The Wind That Shakes The Barley

This CD should surprise those who have been accustomed to the style of the last several cds,and I doubt this will disappoint. It is lovely, with her lilting voice, equally capable with the sorrowful tunes and the peaceful ones. These songs are quieter than those on Alhambra, and since her voice does not have to compete with the drums (hardly any drums in these songs at all) you can really enjoy the purity of her voice. What a pleasure to sit back and listen to, and be jealous of;) The songs are traditional celtic pieces that Loreena has arranged and she accompanies 4 of them on harp. I think this instrument displays her skill as a musician best and it is not drowned out by loud accoustics. One of the songs is a tune that she has on her Christmas CD. Here she has used entirely new words, so it is no longer a "Christmas" song. It is pretty - just surprising to have such a radically different story! She is joined by some of the best musicians and they contribute to making this an enjoyable CD - perfect for relaxing or even listening while you work. Hugh Marsh is again on violin, and I love this man's skill. It would be terrific to see a "Devil Went Down to Georgia" type competition with Itzhac Perlman, another favorite violinist of mine. I don't suppose someone could arrange it? And Caroline Lavelle makes the cello absolutely buttery smooth. Digressing a bit, I hope that Peter Jackson, now filming the Hobbit, will listen to this music and and realize that Loreena McKennitt is actually part Elvish, and give her a cameo appearance (with music) in the House of Elrond. There is great music and story telling in that great hall, and Loreena should be a shoe-in. While he is at it, he could get Benjamin Bagby, of Sequentia, with his ancient harp, and he could be a storyteller in the style of his "Beowulf" performance. If he can speak ancient anglo saxon like that, the Elvin tongues should be nothing for him to learn, and it would be amazing to see the talents of McKennit and Bagby combined. Thank you, Loreena for another excellent cd. Thank you for your contribution to making the world more beautiful!

Loreena McKennitt returns to her roots with a collection of Celtic inspired music. There are some classic folk songs and a composition by McKennitt. Also included is an interpretation of William Butler Yeats' Down by the Sally Gardens, which incidentally Yeats attributes to folk music he heard as a child in Ireland. McKennitt has frequently used the poetry of Yeats and always introduces me to new interpretations of this great poet's work. Her voice remains clear and expressive and the instrumentation is a perfect balance to her vocal abilities. Like most Celtic music, the themes of young love and tragedy predominate, but the Celts had a wonderful way of reaching deep emotional resonance with their melodies, arrangements, and lyrics. McKennitt does a wonderful interpretation. The songs focus on Celtic music and are a bit different from McKennitt's more recent experimentation and integration of world music. The instruments used often include Celtic fiddles with their ability to bring dance and pep to some selections and mournful moods to others. An great collection.

While you may be a top 10 reviewer, I disagree with you on a few points E.A. Solinas. Every song on this album fits Loreena like the best 5-fingered glove. Before her worldly sound developed in 'The Visit', Ms. McKennitt had very much pinned down 'Celtic' sound to a science and with 'The Wind that Shakes the Barley', she brings all of her experience and knowledge, from 'Elemental' to 'An Ancient Muse', with her. There is no part of this beautiful tread down memory lane that isn't wholly Loreena McKennitt and her troupe of amazing musicians, every single one contributing to the album in their own incredibly unique ways. If Loreena McKennitt decided to stop making music with this album (which I'm sure she won't), as disappointed as I would be, I couldn't imagine a better finish than by bringing us back to her roots. With Loreena's worldly influence and Celtic flair, this album absolutely soars as her finest work to date. An absolute masterpiece in every way, and while I'd review every song, I can't. The individual reviews would be "I LOVE THIS SONG." This album has been 54 years in the making. It doesn't take nearly as long to fall in love with it.

