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An Ancient Muse | 
 enlarge | Artist: Loreena Mckennitt
Label: Verve
Category: Music
List Price: $18.98
Buy New: $9.32
You Save: $9.66 (51%)
New (42) Used (10) from $9.32
Avg. Customer Rating:  236 reviews
Sales Rank: 412
Format: Enhanced
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 5.3 x 4.8 x 0.4
MPN: 000792002
UPC: 774213121097
EAN: 0774213121097
Release Date: November 21, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Incantation | | • | The Gates Of Istanbul | | • | Caravanserai | | • | The English Ladye And The Knight | | • | Kecharitomene | | • | Penelope's Song | | • | Sacred Shabbat | | • | Beneath A Phrygian Sky | | • | Never-Ending Road (Amhrn Duit) |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
It's been nearly a decade since Loreena McKennitt's last studio album, The Book of Secrets, but An Ancient Muse picks up the caravan exactly where she left off on her mystical journey through the cultures of the Middle East and northern Sahara. The Canadian singer opens this album the same way as she did her last two recordings: with an incantation, calling out in a wordless voice across an echoing space, cleansing the air and the mind. What follows is a lot like those albums as well, a pan-global excursion centered on Middle Eastern themes and instruments cast into a dramatic exotica. Oud, dumbek, kanoun, hurdy-gurdy, duduk, nyckleharpe (a Swedish-keyed fiddle), and other ancient sounds from the region and beyond ornament her music, though "ornament" might no longer be accurate. With the exception of Hugh Marsh's gypsy violin solos and a handful of other players, it's the Western instruments that serve as ornaments on An Ancient Muse. McKennitt long ago evolved the Celtic sound that launched her career. She's virtually abandoned the harp, which hasn't appeared on her CDs since 1991's The Visit. The lone uillean pipe on "Beneath a Phrygian Sky" sounds like an echo calling from the McKennitt's past. Nevertheless, the Celtic ballad form remains central to her music, and she still draws inspiration from ye olde writers of the British Isles. Lyrics from Sir Walter Scott adorn "The English Ladye and the Knight," recalling "The Lady of Shalott." But despite McKennitt's soaring alto, the tale drags under the dirge-like meter and ponderous arrangement. The epic track of this album is the aforementioned "Beneath a Phrygian Sky," with distorted electric guitar accents and an acoustic guitar melody carrying McKennitt on another journey into her romanticized version of the ancient world. --John Diliberto
Album Description
An Ancient Muse is "eclectic celtic" - singer/composer Loreena McKennitt's highly-anticipated first new studio recording in nine years. Taking up where her previous work left off, McKennitt fuses the melodic sensibility of Celtic Balladry with musical traditions from Greece, Turkey, Spain, and beyond. Once heard, never forgotten, Loreena MacKennitt leads the listener on a timeless journey from the Scottish borders to the caravanserais of the Silk Road to the wine-dark seas of Homer's Odyssey. McKennitt's worldwide multi-platinum sales culminated in her most recent album, 1997's The Book of Secrets, which reached #17 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 231 more reviews...
 The Musical Vistas of Loreena McKennitt November 23, 2006
146 out of 158 found this review helpful
AN ANCIENT MUSE. Just the title seems to suggest songs celebrating the past. Fans have waited a decade for this album, myself included. Many reviewers will tell you it falls short of expectations or explores no new territory.....in some ways I find I have to agree...
The album opens with the sun illuminating ancient landscapes in "Invocation" an instrumental chant both haunting and beautiful. We walk through "The Gates of Istanbul" starting our journey thru the ruins of the Ottoman Empire and the splendor of modern Turkey. The song is steady and rhythmic and Loreena's voice has the same banshee/angel quality it always had...no disappointment here.
The night finds weary journeymen who have camped for the night at a "Caravanserai"...an inn for the caravans of Asia. She weaves a story of the many adventures and scenery she has seen before stopping to rest...on a journey home. Easily her best song....great live performance can be seen at her website.
