Under A Winter’s Moon
Quinlan Road, 2022
9/10
Listen to Under A Winter’s Moon
The Juno Award-winning Canadian artist Loreena McKennitt returns with her 16th album, where the songs are culled from a series of seasonal concerts held in a historic sanctuary in Stratford, Ontario in December 2021, and are spread across this six-panel, two-disc digipak.
The album opens with Tom Jackson reading ‘The Sky Woman Story”, which sets the tone for the record, and “Balulalow” follows with McKennitt’s stunning, gorgeous pipes emitting so much beauty in their flawless delivery.
Further on in Disc 1, “Dicken’s Dublin” showcases elegant piano amid the soothing strings and poetic singing, while “Huron Carol” offers much intimacy thanks to the stirring strings and cautious storytellling.
Disc 2 opens with the dreaminess of the absorbing “Snow”, where McKennitt hits some very high notes, and “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” recruits Eastern ideas into the flowing and percussively strong highlight that’s full of cultured song craft. “In The Bleak Midwinter” exits the listen, and it’s a brief but memorable instrumental that’s textured with much sophistication and meticulousness.
A wintry collection of songs that can resonate all year, the sound quality here is superb, and McKennitt’s craft is in fine form and not only with singing; she also plays harp, accordion and keyboards. Her inimitable formula of pop, World Music and folk has made her globally known, and this excellent live release only further cements her worldwide appeal.
Travels well with: David Arkenstone- Music Inspired By Middle Earth Vol. II; Davis Causey & Jay Smith- Pickin’ On Christmas