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Loreena McKennitt: The Visit

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Quinlan Road
Released: 1991
Time:
 49:21
Category: Folk, Celtic, World
Producer(s): Loreena McKennitt
Rating:
Media type: CD
Web address: www.loreenamckennitt.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2018
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] All Souls Night (L.McKennitt) - 5:09
[2] Bonny Portmore (trad., arr. L.McKennitt) - 4:21
[3] Between the Shadows (L.McKennitt) - 3:42
[4] The Lady of Shalott (A.Tennyson, adapted by L.McKennitt) - 11:34
[5] Greensleeves (trad., arr. L.McKennitt) - 4:26
[6] Tango to Evora (L.McKennitt) - 4:10
[7] Courtyard Lullaby (L.McKennitt) - 4:57
[8] The Old Ways (L.McKennitt) - 5:44
[9] Cymbeline (W.ShakespeareL.McKennitt) - 5:07

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Loreena Mckennitt - Synthesizer, Piano, Harp, Accordion, Bodhran, Vocals, Arranger, Producer, Adaptation

Brian Hughes - Balalaika, Electric & Acoustic Guitar, Assistant Engineer, Assistant Producer

Anne Bourne - Cello
Al Cross - Drums
Tom Hazlett - Bass
Patrick Hutchinson - Uillean Pipes
George Koller - Bass, Cello, Mad Fiddle, Tamboura, Sitar
Rick Lazar - Percussion, Udu Drum
Hugh Marsh - Fiddle

Jeff Wolpert - Engineer, Mixing, Assistant Producer
John Whynot - Engineer
George Graves - Mastering
Scott McKowen - Design
Elisabeth Feryn - Photography

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


Broadening her focus toward a more eclectic range of Celtic-related subjects, and following her attendance at an international exhibition of Celtic artefacts in Venice, Loreena’s writing in her fourth album, The Visit, takes on the form of musical historical travel writing.

A multimillion-selling success around the world, this 1991 recording recasts Loreena’s early influences in an inventive and contemporary light. Its nine self-produced tracks range from a haunting version of “Greensleeves” sung “as I imagine Tom Waits might have done it” and a stirring instrumental “Tango To Evora” to the heartrending traditional balladry and proto-environmentalism of “Bonny Portmore” and, finally, one of Loreena’s best-loved creations, a gorgeously melodic setting of Tennyson’s epic Arthurian poem “The Lady Of Shalott”.

“The Celts knew, as we are re-learning now, the importance of a deep respect for all the life around them,” Loreena concludes. “This recording aspires to be nothing so much as a reflection into the weave of these things.”

—

“I have long considered the creative impulse to be a visit – a thing of grace, perhaps, not commanded or owned so much as awaited, prepared for. A thing, also, of mystery. This recording endeavours to explore some of that mystery.

It looks as well into the earlier eastern influences of the Celts and the likelihood that they started from as far away as Eastern Europe before being driven to the western margins of Europe, particularly in the British Isles. With their musical influences came rituals around birth and death which treated the land as holy and haunted; this life itself as a visit. Afterwards, one’s soul might move to another plane, or another form – perhaps a tree. The Celts knew then, as we are re-learning now, a deep respect for all the life around them. This recording aspires to be nothing as much as a reflection into the weave of these things.” – L.M.

 

All Souls Night:

This piece was inspired by the imagery of a Japanese tradition which celebrates the souls of the departed by sending candle-lit lanterns on out waterways leading to the ocean, sometimes in little boats; along with the imagery of the Celtic All Souls Night celebrations, at which time huge bonfires were lit not only to mark the new year, but to warm the souls of the departed.

Bonny Portmore:

The destruction of old growth forests has become an important conservation issue in recent years, but it is not a new phenomenon. Over the centuries, many of Ireland’s old oak forests were levelled for military and shipbuilding purposes. Only recently has there been an effort to re-establish these great hardwoods. The Great Oak of Portmore stood on the grounds of Portmore Castle on the shore of Lough Beg.

Greensleeves:

I always wondered how Tom Waits would sing “Greensleeves”. When preparing my previous recording, Parallel Dreams, while waiting to do something else, we accidentally and spontaneously recorded this track in one take without ever intending to release it. However, here it is, Tom.

Tango To Evora:

This piece was originally conceived and recorded for the National Film Board of Canada documentary The Burning Times, directed by Donna Reid.

