01	The Mystic's Dream						07:42
	02	The Bonny Swans						07:21
	03	The Dark Night Of The Soul						06:44
	04	Marrakesh Night Market						06:30
	05	Full Circle						05:57
	06	Santiago						05:59
	07	Ce He Mise Le Ulaingt? -- The Two Trees						09:10
	08	Prospero's Speech						03:23

Loreena McKennitt - The Mask And Mirror
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'I looked back and forth through the window of 15th century Spain, through the hues of Judaism, Islam and Christianity, and was drawn into a fascinating world: history, religion, cross-cultural fertilisation...From the very familiar turf of the west coast of Ireland, through the troubadours of France, crossing over the Pyrenees and then to the west through Galicia, down through Andalusia and past Gibraltar to Morocco...The Crusades, the pilgrimage to Santiago, Cathars, the Knights Templar, the Sufis from Egypt, One Thousand and One Nights in Arabia, the Celtic sacred imagery of treees, the Gnostic Gospels...who was God? and what is religion, what spirituality? What was revealed and what was concealed...and what was the mask and what the mirror?' - LM

WEA 4509-95296-2 WE833 1994
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The Mystic's Dream (Loreena McKennitt) 07:40 - 'January 24, 1993 - Granada, Spain...evening...lights across the city embrace the body of the Alhambra; the smells of woodsmoke and food hang in the narrow streets. Rambled around the Moorish section of the city; picked up a little gold mirror, an incense burner, a tiny bottle of perfume...Reading Idries Shah's book 'The Sufis' preface by Robert Graves. "...a secret tradition behind all religious and philosophical systems, Sufis have significantly influenced the East and West...They believe not that theirs is a religion, but that it is religion...The 'common sufi' may be as common in the East as in the West, and may come dressed as a merchant, a lawyer, a housewife, anything...to be in the world, but not of it, free from ambition, greed, intellectual pride, blind obedience to custom, or awe of persons higher in rank."...It appears there may be an association with the Druidic order of the Celts.
July, 1993 - learn that Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is a Qawali Sufi.
November 26, 1993 - Idries Shag on Rumi: "the union of the mind and intuition which brings about illumination, and the development which the Sufis seek, is based upon love..."
March 20, 1993 - spent a wonderful evening at a "cafe" in the middle of the desert...the address was "8 miles west of Rissani"...two brothers had created an exotic oasis with their families, palm trees and wheat patches...it felt like a settlement of Eskimos in an expanse of snow. We had been there in daylight and they invited us back to hear their music, but when we returned in the evening we got lost trying to find our tracks among the many in the sand. We saw some lights ahead; the brothers were on top of their roof waving lanterns, signalling us home.' - LM

The Bonny Swans (Traditional arranged and adapted by Loreena McKennitt) 07:18 - 'October 1990 - Annaghmakerrig, Ireland...have been striving to create the pieces and the shape of 'The Visit'. Brought various books of lyrics, poetry and other influences with me: the Unicorn Tapestries, The Golden Bough. Set some traditional lyrics to music; I am drawn to the harp motif and the essence of a fable in which a girl, drowned by her jealous sister, returns first as a swan and then is transformed into a harp...The countryside of County Monaghan would make an ideal location for a visual interpretation, with its lakes, forests and rolling countryside.' - LM

The Dark Night Of The Soul (St. John Of The Cross, arranged Loreena McKennitt) 06:44 - 'May, 1993, Stratford...have been reading through the poetry of 15th century Spain, and I find myself drawn to one by the mystic writer and visionary St. John of the Cross; the untitled work is an exquisite, richly metaphoric love poem between himself and his god. It could pass as a love poem between any two at any time...His approach seems more akin to early Islamic or Judaic works in its more direct route of communication to his god...I have gone over three different translations of the poem, and am struck by how much a translation can alter our interpretation. Am reminded that most holy scriptures come to us in translation, resulting in a diversity of views.' - LM

Marrakesh Night Market (Loreena McKennitt) 06:30 - ' March 16, 1993 - Arrived tonight in Marrakesh and am staying on the edge of the market. It is Ramadan and there is heightened activity all around. I am struck by the hooded features of men as they pass through the lights and shadows: they look monk-like. Horses, carriages, cars, bicycles and thousands of people are embroiled in the activities of the night...a cacophony of sound. I retreat to a rooftop cafe to watch while sipping mint tea...many circles of twenty or so people are scattered around the market, each involved in their own drama of music, storytelling, monkeys on men's shoulders, or cobras being coaxed to 'dance' on rugs; 'magic' concoctions of bone, seeds, stones and spices are sold...women are veiled to a great degree...I am struck by the sense of intrigue the environment creates; as much is concealed as is revealed.' - LM

