An Ancient Muse
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| An Ancient Muse | |||||
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| Studio album by Loreena McKennitt | |||||
| Released | 2006 (Canada) | ||||
| Genre | Folk, World music | ||||
| Length | 54:19 | ||||
| Label | Quinlan Road | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| Loreena McKennitt chronology | |||||
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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 now sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide
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[edit] Overview
Work on An Ancient Muse started in 2005. According to reports on McKennitt's Quinlan Road website, most of the inspiration for the tracks of the album came from the music of Greece, Turkey, the Middle East and the Far East. Most of the tracks, with the exception of three revealed at the mid-September concerts in the Alhambra of Granada in Spain, were completely unknown until the release.
An Ancient Muse debuted on the U.S. Billboard 200 at number 83, with about 19,000 copies sold in its first week.[1] This was also its peak position on the chart.[2]
[edit] Track listing
- "Incantation" – 2:35
- "The Gates of Istanbul" – 6:59
- "Caravanserai" – 7:36
- "The English Ladye and the Knight"[3] – 6:49
- "Kecharitomene"[4] – 6:34
- "Penelope's Song" – 4:21
- "Sacred Shabbat" – 3:59
- "Beneath a Phrygian Sky" – 9:32
- "Never-ending Road (Amhrán Duit)" – 5:54
Also:
- "Raglan Road" – 6:12 – an unreleased track on a bonus disc exclusive to Barnes & Noble
- "Beneath a Phrygian Sky (Gordian version)" – 9:25 – exclusive iTunes Store remix
[edit] Personnel
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)
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)
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, Elliot Thompson and Nicholas Morris: vocals (4)
[edit] References
- ^ Katie Hasty, "Jay-Z Reclaims His 'Kingdom' With No. 1 Debut", Billboard.com, November 29, 2006.
- ^ Artist chart history for Loreena McKennitt (albums), Billboard.com.
- ^ based on Sir Walter Scott's It was an English Ladye Bright ballad from The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805)
- ^ κεχαριτωμένη, Gabriel's greeting to Mary in Luke 1:28, translated gratia plena "full of grace"