I do not find this CD as well cut and clear as many other Celtic CDs that I have bought in the past. This is my first one by this artist and have put her on my "must buy" list quite a while ago but Amazon had a good deal on this CD and so I decided to try it. While I do love the music, and while I know that some of the lyrics are of course in the Celtic language (I hope I am saying this right), I am still having problems even with the English. I find the music downs out this artist's voice a bit, at least to my ears (and of course, it could just be me as having taught in a lecture hall for many years now, I find my hearing just not as good as it used to be). Overall though, I like the CD and think it is worth buying if Celtic music with vocals is your thing.

Loreena McKennitt's first two albums, "Elemental" and "Parallel Dreams," were self-produced albums of traditional Celtic music, in addition to classical poems set to music and instrumental pieces. Only with the "The Visit" did Loreena begin her own lyrical contributions and really come into her own. Now after years of exploring Celtic culture and its historical path through the Mediterranean and the Middle East, she's returning to the traditional Irish music that launched her career. It's interesting to listen to her interpretations of these songs compared with her earlier works. It reflects the years of life experience that has passed, and shows how her voice and musical style have matured. She brings in less of her well-known ethereal sound, opting for a more earthy tone for the first few tracks. "As I Roved Out" and "The Star of the County Down" are lively Irish jigs, energetic and fun. She interprets W.B. Yeats "Down by the Sally Gardens" beautifully, taking a rather short poem and expanding it into a full length song. She famously set Yeats' "Stolen Child" to music in "Elemental," so coming back to his works truly exemplifies a return to her roots. The traditional English ballad "The Death of Queen Jane" is a standout, beautiful and tragic, it leaves you thinking about it long after the song is over. The instrumental piece "The Emigration Tunes" is actually a song she performed live early in her career, which she has reinterpreted for this album. The last song, "The Parting Glass" is extremely powerful and somber. You rarely hear such genuine emotion, and it speaks to anyone who has endured a personal loss. This is a beautiful album by a great artist looking back over her life, finding perspective by returning to her roots.

This is a CD that goes deep into the soul. The songs are for the most part mournful with Loreena's voice beautiful as usual as is the instrumentation in the music. Inside the CD cover, she says ;that "Every once in a while, there is a pull to return to one's own roots..." and that is what this is, a return to her roots. An aside which isn't reflected in the rating--why cardboard covers? The CD's get scratched easier that way. And I was disappointed that the lyrics weren't printed in side the cover as her previous ones have been.

My husband and I are long time Loreena McKennitt fans and I was thrilled to see a new CD out just in time for me to purchase for Christmas. We finally got the chance to listen to it last night and it was wonderful. Since her first album of traditional celtic music in 1985, Loreena has been exploring the roots of Celtic music mostly through her own compositions. Now she has returned to the same vein of traditional songs that she mined with her first album "Elemental". The new album is reminiscent of her first album but incorporates the lush arrangements that she perfected over the last 25 years. The result is a gratifying listening experience.

I ordered this item expecting "new age" takes on Celtic folk songs, similar to McKennitt's "Bonnie Swans" on Mask & Mirror . On the first listen I was disappointed, this having more of an authentic traditional sound, in spite of an electric guitar (among more traditional instruments) on 4 songs. On the second listen, knowing what to expect, I was over-awed. I own about 50 Celtic albums. This quickly became my third favorite of them, after Celtic Christmas Spirit & Julie Fowlis' Cuilidh (W/Dvd) (Spec) . ( Auld Lang Syne: A Fine Selection of Popular Robert Burns Songs is a close fourth). Most of the music is haunting, especially the spare "the wind that shakes the barley" & the jigging "the star of county down (yes, a haunting jig!). And yes the titles are in all lower case on the cover. My biggest complaint is that the lyrics were not included, but the songs are fairly easy to understand.

What can be said about Lorreena McKennitt? What a voice, what an amazing artist, an amazing soul. Inspirational dreamy.