Full Circle (Loreena McKennitt) 05:57 - 'March 13, 1993, Morocco...Ramadan; I wake up early to catch my flight home, and at 5:30 a.m. hear men chanting in the mosque, one of the most moving and primitive sounds I have ever heard. They are calling their God. I think, when have I heard this before?
November 21, 1988 - St. Benoit-du-Lac, Quebec...have just arrived at this Benedictine monastery in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. It was the first snowfall today, and the brothers were out walking along the long lane as I approached...hooded figures slowly making their way to Mass as snow fell like blessings. I followed the sound of the bells to vespers.
November 24, 1988 - I have wondered about who these men are who have made their way here, who they were before they came. How do each connect to God, and how did it differ from each other's journey, and from mine?...one red-headed lad looked like he could be my brother...I recall speaking with a brother in Glenstal Abbey in Ireland last year about the many and varied paths that hag brought them to that place of worship and reflection.
March 19, 1993 - Morocco...made my way to the thousand-foot sand dune past Erfoud, near the Algerian desert, and rose at dawn to catch the sun rise. I don't think I have ever felt something so simple an yet so powerful. I wondered if the first sunrise was just like this.' - LM

Santiago (Traditional arranged by Loreena McKennitt) 05:58 - 'January, 1992. - Just performed in Santiago de Compostella in the Galician area of Spain...misty and lush as we arrived from more arid areas of the country: clearly Celtic territory in the language and music, and a place I must visit again soon...We arrived a day early; band et al went for a wonderful Sunday lunch and then wandered over to the cathedral to observe the wonderful faces on the Portico.
May 1992 - Santiago de Compostella (St. James in the Field of Stars)...had occasion to return to Galicia and Santiago sooner than I thought...I learned the story behind the city. Supposedly, the remains of St. James arrived mysteriously in the village of Padron (which we visited..lovely line of trees along the waterway leading to the place where the relics were found) and interred here in Santiago...I picked up a CD by Spanish group Els Trobadors...wonderful feeling to this music.
May, 1993 - Now studying liner notes, books and pieces of music, putting together a clearer picture of Santiago in the years 900 to 1500 when it rivalled Jerusalem and Rome as a pilgrimage destination, playing host to a motley tide of humanity pursuing both religious and more earthy goals. It was also the site of unprecedented cross-cultural fertilisation between the Christian, Jewish and Moorish communities. When I heard this piece, I was struck by it's Semitic tone, and realised that even in the area of music, the three communities were influencing each other. ' - LM

Ce He Mise Le Ulaingt?/The Two Trees (William Butler Yeats arranged by Loreena McKennitt) 09:06 - 'Octover 6, 1993 - Stratford...browsing through Yeats' poetry and came across The Two Trees with its lovely sentiment of looking into one's own self for goodness, and the struggle to avoid looking into the glass of cynicism...It strikes me, now, to have a strong Sufi connection n that way...the imagery is quintessentially Irish and reminds me, for some reason, of the ending of John Huston's film The Dead: barren countryside, leafless trees and the starlings crying.' - LM

Prospero's Speech (William Shakespeare arranged by Loreena McKennitt) 03:23 - 'March 19, 1982 - Stratford...have just begun rehearsals for the Stratford production of The Tempest...I am singing the part of Ceres, goddess of agriculture, in the masque...enchanted by the magic and function of the masque as a conduit to the worlds of the gods and nature. The cast had an interesting discussion with a psychologist on the nature of Caliban and what qualified as 'the civilised world'...
April, 1993 - Stratford...once again, I am drawn to Shakespeare for insights into the human condition...Have not created the piece relative to the masque, but rather chose Prospero's closing speech, which is delivered with the sense of the actor removing his mask as an artist...the illusion has ended, and reality and god are left for us to determine for ourselves....' - LM



(p) & (c) 1994 Quinlan Road Ltd

Warner Bros. (9 45420-2)
Canada 1994

Loreena McKennitt, vocals, dumbeg, keyboards, accordion, harp, piano, organ pipes; with Brian Hughes, guitars, oud, balalaika, electric sitar; Rick Lazar, dumbek, udu drum, percussion; George Koller, bass, tamboura, cello, esraj; Ravi Naimpally, tabla; Abraham Tawfik, nai, oud; Anne Bourne, cello, vocals; Patrick Hutchinson, Uilleann pipes; Donald Lunny, bouzouki, bodhran; Hugh Marsh, fiddle; Al Cross, drums; Nigel Eaton, hurdy-gurdy; Ofra Harnoy, cello

Joe McGlinchey:
An amazing album, the first one I ever heard by Canada's leading lady of folk, new age, and world music fusion. I think of Loreena as a kind of female Peter Gabriel. And like Gabriel's solo career, some are turned off by the adult contemporary sheen of the music, others by the mellow, new agey aspects. Still, Loreena's intelligence and hunger to fashion eclectic, lesser-covered musical traditions into a new form have ultimately won me over. Love her or hate her, one has to admit that her music is spotlessly crafted. Not to mention just plain disarmingly beautiful, as many tracks of this album make readily apparent: "The Mystic's Dream," "The Dark Night of the Soul," "Marrakesh Night Market," "Santiago," and (the track that hooked me, as well as my Dad, who introduced me to her) "The Bonny Swans." This is my personal favorite album of hers, and if you react positively to this one, you'll certainly want to get The Visit and Book of Secrets as well.

