DRIVE THE COLD WINTER AWAY
by Loreena McKennitt (0774213991027)

This is not your father's Christmas album. Loreena McKennitt's primary instrument is the harp, but her primary technique is to take a traditional folk song and super-size it with strings, modern rhythms, and lush orchestration. It's a style that works ideally with this material. Her takes on "The Wexford Carol" and "The Stockford Carol" will make you rethink holiday songs. Other highlights include "The Seasons" and "In Praise of Christmas," all songs that are weepy enough to please Grandma but never so sappy they sound fake. Add two cups of hot cider and a roaring fire, and this album will turn Scrooge into a fan of the season.
As a child, writes Loreena McKennitt, my most vivid impression of music for the winter season came from songs and carols recorded in churches or great halls, rich with their own unique ambience and tradition. In that spirit, I have ventured into several similar locations that I have come to cherish in my travels.

Loreena's second, self-produced recording presents seasonal music with a fresh and serendipitous approach. This collection of traditional and lesser-known winter and Christmas carols was recorded in 1987 on location at The Church Of Our Lady in Guelph, Ontario, and, in Ireland, a Benedictine monastery and The Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Annaghmakerrig.

The arrangements are sparse, but somehow I felt that they reflected the dynamics of the fall and winter seasons, and that there can be much beauty in such simplicity, she concludes. As it is recorded on location, you may occasionally hear sounds of life continuing on around us. We hope these are not distracting, but rather are embraced like flecks of straw in the wool sweater your grandmother might have knitted to keep the cold winter away.


Track Preview 1. In Praise of Christmas
Track Preview 2. The Seasons
Track Preview 3. The King
Track Preview 4. Banquet Hall
Track Preview 5. Snow
Track Preview 6. Balulalow
Track Preview 7. Let Us the Infant Greet
Track Preview 8. The Wexford Carol
Track Preview 9. The Stockford Carol
Track Preview 10. Let All That Are to Mirth

USD $26.29

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