting and relaxing. It is really enjoyable. Her voice is lovely. The music sounds exotic. You can hear the influence of other cultures in the sounds and instruments. Read more
Published 2 months ago by cwls
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great but not like the Book of Secrets!!
The music was not what I would expect from the front cover of the disc. Or from the title, it has a Middle Eastern sound not ancient.
Published 2 months ago by Jenny Egusquiza
4.0 out of 5 stars
A little repetitive but still solid
This disk is similar in tone and execution to her Mask and the Mirror or the Visit disks and it carries on the same solid musical constructions and dreamy dark qualities of those... Read more
Published 3 months ago by MarsTwain
3.0 out of 5 stars
Sad Muse
This music is slow, sleepy and lacks the lilting emotional adventure of other albums. Pleasant enough but nothing in particular seems to stand out which makes this collection very... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Bee
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Music and Voice
Recommend it for anyone who is spiritually inclined and want to hear a great female vocal. Instruments are great, too.
Published 4 months ago by Frank Aoi
4.0 out of 5 stars
Celtic and Middle Eastern Sounds for Your Listening Pleasure
There are nine tracks on this album, several of which feature Middle Eastern sounds and the rest of which feature European/Celtic sounds. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Neodoering
5.0 out of 5 stars
I'm such a smart buyer!
Loreena has the voice of an angle. I know, everyone says that. But I am moved - get tingles and have to remember to breathe - every time I listen - and I listen to her a lot. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Lea A. Fox
Listmania!
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