The Book of Secrets

I bought this CD for the song "Dante's Prayer" but fell in love with the the entire CD and all the music of Loreena McKennitt. Dante's Prayer is the most beautiful song I have ever heard. I am not exaggerating at all. Loreens's music is like food to the soul. I bought other CD's by Loreena McKennitt and they are all great and well worth buying. "The Book Of Secrets" is still my very favorite. Great for relaxing. Let Loreena take you back to a time when chivalry and romance was at it's peak. Enjoy poetry by Tennyson and other great poets and feel them like never before with the heavenly voice of Loreena McKennitt.

Loreena McKennitt is one of the least known Irish folk singers while being one of the best. I've known about her for about 10 years and have several of her cd's. I first heard her while listening to an Irish radio station on the internet and heard her sing "The Highwayman" which is an epic poem. I was blown away and HAD to have that cd and after hearing the rest of the music on it, have become a big fan. Take a chance and you will not be disappointed.

I love how with every album Loreena McKennitt puts out, her album is the results of her travels all over the world. On her album THE BOOK OF SECRETS (which would be her last studio album for several years before AN ANCIENT MUSE), Loreena explores the history of the celts. When I listen to the cd, I feel like I am getting a history lesson in celtic history. I like that Loreena writes music that is never insulting or trite.Although the album version of "The Mummer's Dance" is a far cry from the radio version, it is nonetheless still a joy to listen to. The album version is longer and slower while the radio versoin is shorter and more upbeat. Me thinks radio wanted a version that would appeal to a broader audience. If that was the case it worked but unfortunately it made people expect that version to be found on THE BOOK OF SECRETS. My personal favorite track on the album is the haunting ballad "Dante's Prayer" which was inspired by a trip across Siberia during one winter on a train, and the book DANTE'S INFERNO. I lke how minimal the use of instruments are on this particular track, allowing Loreena's warm voice to be the center of attention. The rest of the album is just as wonderful. The richly detailed lyrics and the lush, haunting celtic melodies makse for a wonderful combination. THE BOOK OF SECRETS have really grown on me over the years and is now a steadfast favorite in my itunes library and stereo.

The only disappointment I had was that the CD contains a different version of "The Mummer's Dance" than is heard on the radio. I much prefer that version but otherwise her music is beautiful! Her lovely voice and the lush instrumentation make for a very enjoyable listening experience.

When you want to chill out, this is the music you need. It is very soothing to the soul.

Amazing music, excellent artist. I love Lorenna McKennit music, and this disc is one of her best ones.

After Enya, Norah Jones and Yanni, the roster of New Age musicians becomes decidely less famous. One popular New Age artist is Loreena McKennitt. Her music, like her ancestry, is Celtic though many of the themes are reminescent of Enya. Her most famous work is The Mummer's Dance, a staple of pop radio stations in the late 1990s, and the feature work on this album. The other works are also good, but none as great as The Mummer's Dance. The album itself only has eight works, making this a short album for the purchase price. Each of the works are unique, some are instrumental while others include singing. The music is appropriate background music while reading or eating dinner. Overall, an OK album.

I had the very great pleasure to watch Loreena on public television in concert. WOW! She works with the musicians to create this unique music. Words will not do justice to this beautiful and transcending sound. This music will indeed be timeless and bring joy for eternity.

Written as something of a travelogue, Loreena Mckennitt best selling album (it was recently certified platinum) is one of the best of its kind. Originally issued in 1997, the kick-in point was when an edit/remix of "The Mummer's Dance" cracked the top 20. It characterizes much of Mckennitt's work; strong melodies, lush harmonies and a deep Celtic bent. Mining the same ground Clannad did for Macalla, and to a lesser extent, Enya, this is music for those intimate nights when you're feeling mystical. As good as "Mummer's" is "The Highwayman," where the classic poem by Alfred Noyes is set to music.

Also recommended: The Mask and Mirror

I happened upon Loreena McKennitt's music purely by accident - a very happy accident indeed. One listen to the song 'The Mummers' Dance' and I was as good as a fan. After failing to find her albums in any music stores, I ordered 'The Book of Secrets' online. Quite a hasty decision by my standards, but I had to have it.

