An Ancient Muse (Remastered) Loreena McKennitt

• 1 Incantation (Remastered) 02:34
• 2 The Gates of Istanbul (Remastered) 07:00
• 3 Caravanserai (Remastered) 07:35
• 4 The English Ladye and the Knight (Remastered) 06:48
• 5 Kecharitomene (Remastered) 06:35
• 6 Penelope's Song (Remastered) 04:21
• 7 Sacred Shabbat (Remastered) 04:00
• 8 Beneath a Phrygian Sky (Remastered) 09:28
• 9 Never-Ending Road (Amhrán Duit) (Remastered) 06:00
• Total Runtime 54:21

Info for An Ancient Muse (Remastered)

"An Ancient Muse" is the seventh full-length studio album of the Canadian singer, songwriter, accordionist, harpist, and pianist, Loreena McKennitt. It was released on November 20, 2006, internationally, and November 21, 2006, in the United States and Canada. It was her first studio album after a 9-year gap. It has sold over a half a million copies worldwide since its release.

Aptly, it is an echo of Homer’s timeless Odyssey that introduces Loreena McKennitt’s seventh studio recording, the latest volume of a project she describes as “musical travel writing”. This time, the journey takes her in search of the Celts’ easternmost paths, from the plains of Mongolia to the kingdom of King Midas and the Byzantine Empire. Along the way, she muses on the concepts of home, of travel in all its incarnations, of the cultural intermingling that underpins human history and our universal legacies of conflict and hope.

Recorded at Real World Studios and featuring a host of acclaimed musicians, the album proffers a treasure trove of instruments, from harp, hurdy-gurdy and accordion to oud, lyra, kanoun and nyckelharpa (the Scandinavian keyed fiddle). Highlights include the seductive rhythms and Silk Road influences of first single “Caravanserai”; “Penelope’s Song”, a paean to steadfast love; and Loreena’s musical setting of Sir Walter Scott’s poem of star-crossed romance, “The English Ladye And The Knight”. Together, the nine songs that comprise An Ancient Muse conjure up a wide world’s worth of human stories that are as unique as they are unforgettable.

Loreena McKennitt, vocals (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9), keyboards (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9), accordion (3), harp (4), percussion (5), piano (8)
Tal Bergman, drums (2, 3), percussion (5, 8)
Stuart Bruce, vocal drone (1, 8), percussion (5)
Clive Deamer, drums (8)
Panos Dimitrakopoulos, kanoun (2, 3, 5, 7, 9)
Nigel Eaton, hurdy gurdy (3, 5)
Ben Grossman, hurdy gurdy (5)
Ed Hanley, tabla (5), udu drum (5)
Jason Hann, percussion (8)
Steáfán Hannigan, Turkish clarinet (1, 5, 8), vocal drone (1, 8), uilleann pipes (8, 9)
Brian Hughes, electric guitar (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9), guitar synthesizer (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9), vocal drone (1, 8), oud (2, 3, 5), Celtic bouzouki (2, 3, 5, 8), nylon string guitar (5, 8, 9)
Charlie Jones, acoustic bass (5, 6)
Manu Katché, drums (5)
Georgios Kontogiannis, Greek bouzouki (2, 3)
Tim Landers, bass (2, 3, 8)
Caroline Lavelle, cello (2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
Rick Lazar, percussion (1, 5, 8)
Annbjørg Lien, nyckelharpa (6)
Hugh Marsh, violin (3, 5, 6)
Marco Migliari, vocal drone (1, 8)
Donald Quan, viola (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9), vocal drone (1, 8)
Hossam Ramzay, percussion (2, 5)
Sokratis Sinopoulos, lyra (2, 3, 7, 8)
Haig Yazdjian, oud (2, 3, 5, 6, 7)
Choristers of Westminster Abbey
Alex Pott, vocals (4)
Elliot Thompson, vocals (4)
Nicholas Morris, vocals (4)

Digitally remastered

Loreena McKennitt
is well known as a composer and singer. In a recording career spanning more than three decades, Ms. McKennitt’s ‘eclectic Celtic’ music has received critical acclaim world-wide, and gold, platinum and multi-platinum sales awards in 15 countries across four continents. To date, she has sold over 14 million albums with a catalogue that includes seven studio recordings, three seasonal recordings, a live in-concert DVD and two DVD documentaries. She’s won two Junos, Canada’s premiere music award, and has performed for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Less well known is the fact that Ms. McKennitt is a highly successful businesswoman who has created an independent record label with celebrated international success.

Born in Morden, Manitoba, Canada, she moved to Stratford, Ontario in 1981, where she initially worked with Canada’s renowned Stratford Festival. In 1985 she established her own record label, Quinlan Road, a move which has made her a rarity in the music industry.

In the early years, Ms. McKennitt ran the operation from her kitchen table, selling her recordings by mail order and producing her own concert tours. Today, she leads her own company with responsibilities that include everything from creating strategic business plans to overseeing marketing and promotion.

Ms. McKennitt’s business acumen is also applied to the three charitable foundations she established. Her Three Oaks Foundation provides financial support to cultural, environmental, historical and social groups.

The Cook-Rees Memorial Fund for Water Search and Safety, founded in 1998, has raised more than $4 million in support of water safety education, as well as search, rescue and recovery operations.

In 2000, Ms. McKennitt purchased a recently-closed public school in Stratford and transformed it into the Falstaff Family Centre. Responding to concerns identified by the local community, the Centre focuses on the needs of families and children in Perth County, Ontario, which is where she resides.

Ms. McKennitt’s passion for business is matched by her passion for human rights. In 2006 and 2007 she was involved in a landmark human rights privacy case in Britain, where the courts ruled in her favour. The judgment, which was upheld by the House of Lords, has helped to advance privacy law around the world.

Ms. McKennitt is a member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Manitoba. In 2002 and 2012 she was the recipient of Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee medals and in 2013 she was appointed to the rank of Knight of the National Order of Arts and Letters by the Republic of France.

From 2006 to 2013 Ms. McKennitt held the position of Honorary Colonel of the 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron in the Royal Canadian Air Force and upon completion of the appointment was awarded the RCAF Commander’s Commendationin recognition of outstanding professionalism and dedication.

She also holds honourary degrees from the University of Manitoba (Winnipeg), Sir Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo), Queen’s University (Kingston) and George Brown College (Toronto).

This album contains no booklet.