Next a tale of Scotland's woe...words by Sir Walter Scott set to an arrangement of music by Loreena...as she sings of the tragic love between "The English Ladye and the Knight". This kind of poetic adaption has been done before by McKennitt...."Snow", "Dark Night of the Soul" and "The Highwayman" to name a few examples. Her voice is strong and emotionally charged.....the most beautiful song on the album.
From here on out....the rest of the album delivers some fine songs. However, they are not as striking as the first four. Disappointed? I'm not...these songs will grow on me...I didn't wait 10 years just to tear apart her new album!! So for now, I can say it is worth buying.
If you like stories of history, tragic love affairs, and poetry...listen to Loreena McKennitt's AN ANCIENT MUSE.
Another Kingdom of Heavens January 20, 2007
24 out of 25 found this review helpful
A beautiful musical blend between East and West.
This could be the shortest description someone could give about this great CD.
I have bought "An Ancient Muse" few days ago as I was told about its musical sound mixture and was not sure what to expect.
Since I have put this CD in my CD player I am having a hard time playing anything else.
Living in Lebanon, The sound of this album reflects very much the oriental musical atmosphere I live in, an oriental blend well mixed with the European; and since this place was occupied once by the Arabs and Crusaders, From Turkey, passing by Lebanon, Jordan and reaching Jerusalem, the album is a perfect feel of this area in every sound aspect.
"An Ancient Muse" is a very relaxing CD. If you like this musical atmosphere, I highly recommend the Soundtrack "Kingdom of Heavens" which delivers the same musical atmosphere of similar historical background.
More like Dead Can Dance than Enya April 16, 2007
I read about people talking about Loreena McKennitt as if she were like Enya. McKennitt was born in Canada of Irish and Scottish, hence the connection some people make with Enya, and the fact that some of her earlier material has a very distinct Celtic sound. However, in my mind Loreena McKennitt has always stayed at a safe distance from a mainstream sound (a little more common in Enya's work), and this album is another confirmation of that.
After a ten year absence from the studio, McKennitt came back in 2006 with an album inspired by her trips through many Asian and Mediterranean lands. Her musical caravan in "An Ancient Muse" comes with a sound that often reminds of the Middle East. The end result of the album brings her closer to the likes of Dead Can Dance and further from her traditional Celtic sound. Still, this is an album that is bound to rejoice her fans, who will be happy with the well-rounded and balanced nine tracks on it.
Ancient Voice December 10, 2006
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
There is no other musical voice today that speaks such one world magic as Loreena McKennitt in her recent release of Ancient Muse. As a long time fan, I was excited to finally hear her long awaited follow up to The Book of Secrets. Amazing! She did not disappoint me as I was mesmerized and transported to another place in time. A very Middle Eastern sensitivity is apparent through the veils of lyrics floating amidst the strings and percussion variations. The more you listen to this ...the more you can hear, as poetic visions are felt. Her lyrics and music echoe the voices of the great Sufis and ancient troubadours from another era.
Her strengths on this disc are her visionary skills, delicately reflecting the deeper mirrors of the psyche. This is a tapestry of music woven from Celtic, Greek, and Turkish threads. They are ancient elements or divine oracles of truths waiting inside each of us to be experienced. Many times I felt I was somehow elevated into a momentary spiritual portal of revelation. The only down side is I wanted to remain in this state of rapture much longer.
Dont let us wait so long dear Loreena, for you are a true visionary. You speak to all of us about human themes of love, home, and the journey of Life no matter what culture we represent. This ancient voice...this Ancient Muse is timeless!
Ten Years is Too Long December 29, 2006
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
An Ancient Muse, a little off course for Loreena-wish she stuck to her old traditions of pure Celtic music. However, I still give it five stars-ten years was too long to wait for this album. Her angelic voice gets better with age, just like a fine wine.
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