Loreena McKennitt
To Drive The Cold Winter Away

THE REVIEW

"As a child, my most vivid impression of winter music came from songs and hymns recorded in churches or large halls, each rich with its own unique atmosphere and tradition. In that spirit, I traveled to various similar places that I've come to appreciate in my journeys."

And it is precisely the sobriety, the calmness, and the tenderness of intimate moments of prayer that gently illuminate "To Drive the Cold Winter Away" (1987), the second album by the Canadian, once again inspired by the simplicity of the places where it was recorded, like the "Church Of Our Lady" in Guelph, or in Ireland, Ontario, or a Benedictine monastery.

Little form but lots of content, therefore: indeed, this album is an exquisite collage of Christmas and seasonal songs with a homely and traditional flavor, lacking those masterful arrangements that made the later masterpieces sublime but instead bare and almost rarefied, aided by a production that, at first glance, might seem poorly managed and superficial, also due to some background noises.

"I hope these noises don't distract the listener but rather that they are accepted as the traces of straw on a wool sweater your grandmother made to keep winter away."

But McKennitt's intent is precisely to strip the album's production to highlight its bareness: not by chance songs like "The King" and "Let All that Are to Mirth Inclined" stand out for their soft echoes, reverberations, and slightly blurred sounds that make the atmosphere perfectly aligned with the celebratory and deliberately unrefined spirit of this work. The sparse tradition is, so to speak, a bit of Loreena's "pre-eclecticism" ace up the sleeve, and even in this case, she demonstrates it admirably.

Most of the tracks here lean exclusively on the lips or rather the (golden, implied) vocal cords of Loreena: what a hold! Episodes such as "Balulalow" and "The Wexford Carol" don't immediately leave a mark, precisely because listening to them, one becomes captive to these angelic lullabies, enchanted and above all gently rocked by the vocal flights of our artist, who soar in the air like a blanket of rose petals.

Delicate bursts of folk can be heard here and there, as in "The Seasons" and the already mentioned "The King", while the instrumental "The Stockford Carol" sheds a drowsy warmth over a rustic room caressed by the gentle crackling of a fire in the fireplace; "Snow", on the other hand, shines with a Christmas candor sweetened by festive flutes.

Hence, it won't be the easiest listening experience, nor will it be Loreena's best album, and it won't enjoy an impeccable production, but "To Drive the Cold Winter Away" is (and now I'll make my own comparison) like cookies made by grandma: sure, they don't have the same quality and advertising as Mulino Bianco, but heck, in these cookies (and in this record) you taste the real tradition to the fullest and feel so much, so much heart.