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Rating: I have always thought that traveling is not just a simple way to abandon the systematic daily routine to dive into new experiences, in contact with new cultures and new societies, but also an introspective journey through which one can discover and traverse new paths for the spirit; the discovery is not exclusively empirical, but can reflect in the heart and mind of the one who experiences it, lives it as part of themselves, makes it their own, and this discovery thus becomes the person themself, because sometimes it's not necessary to discover by searching, but to search by discovering.
Very few manage to delve deeply into their own roots and those of humanity. Expressing it in words is even more difficult. Let alone through music.
Loreena McKennitt has always succeeded and has chosen to offer this gift to us, immortalizing the fruits of her life experiences with each new release and particularly with this cd/dvd filmed live at the Alhambra (Granada, Spain). An hour and a half of concert where Loreena and about ten other musicians truly give the best of the best. The performance is perfect and immaculate, practically identical to the studio production. The setlist includes all the most important (and obviously most beautiful) tracks from the artist's discography and can be defined as a complete synthesis of her career from 1985 to present.
Certainly not missing are the more traditional tracks resurrected from the past, like the unforgettable "Stolen Child" and the famous "She Moved through the Fair," performed right after the masterful 'ouverture' of "The Mystic's Dream": precious timeless melodies brilliantly performed that follow one another until reaching the sunny "The Mummer's Dance," and at times, one can notice how the ten musicians are not just there to play, but also to have fun, almost as if they were playing among themselves in a carefree whirl of notes and driving rhythms. Loreena wanders around the stage to the rhythm of the music, smiles shyly, the musicians' gazes cross now and then exchanging nods of understanding, they strum their instruments with ease and laugh -like in the excellent "Marco Polo" or, even better, during the performance of "Santiago" where Loreena hops lively, happier than ever.
And so the rest of the concert continues, alternating more lively and irresistible parts with tear-jerking moments: "Penelope's Song," "Never Ending Road," and "Dante's Prayer" are performed by a Loreena huddled at the piano, covered by her cascade of red hair, lost in her thoughts, with a tired and weary face and eyes shining with tears barely held back. Other songs are much more demanding, though with less emotional charge: "The Bonny Swans" leaves one stunned by the high notes reached by Loreena's crystal clear voice and "Bonny Portmore" mixes lyricism and vehemence resulting in decidedly intense and breathtaking. The austerity spreads through the air with "The Lady of Shalott" and "Caravanserai" gifts shivers of emotion with its mystical and fairy oriental-flavored harmony.
Amid changes of atmosphere and rhythms, among the smiles of the musicians and the tender emotion of our Muse and after some suggestive glimpses of the city of Granada, the concert inevitably concludes with the clear "Cymbeline": sad and angelic, it gradually fades to gracefully close one of the most beautiful concerts I have ever seen (regardless of whether it is live or not). The audience rises, applauds, and acclaims, some bring bouquets of flowers to Loreena. Certainly, what is described here was much more than a simple concert: it is the story of a woman, an artist who recounts joys and sorrows, curious discoveries, and deep reflections through the magic of a music all her own that does not and will never have rivals. And the journey continues...
"When the dark night seems endless,
please, remember me..."
Thank you, Loreena. We will not forget you.
Tracklist and Lyrics
01 The Mystic's Dream (06:35)
A clouded dream on an earthly night
Hangs upon the crescent moon
A voiceless song in an ageless light
Sings at the coming dawn
Birds in flight are calling there
Where the heart moves the stones
It's there that my heart is longing for
All for the love of you
A painting hangs on an ivy wall
Nestled in the emerald moss
The eyes declare a truce of trust
And then it draws me far away
Deep in the desert twilight
Sand melts in pools of the sky
When darkness lays her crimson cloak
Your lamps will call, call me home
And so it's there my homage's due
Clutched by the still of the night
And now I feel you move
And every breath is full
So it's there my homage's due
Clutched by the still of the night
Even the distance feels so near
All for the love of you.
03 Stolen Child (04:17)
Where dips the rocky highland
Of Sleuth Wood in the lake
There lies a leafy island
Where flapping herons wake
The drowsy water-rats
There we've hid our fairy vats
Full of berries
And of reddest stolen cherries.
Chorus:
Come away, oh human child
To the waters and the wild
With a fairy hand in hand
For the world's more full of weeping
Than you can understand.
Where the wave of moonlight glosses
The dim grey sands with light
By far off furthest Rosses
We foot it all the night
Weaving olden dances
Mingling hands and mingling glances
Till the moon has taken flight
To and fro we leap
And chase the frothy bubbles
While the world is full of troubles
And is anxious in its sleep.
Chorus
Where the wandering water gushes
From the hills above Glen-Car
In pools among the rushes
That scarce could bathe a star
We seek for slumbering trout
And whispering in their ears
Give them unquiet dreams
Leaning softly out
From ferns that drop their tears
Over the young streams.
Chorus
Away with us he's going
The solemn-eyed
He'll hear no more the lowing
Of the calves on the warm hillside
Or the kettle on the hob
Sing peace into his breast
Or see the brown mice bob
Round and round the oatmeal chest.
