An Ancient Muse

[vaneramos]

Today in the car Marian and I previewed Loreena McKennitt's first studio album in nine years, An Ancient Muse, which just came out this week. It concentrates more on her complex instrumental work. For vocals she sticks mostly to her low, breathier registers. Her high notes are purer and colder, and she does best here by using them for highlight and emphasis.

An Ancient Muse represents the first significant new material after a difficult period. Her fiancé and two friends were killed in a boating accident in 1998. Last year she won damages and an injunction against a former friend who published a book recounting McKennitt's grief and other personal matters. After this judgment McKennitt said, "I am very pleased that the court has decided that all people, including those in the public eye, are entitled to real protection of their privacy." It's no surprise we have had to wait so long for her to emerge from seclusion.

McKennitt is the most scholarly of musical artists. Inspiration for this album came from Mongolia, the miiddle east and far east. Overall it feels even more laid-back and meditative in tone and tempo than the earlier ones. Her sometimes piercing intensity has given way to richness of sound. Very highly recommended.

A door from Old Guelph: