Rating:
Genre:
Celtic
Release Date: 11/21/2006
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 (Amhrán 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, All Music Guide
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