Loreena McKennitt
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Loreena McKennitt, C.M., (b. February 17 1957) is a Canadian singer, harpist and pianist. She writes and performs Celtic-style music with a new-age feel.
Biography
McKennitt was born in Morden, Manitoba of Irish and Scottish descent to parents Jack and Irene McKennitt.McKennitt moved to Stratford, Ontario in 1981, where she still lives, and released her first album, Elemental, in 1985. She began to garner global attention with subsequent releases of self-produced work, including To Drive the Cold Winter Away (1987), Parallel Dreams (1989), The Visit (1991), The Mask and Mirror (1994), A Winter Garden (1995) and The Book of Secrets (1997). Her single Mummer's Dance was a widespread success, receiving considerable airplay in North American markets during spring 1997. All of her work has been released under her own label, Quinlan Road.
In 1995, her song Bonny Portmore was prominently featured in the sci-fi/fantasy film Highlander 3: The Final Dimension, causing a large increase of her album sales.
Tragedy struck in 1998 when McKennitt's fiancé Ronald Rees and two others close to her drowned during a boating accident. She was deeply affected by the tragedy, founding the Cook-Rees Memorial Fund the same year, and releasing an album of two live performances called Live in Paris and Toronto, in which all of the profits were donated to the fund. Since then, McKennitt has released no new recordings and has only occasionally performed live.
In July 2004, Governor General Adrienne Clarkson made her a member of the Order of Canada, the most prestigious civilian honour in Canada.
In late 2004, fan hopes of a long-awaited re-emergence were buoyed by a rare concert appearance for the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation on December 7, 2004, at Brussels' Cirque Royal and notes on the Quinlan Road website about inspiration for new material. In addition, she performed at the Edmonton Folk Festival on August 4, 2005. McKennitt talked about research in Turkey and Greece, as well as China and Mongolia. In a recent Quinlan Road newsletter, she is quoted as writing, "I am presently in the thick of the research and writing phase for my next studio recording. All being well, I hope to be in the studio this year enjoying the creative companionship of some fine musicians."
In July of 2005, Loreena spent some time at Real World Studios, recording new songs for her next album. According to the Quinlan Road website, "We recorded three songs during this adventure and sketched out a few more." The recording session included collaborations between McKennitt and a musical band from Greece, along with other performers. According to her official website Loreena's new album will be released in the fall of 2006.
McKennitt's music has been officially clasified as World/New Age/Celtic Music even though it contains aspects and characteristics of music from around the globe. Each album contains songs from different cultures and could therefore not be classified.
Loreena produces her records in her own independent record label Quinlan Road. The label's official website, Quinlanroad.com provides an explanation of Loreena's music, contains a personal message, updates and a very interesting giftshop that includes books on history, traditional celtic crosses and alike. The website is also available in 14 different languages including Hebrew, Japanese, Arabic and Mandarin Chinese.
Loreena has an unusual way of creating her albums: before any music is composed she engages in massive research on a specific subject which will be the general concept of her albums. Before creating Elemental she decided to travel to Ireland and inspire herself with the country's history, geography, feeling and more. This allows the album to create an Irish feeling. Before producing The Mask and Mirror McKennitt traveled to Spain. There she engaged in researching the Celtic section of Spain along with its abundant arabic roots, thus creating an album including elements of both Celtic and Arabic Music.
Unlike other popular artists, Loreena McKennitt refuses to engage in a special image of any kind and denies the so-called superiority and special treatment many other celebrities claim they have and take for granted. Instead, the humble McKennitt focuses her message on life itself, the journey of life and the creation of new pathways. She creates her website as a place not for spreading her popularity, but her personal message. In her own words: "I am honoured to count you among our community of friends, and I remember how many people I have met in my travels through music that have made my life so much richer."
McKennitt is often compared to Enya, but is more grounded in traditional and classical invocations using literary works as sources of lyrics and springboards for interpretation such as "The Lady of Shalott" by Lord Tennyson, "Prospero's Speech", the final soliloquy in William Shakespeare's The Tempest, "Snow" by Archibald Lampman, William Blake’s “Prologue, intended for a dramatic piece of King Edward the fourth” and "The Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes.
Discography
Albums
- Elemental (1985)
- To Drive the Cold Winter Away (1987)
- Parallel Dreams (1989)
- The Visit (1991)
- The Mask and Mirror (1994)
- The Book of Secrets (1997)
- Live in Paris and Toronto (1999)
Shorter recordings
Singles
Videos
- "The Mummers' Dance" (1997)
- "The Bonny Swans"
Other
- No Journey’s End (half-hour profile, aired on PBS; DVD)
External links
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