For he comes, the human child
To the waters and the wild
With a fairy hand in hand
For the world's more full of weeping
Than you can understand.
04 The Mummers' Dance (04:26)
When in the springtime of the year
When the trees are crowned with leaves
When the ash and oak, and the birch and yew
Are dressed in ribbons fair
When owls call the breathless moon
In the blue veil of the night
The shadows of the trees appear
Amidst the lantern light
CHORUS:
We've been rambling all the night
And some time of this day
Now returning back again
We bring a garland gay
Who will go down to those shady groves
And summon the shadows there
And tie a ribbon on those sheltering arms
In the springtime of the year
The songs of birds seem to fill the wood
That when the fiddler plays
All their voices can be heard
Long past their woodland days
CHORUS
And so they linked their hands and danced
Round in circles and in rows
And so the journey of the night descends
When all the shades are gone
A garland gay we bring you here
And at your door we stand
It is a sprout well budded out
The work of our Lord's hand
Chorus
05 Penelope's Song (04:25)
Now that the time has come
Soon gone is the day
There upon some distant shore
You'll hear me say
Long as the day in the summer time
Deep as the wine dark sea
I'll keep your heart with mine.
Till you come to me.
There like a bird I'd fly
High through the air
Reaching for the sun's full rays
Only to find you there
And in the night when our dreams are still
Or when the wind calls free
I'll keep your heart with mine
Till you come to me
Now that the time has come
Soon gone is the day
There upon some distant shore
You'll hear me say
Long as the day in the summer time
Deep as the wine dark sea
I'll keep your heart with mine.
Till you come to me
07 The Bonny Swans (04:45)
A farmer there lived in the north country
a hey ho bonny o
And he had daughters one, two, three
The swans swim so bonny o
These daughters they walked by the river's brim
a hey ho bonny o
The eldest pushed the youngest in
The swans swim so bonny o
Oh sister, oh sister, pray lend me your hand
with a hey ho a bonny o
And I will give you house and land
the swans swim so bonny o
I'll give you neither hand nor glove
with a hey ho a bonny o
Unless you give me your own true love
the swans swim so bonny o
Sometimes she sank, sometimes she swam
with a hey ho and a bonny o
Until she came to a miller's dam
the swans swim so bonny o
The miller's daughter, dressed in red
with a hey ho and a bonny o
She went for some water to make some bread
the swans swim so bonny o
Oh father, oh daddy, here swims a swan
with a hey ho and a bonny o
It's very like a gentle woman
the swans swim so bonny o
They placed her on the bank to dry
with a hey ho and a bonny o
There came a harper passing by
the swans swim so bonny o
He made harp pins of her fingers fair
with a hey ho and a bonny o
He made harp strings of her golden hair
the swans swim so bonny o
He made a harp of her breast bone
with a hey ho and a bonny o
And straight it began to play alone
the swans swim so bonny o
He brought it to her father's hall
with a hey ho and a bonny o
And there was the court, assembled all
the swans swim so bonny o
He laid the harp upon a stone
with a hey ho and a bonny o
And straight it began to play lone
the swans swim so bonny o
And there does sit my father the King
with a hey ho and a bonny o
And yonder sits my mother the Queen
the swans swim so bonny o
And there does sit my brother Hugh
with a hey ho and a bonny o
And by him William, sweet and true
the swans swim so bonny o
And there does sit my false sister, Anne
with a hey ho and a bonny o
Who drowned me for the sake of a man
the swans swim so bonny o
08 Dante's Prayer (05:07)
When the dark wood fell before me
And all the paths were overgrown
When the priests of pride say there is no other way
I tilled the sorrows of stone
I did not believe because I could not see
Though you came to me in the night
When the dawn seemed forever lost
You showed me your love in the light of the stars
Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me
Then the mountain rose before me
By the deep well of desire
From the fountain of forgiveness
Beyond the ice and fire
Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me
Though we share this humble path, alone
How fragile is the heart
Oh give these clay feet wings to fly
To touch the face of the stars
Breathe life into this feeble heart
Lift this mortal veil of fear
Take these crumbled hopes, etched with tears
We'll rise above these earthly cares
Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me
Please remember me
09 Caravanserai (06:58)
This glancing life is like a morning star
A setting sun, or rolling waves at sea
A gentle breeze or lightning in a storm
A dancing dream of all eternity
The sand was shimmering in the morning light
And dancing off the dunes so far away
The night held music so sweet, so long
And there we lay until the break of day
We woke that morning at the onward call
Our camels bridled up, our howdahs full
The sun was rising in the eastern sky
Just as we set out to the desert's cry
Calling, yearning, pulling, home to you
The tents grew smaller as we rode away
On earth that tells of many passing days
The months of peace and all the years of war
The lives of love and all the lives of fears
Calling, yearning, pulling, home to you
We crossed the river beds all etched in stone
And up the mighty mountains ever known
Beyond the valleys in the searing heat
Until we reached the caravanserai
Calling, yearning, pulling, home to you
Calling, yearning, pulling, home to you
What is this life that pulls me far away
What is that home where we cannot reside
What is that quest that pulls me onward
My heart is full when you are by my side
Calling, yearning, pulling, home to you
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