The Book of Secrets

The Book of Secrets
Studio album by Loreena McKennitt
Released	September 30, 1997 (1997-09-30)
Genre	Folk, world, new-age
Length	53:00
Label	Quinlan Road, Warner Bros.
Loreena McKennitt chronology
A Winter Garden: Five Songs for the Season (1995) The Book of Secrets (1997) Live in Paris and Toronto (1999)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
sputnikmusic	[2]

The Book of Secrets is an album by Loreena McKennitt released in 1997. It reached #17 on the Billboard 200.^[3] Its single "The Mummers' Dance," remixed by DNA, was released during the winter of 1997–98, and peaked at #18 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #17 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.^[4] The album is certified double-platinum in the US.^[5] It has now sold more than 4 million copies worldwide

Track listing

All music written by Loreena McKennitt. All lyrics written by Loreena McKennitt except as noted.^[6]

1. "Prologue" – 4:22
2. "The Mummers' Dance" – 6:07
3. "Skellig" – 6:07
4. "Marco Polo" – 5:15
5. "The Highwayman" (lyric by Alfred Noyes, abridged by Loreena McKennitt) – 10:19
6. "La Serenissima" – 5:09
7. "Night Ride across the Caucasus" – 8:30
8. "Dante's Prayer" – 7:11

Song information

• The DNA remix of "The Mummers' Dance" was made into a music video.
• "Skellig" relates the dying words of a monk from a monastery that existed during the 6th-12th centuries on the island Skellig Michael (Great Skellig), 11.6 km west of Ireland.
• "The Highwayman" is an adaptation of the poem "The Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes.
• "Dante's Prayer" is a reference to Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy.

Chart performance

Personnel

This information is directly from the sleeve notes.

• Loreena McKennitt – vocals (tracks 1,2,3,4,5,7,8), piano (track 8), keyboards, harp (track 6), kanun (track 1), accordion (tracks 4,5)
• Anne Bourne – cello (track 6)
• Aidan Brennan – acoustic guitar (track 3), mandola (tracks 4, 7)
• Martin Brown – acoustic guitar (track 5), mandolin (track 5), mandola (track 5)
• Stuart Bruce – assembled drone (track 1), vocal drone (4)
• Paul Clarvis – snare drum (track 5)
• Nigel Eaton – hurdy-gurdy (track 2,4)
• Steáfán Hannigan – bodhrán (track 5)
• Nick Hayley – serang (track 7), rebec (track 7), lira da braccio (track 7)
• Brian Hughes – oud (tracks 2,4,7), electric guitar (tracks 1,5), acoustic guitar (tracks 4,5,7), irish bouzouki (tracks 4,5,7), guitar synthesizer (track 4), classical guitar (track 6), vocal drone (track 4)
• Robin Jeffrey – Victorian guitar (track 6)
• Martin Jenkins – mandocello (tracks 3,4,5,7)
• Manu Katché – drums (tracks 1,2,4,7)
• Caroline Lavelle – cello (tracks 2,5,8)
• Rick Lazar – percussion (tracks 1,2,4,5,7)
• Joanna Levine – viola da gamba (tracks 3,6)
• Hugh Marsh – violin (tracks 2,3,4,5,6,7,8)
• Osama – violin (track 4)
• Steve Pigott – additional keyboards (tracks 3,8)
• Donald Quan – tabla (tracks 2,4,7), timba (track 1), esraj (track 1), viola (tracks 2,4,5,6,8), additional keyboards (tracks 3,4), vocal drone (track 4)
• Hossam Ramzy – percussion (tracks 2,4,5,7)
• David Rhodes – electric guitar (track 2)
• Danny Thompson – acoustic bass (tracks 2,3,4,5,7,8)
• Bob White – tin whistle (track 3), shawm (track 4)
• String Quartet:
  • Jonathan Rees – 1st violin (tracks 3,7)
  • Iain King – 2nd violin (tracks 3,7)
  • Andy Brown – viola (tracks 3,7)
  • Chris van Kampen – cello (tracks 3,7)
• Caroline Dale – string arrangements for tracks 3,6,7
• Additional string arrangements – Brian Gascoigne and Doug Riley

Production

• As listed in CD booklet:
  • Produced by Loreena McKennitt; assisted by Brian Hughes & Donald Quan
  • Recorded & Mixed by Kevin Killen (recorded track 1; mixed tracks 1, 2, 5 & 7) & Stuart Bruce (recorded tracks 2-8; mixed tracks 3, 4, 6 & 8)
  • Recording & mix assisted by Jacquie Turner, Justin Griffith, Marco Migliara
  • Mastered by Bob Ludwig
  • All songs published by Quinlan Road Music, except in Europe, South America & Southeast Asia (Quinlan Road Music/BMG Music Publishing International)

References