2 ans après "A Midwinter Night's Dream", qui sonnait festivités et réjouissances de fin d'année et qui incitait à l'admiration de l'Hiver, Loreena McKennitt nous revient avec "The Wind That Shakes The Barley" enregistré dans le magnifique et symbolique temple de Sharon au Canada. L'artiste a voulu se pencher de nouveau vers ses racines Celtes en nous offrant une palette de compositions traditionnelles arrangées et réorchestrées par elle-même ainsi qu'une instrumentale composée de ses mains et de son âme, "The Emigration Tune", qui est à mon avis une des plus belles pièces de cet album. Loreena McKennitt nous convie ici de nouveau à un voyage dans l'Histoire et la symbolique de grands événements. Ici, au-delà des influences Celtiques qui sont chères à l'artiste et auxquelles elle voulait se rattacher comme "un retour aux sources" nous dit-elle, il s'agit également d'un hymne à la symbolique de la Révolution Irlandaise du XIXe siècle. Loreena célèbre même le puissant symbole d'espoir de l'émigration Irlandaise, émigration qui a conduit bon nombre d'Irlandais loin de leur patrie et de leurs familles avec la profonde et sincère composition "The Emigration Tune"... Loreena s'affaire ici à nous transmettre toute l'émotion de ses racines Celtes en nous offrant des compositions traditionnelles subtilement retravaillées dans une approche sensible et touchante de la part de l'artiste, mais elle nous plonge également au coeur d'un pan entier qui fonda l'Irlande et son Histoire. "The Wind That Shakes The Barley" est également le titre d'un film racontant avec émoi et sincérité cette période de révolution que bon nombre de pays ont connu, traduit par "Le Vent Souffle" ou "Le Vent Qui Secoue l'Orge" (orge qui dans certaines civilisations est d'aileurs symbole de puissance et de réussite guerrières), l'album de Loreena McKennitt en est de même : un nouveau vent souffle dans l'inspiration de l'artiste, dans son orientation, plus proche de l'artiste et de sa sublime sensibilité. Le vent du retour aux sources, tel un appel à se retrouver et à se ressourcer dans les racines de l'artiste ainsi que dans sa patrie : le Canada (où a été enregistré l'album). Cet album est tout simplement magnifique, profond de symboles et d'images sincères d'une terre Irlandaise retrouvée jusque dans ses fondements. L'album est un symbole en lui-même, symbole d'espoir et de souvenirs, tant pour l'artiste qui retrouve ses racines et qui se retrouve elle-même, que pour l'Irlande, terre de souvenirs et de traditions.

I recently heard Loreena McKennitt for the first time on Radio 2 singing `The Star of the County Down'. I was blown away by the beauty of her voice. The last time a singer had that effect on me was when I first heard the sadly little known Martin Sexton singing `Black Sheep'. I went straight onto Amazon and brought this album. Canadian born McKennitt has a wonderful haunting quality to her voice, that you often find in people that have had to face the stormy vicissitudes of life. In 1998 her fiancé was killed in a boating accident, which must have had a devastating effect on her. But like Damascus steel forged in the furnace, her voice achieves that elusive soulful quality. It is clear from her singing that she has a natural affinity with Celtic music, and has gone back to her roots with this CD. The CD sleeve says I quote "Every once in a while, there is a pull to return to one's own roots or beginnings, with the perspective of time and experience, to feel the familiar things you once loved and love still", which is a nice way of putting it. All the words are traditional except "Down by the Sally Gardens". The title is taken from a well known Irish ballad that was also used for the Ken Loach film. Loreena has indeed returned triumphantly to the roots she loves. My only regret is that there are two lovely instrumental pieces where I did not get the opportunity to listen to more of that beautiful voice. Some might say aren't seven out of nine enough? My reply would be "Not for me I'm a pig".

Arrivato in tempi brevi. Imballaggio perfetto.

Devuelto la primera copia ( rápido remplazo por los trabajadores de Amazon) disco de vinilo, ovalado,mucho ruido, funda interior rota, suelta trozos de papel .. segunda copia mucho mejor , vinilo plano y más silencioso sin ser perfecto ,la funda interior aún siendo antiestática, el disco tiene papelitos, limpiar bien antes de ponerlo...la música es escelente, el vinilo traslucido en amarillo, es bonito, faltaría un insert con las letras... Por el precio alto que se paga