Brandon Wu:
Excellent Celtic/folk/symphonic/world/vocal music, rife with beautiful melodies. Difficult to categorize but easy to enjoy: McKennitt's voice is one of the more pleasant ones out there, to be sure, and her musicianship is nothing short of stellar. She tastefully blends various acoustic instruments, weaving a whole which borrows from many different world/cultural influences as well as more conventional Celtic and folk melodies. Instrumentation is somewhat sparse in some pieces, but her wonderful vocals more than make up for it. The slightest touches of proggy symphonic-rockisms are even evident on a couple of tracks (most notably the delicious guitar/violin duets on "The Bonny Swans"). And the percussion is extremely pleasing, with lots of interesting types of drums played in a manner that is a far cry from the passive percussion found on most vocal pop recordings. The ambience and emotional level overall is somewhat moody and pensive, though far from depressing. Each of McKennitt's latest three studio albums (The Visit, this one, and The Book of Secrets) is in basically the same style, but this one is the best in my opinion, as well as being the moodiest and most atmospheric. Among prog fans at least, The Mask and Mirror is most often suggested as the ideal starting point for exploring this wonderful artist. A worthy recording; the only fault I find with it is that after listening for a while, the music begins to seem almost trancelike, and has been known to put people to sleep. This should not be taken in a negative way, though - when all is said and done this album should be investigated by any prog fan who leans towards the folk and world-music influences in progressive rock.



McKennitt, Loreena [Canada]
Updated 4/23/01
Discography
Elemental (85)
To Drive the Cold Winter Away (87)
Parallel Dreams (89)
The Visit (91)
The Mask and Mirror (94)
A Winter Garden: Five Songs For The Season (95, EP)
Live In San Francisco (95, EP)
The Book Of Secrets (97)
Live In Paris And Toronto (99)


Reviews
Loreena McKennitt

Loreena McKennitt is one of the most exciting musicians to come out of Canada in the past decade. Her music shows a heavy British Isles/Irish folk influence, often combined with a medieval sound and occasionally ventures into Spanish and Middle-eastern music. A lot of people compare her to Enya, but a much more apt comparison would be with Dead Can Dance-- or maybe with early Alan Stivell. Her music, though mellow, does not confine itself to the synth-ethereal sound that Enya's does, and incorporates a wider variety of rock and world instruments as well. Loreena's voice, furthermore, is much richer and more operatic than Enya's. Her arrangments are also more elaborate. Her first three albums, though quite good, might not be the best introduction to her music for a prog fan. They tend to be very relaxed, very melodic versions of traditional Irish, Scottish, and North American folk tunes, with lilting vocals, seasoned by very beautiful arrangements on harp, guitar, keyboards, bass, violin, and occasional pipes and percussion. There are a couple of compositions that feature spoken-word poetry over the music as well. Loreena really comes into full blossom on The Visit. It's a more eclectic album, containing tunes inspired by Persian and Argentinian musical traditions, and it's slightly more up-tempo and rockish as well. The centerpiece of this album is the 12-minute "The Lady of Shallott" which uses the words of Tennyson's poem for lyrics. (Loreena actually does this a lot-- she has set several Shakespearean speeches to music as well.) The Mask and Mirror continues these musical explorations even further with an attempt to capture the mood of medieval Spain and Morocco on several of the songs (like "The Mystic's Dream" and "Marrakesh Night Market"). With it's lush melodies, trance-like rhythms, rich vocal harmonies, and wonderful instrumental arrangements (featuring some great guitar playing by Brian Hughes), it's probably the best album of hers for a prog-fan to pick up. -- James Chokey

When I first took over as editor of the GEPR, I was surprised to find Loreena McKennitt's name in the encyclopedia. I'm a big fan of Ms. McKennitt's music, but I never really considered it to be progressive. This is what I would call "world music", in a big way, since she uses rhythms and musical modalities from all over the world, usually with her ethereal vocals over the top. Seldom rock, frequently Celtic, and usually intriguing. Also great music for home birthing (trust me on this one). Her latest live album Live In Paris And Toronto is an excellently performed and recorded overview of all her music, I would recommend this as a good starting point to get to know her style. -- Fred Trafton