Courtyard Lullaby:

The photographs that appear in this booklet were taken at Quinta das Torres, a 16th century hunting lodge near Azeitão, Portugal, where photographer Elisabeth Feryn and I stayed for a week. Within the lodge was a courtyard, marked at each corner by orange trees. The feel of the place reminded me of the Unicorn tapestries which hang in The Cloisters in New York City. The tapestries and the lodge are both rich with earthy, pre-Christian iconography depicting the mysterious life and death cycle of the seasons. It was in the courtyard of Quinta das Torres that this piece was conceived.

The Old Ways:

I spent a most haunting New Year’s Eve in Doolin, County Clare, Ireland some years ago, and was moved by the antiquity of some of the celebrations. I was met by deep reminders that they may be the remnants of the old world meeting the “new”.

Cymbeline:

Here are William Shakespeare’s thoughts on this earthly visit. This song occurs toward the end of his romance Cymbeline, which was written near the end of the author’s life. The play is set in ancient Britain when the Romans were invading the last remaining outpost of the old Celtic order.

loreenamckennitt.com



Loreena McKennitt's fourth release, and first for a major label, is a quietly majestic tapestry of worldbeat and Celtic pop that effortlessly weaves together traditional and contemporary songs into lush showcases for her fluid voice and harp. The multi-talented Canadian utilizes all of her strengths here, resulting in her most rewarding batch of tunes to date. With larger production values and more ambitious arrangements than the sparse Elemental and Parallel Dreams, her flair for the dramatic and the theatrical runs rampant throughout. Whether she's toasting the souls of the departed with Pagan glee on the delicious "All Souls Night," or reinterpreting King Henry VIII's "Greensleeves" through Tom Waits, it's never without both feet in the water. Often when artists attempt to blend modern instruments (keyboards, guitars, etc.) into the traditional folk idiom, the results are instantly dated and horribly overwrought. McKennitt, however, never allows the two to compete, and it's a testament to her belief in the songs themselves that they don't devolve into garish new age drivel. Her adaptation of Alfred Lord Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott," which utilizes an opening melody lifted - probably unknowingly - from the bagpipe solo at the end of AC/DC's "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)," is The Visit's most powerful moment. Clocking in at 11 minutes, the poet's lovelorn tale of Camelot's most famous peasant maiden is rendered brief by McKennitt's breathless delivery and atmospheric and austere presentation. The Visit is Loreena McKennitt at her most comfortable, creative, and soulful.

Rating: 4.5/5

James Christopher Monger - All Music Guide



The Visit is the fourth studio album by Loreena McKennitt. Released in 1991, the album has been certified four times platinum in Canada and gold in the United States. It was produced by Brian Hughes and Loreena McKennitt. The album was a cowinner, with the compilation album Saturday Night Blues, of the 1992 Juno Award for Best Roots and Traditional Album of the Year.

"All Souls Night" derives from McKennitt's merging of the traditions, mythology, and culture of Japan with old Celtic Samhain rituals. The "bonfires" and "figures dancing" are European, the "candles and lanterns" are from Japanese traditions.
"Bonny Portmore" is a traditional Celtic folk song about oak forest deforestation. It was featured in the soundtrack of Highlander III: The Sorcerer (as well as "Cé Hé Mise le Ulaingt?" and "The Two Trees" from the album "The Mask and Mirror").
"The Lady of Shalott" is based on the poem The Lady of Shalott by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.
Contrary to the album notes, "Greensleeves" was not actually written by Henry VIII; though this is a long-held belief and legend.
"Tango to Evora" was used in the National Film Board of Canada documentary The Burning Times. A cover to the song has been recorded by one of Greece's most popular and respected singers, Haris Alexiou, entitled "Nefeli's Tango", with lyrics written by herself. Another cover to the song has been recorded by Turkish singer, Nilüfer, entitled "Çok Uzaklarda". Evora is a historical city in Portugal. The song has also been covered by the Iranian singer Ilya Monfared under the title "Gol-e-Orkideh" (Orchid Flower). There is also a Finnish cover, entitled "Katkennut Helminauha" by Finnish singer, Anneli Saaristo and a German cover by Bettina Wegner under the title "Alles was ich wünsche". The Kurdish cover was by Homar Dizayî, under the title "Xozga". There is an Albanian cover, too, entitled "Rrugës i trishtuar" (known also with the title "Sonata"), by the Albanian popular singer Eli Fara. A Romanian cover of the song, named “Tango pentru Evora” (Romanian translation of ”Tango to Evora”) was sung during the show “Dansez pentru tine” by Mălina Olinescu. The lyrics were written by Florin Busuioc.
"Cymbeline" is taken from a song in the William Shakespeare play Cymbeline.

Wikipedia.org
 

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