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Loreena McKennitt: To Drive the Cold Winter

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Quinland Road Records
Released: 1987
Time:
 50:50
Category: Celtic
Producer(s): Loreena McKennitt
Rating: *********. (9/10)
Media type: CD, DVD
Web address: www.quinlanroad.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2008.07.10
Price in €: 9,99



 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s

CD:
[1] In Praise of Christmas (L.McKennitt/Traditional) - 6:06
[2] The Seasons (L.McKennitt/Traditional) - 4:51
[3] The King (L.McKennitt/Traditional) - 2:05
[4] Banquet Hall (L.McKennitt) - 3:53
[5] Snow (L.McKennitt/M.Lampman) - 5:38
[6] Balulalowm (L.McKennitt/Traditional) - 3:12
[7] Let Us the Infant Greet (L.McKennitt/Traditional) - 3:47
[8] The Wexford Carol (L.McKennitt/Traditional) - 6:10
[9] The Stockford Carol (L.McKennitt) - 3:06
[10] Let All That Are to Mirth Inclined (L.McKennitt/Traditional) - 9:31

DVD:
[1] No Journey's End (L.McKennitt) - 26:19
[2] The Bonny Swans (L.McKennitt) - 4:00
[3] The Mummer's Dance (L.McKennitt) - 3:58
[4] Explore the music of Loreena McKennitt (L.McKennitt)
 

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Loreena McKennitt - Accordion, Arranger, Harp, Tambourine, Vocals, Producer, Liner Notes, Celtic Harp, Tin Whistle

Shannon Purves-Smith - Viola, Violine
Cedric Smith - Vocals
Whistle, Adaptation, Finger Cymbals

John Hazen - Engineer, Digital Recording
Brian Hughes - Digital Remastering
Scott McKowen - Design, Package Design
George Seara - Digital Editing, Sequencing
Jeff Wolpert - Digital Remastering
Richard Dadd - Cover Art
 

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s

1994 CS Quinlan Road 102
1999 CD Virgin 471612
2003 CD Warner Bros. 73984
2005 CD Quinlan Road 102
2006 CD Verve 07956

TO DRIVE THE COLD WINTER AWAY, one of Loreena McKennitt's first recordings, was originally released in 1987, but this 2004 reissue includes remastered sound, new liner notes, and a DVD featuring videos and a documentary about the artist. Though this is an album of Christmas music, it bears no relation to warm, feel-good holiday offerings by the likes of Bing Crosby or Nat King Cole. Instead, TO DRIVE THE COLD WINTER AWAY draws on old-world, traditional holiday songs from Scotland, Ireland, and England, and the overall feel of the music is haunting and melancholic. McKennitt accompanies herself on harp on each of these ballads and carols, and her clear, dramatic soprano lilts and floats through the minor-keymelodies. The starkness of the recording, rich in resonanceand ambience, is perfectly suited to the music, a fact highlighted by the reissue's crystalline sound. Though more appropriate for a chilly, wintry, spiritual quest on the Moors than a yuletide family gathering by the fire, McKennitt's project is a striking glimpse into the spirit of Christmas past.



Recorded in various halls and abbeys in Ireland, and completed in the Church of Our Lady in Guelph, Ontario, harpist/arranger/vocalist Loreena McKennitt's first foray into the crowded field of holiday music - she would go on to release an EP called Winter Garden in 1995 - is steeped in old-world atmosphere. To Drive the Cold Winter Away celebrates the winter solstice through eight traditional English, Scottish, and Irish carols and ballads and two Mckennitt originals. The artist's reverence for her source material is moving, and her meticulous yet simple arrangements help tracks such as "The Wexford Carol," "The Kings," and "Let Us the Infant Greet" resonate with all of the grace and piousness that the lyrics and poems strive for. McKennitt has succeeded in making a beautiful, haunting, and ambitious yuletide song cycle that despite taking itself a little too seriously, ranks among her finest.


James Christopher Monger - All Music Guide
 

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