Loreena McKennitt
A Midwinter Night's Dream

THE REVIEW

After nine long years of travels and discoveries, which brought to light the immense and acclaimed "An Ancient Muse", our red-headed Canadian decides to take a (well-deserved) break and returns with this "A Midwinter Night's Dream" (October 28, 2008) to classic, restful, and above all less demanding sounds, once again drawing on traditional folk songs (Christmas and otherwise) and rearranging them in an absolutely personal way.

So do not expect to find the diverse musical and cultural influences that once made the most applauded masterpieces famous, but rather these will be just an imperceptible shadow that occasionally peeks through the album's tracks, five of which are the modest revision of the EP "A Winter Garden" (1995). "A Midwinter Night's Dream" is, overall, a simple and intimate album directed towards the eternal and colorful course of the seasons and particularly winter, seen by the artist as a dreary yet smiling period, stimulating reflection - but I think that applies to everyone a bit.

Firstly, the production is perfect and crystal-clear as never before: not a smudge prevents the delightful arrangements from harmoniously blending with McKennitt's voice, and the latter, apparently, does not seem to show any signs of age, maintaining the usual professional clarity worthy of a true soprano. Loreena could live to be a hundred years old, but her voice would remain as it always has been.

Now let's move on to the more "succulent" aspects: beyond the formal aspects, what does this album offer us?

The tracks are predominantly very short and therefore essentially and linearly structured: "round", cohesive, concise, and delightfully catchy tunes, often supported by layers of tribal percussion that wink unabashedly at dear old "Marco Polo", and flashes of sweet, deep, and ethereal introspection.

In the first case, we can highlight the floral cheerfulness of "Good King Wenceslas", where a real exchange of lines occurs between voice, flutes, violins, and guitar, while in the engaging and joyful tranquility of "Noel Nouvelet!" and especially in the smooth and enveloping "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen", a dense and unmistakable Middle Eastern scent can still be detected - a tendency that Loreena will probably never abandon.

Regarding the more atmospheric aspect, we must mention the opener "The Holly & The Ivy", illuminated by a latent and undefined melancholy (thanks to the vibrant notes of the piano), the much-revisited "Snow", where Loreena's warm voice rises diaphanous in a triumph of strings and plucked instruments, and finally the instrumental "The Breton Carol" and "In the Bleak Midwinter", undoubtedly picturesque and refined but not particularly remarkable episodes.

The album evolves convincingly without, however, leaving one speechless (which happened when listening to almost all the predecessors), wandering calmly between the most memorable and festive moments, those that gently imprint in the mind, and the songs that play a role of excellent and rich accompaniment, but still mere accompaniment they are. In light of a more objective analysis, the album indeed seems at times diluted, homogeneous, and very "plain and simple": it almost seems as if it were composed with a certain disinterest, without any burst of brilliant inspiration.

"A Midwinter Night's Dream" is, all in all, a generous breath of fresh air after an intensive immersion, as well as the worthy synthesis of the countless experiences lived by the artist and a new anticipation of potential future works that will add to her career, far from being concluded. Are we facing a masterpiece? Certainly not. This does not mean that it is not an enormously enjoyable, multi-colored work delicately crafted in the McKennitt home, and that says it all about its (enviable) quality.
Now, it's your turn to decide.