'The Book of Secrets' has a wonderfully rich sound, drawing musical influences from many eras and cultures, and the result works incredibly well: a pigeonhole-defying blend of folk, New Age, Celtic and world music with an occasional Renaissance twist. Though the comparisons to Enya are frequent, Loreena McKennitt is quite a different artist in my eyes. Loreena's work is darker, deeper, more poetic and complex - though I'm a great fan of Enya, her music seems like frivolous, fluffy ear-candy in comparison. This artist is almost in a genre of her own.

If you're expecting an album of upbeat Mummers' Dances (which I confess I was) you may be initially disappointed, but after a couple of listens I appreciated it more. From the exotic rhythms of 'Marco Polo' to the haunting ballad 'Dante's Prayer', there's not one weak track on here. Other favourites include the touching, melancholy 'Skellig', the beautiful harp instrumental 'La Serenissima', and Ms McKennitt's adaptation of the tragic poem 'The Highwayman' by Alfred Noyes.

'The Book of Secrets' isn't so much a series of songs as a musical journey across continents - lovingly made, life-affirming music, though I have little experience of McKennitt's previous work to say how it compares. A truly talented singer, songwriter and musician who deserves to be heard. Though her CDs are mind-bogglingly hard to find, it's worth the effort just to relax and soak in the sound. Recommended.

McKennitt brings new life to the Celtic genre with her dreamy lilting voice and haunting melodies. Book of Secrets was inspired by her journeys through the world and many of the songs call upon ancient tunes and traditions. The music is simple but not boring and carries a nice blend of Celtic and middle-eastern influences.

Prologue is mainly instrumental, though Loreena uses her voice to impose a countermelodious "la" sound. The sound is very slow and dark, using a deep bongo drum (though that may not be the right word) to provide the beat and what sounds like a finger-plucked mandolin. Perhaps an oboe in the background? The sounds are nothing like the things most Americans are used to; she uses instruments from many different cultures.

The Mummer's Dance is based on the historical "mummers" who dressed up in straw masks and ribbons and carried greenery to homes as they sang. It was an action associated with springtime and fertility, but this song is not the typical happy springtime song. The lyrics are about nature.. "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." but the tune carries the same instruments as the Prologue and is somewhat dark.

Skellig begins with a lonely violin that is gradually joined by the rest of the strings and then a wood (tin?) flute. The story tells of Irish monks who often lived in remote places such as the Skellig Islands in Ireland, copying texts and striving to reach closer to God. Reading the lyrics ("I'd hear the ocean breathe/Exhale upon the shore/I knew the tempest's blood/Its wrath I would endure"), I can almost smell the salt water and see the lonely monk walking barefoot along the rocky cliffs.

Marco Polo is another almost entirely instrumental song that distinctly conjures up images of a harem and belly dancers. It's what I would have referred to as "snake charmer music" a few years ago. I find myself irrepressibly swaying to the beat of the drums and I must say that if I were a snake, I'd definitely be charmed!

The Highwayman is my favorite song from this CD. Based upon Alfred Noyes' poem of the same name, McKennitt does an amazing job of setting the words to music and her wistful voice tells the sad tale ("The wind was a torrent of darkness/Among the gusty trees") of a highwayman who had fallen in love with the landlord's daughter ("Bess, the landlord's daughter/Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair"). The highwayman leaves to perform his questionable job, assuring Bess that he will come back that night ("Watch for me by the moonlight/I'll come to thee by the moonlight, though Hell should bar the way").

Unfortunately, an old man listening at the gate overheard this exchange and warned the lawmen, who sent troops to hide in the cottage and wait for the highwayman. They tied up Bess, roping a musket to her side, next to the window so that she would see him approaching his death. Bess, though, refused to let that happen and twisted her hands around until she grasped the musket trigger ("Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him with her death"). The highwayman quickly turned around, for he knew he was in danger. He found out in the morning what Bess had done and flew off in a rage ("Back he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky/With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high!") but the troops were still alert and shot him down ("Down like a dog on the highway").

The tale says that his angry ghost still haunts the inn where his now-dead love once lived ("When the road is a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor... A highwayman comes riding up to the old inn-door").

A very sad tale, with Noyes' fantastic words and McKennitt's voice that is so well-suited to storytelling, this is an amazing song.

La Serinissima is purely instrumental, with mainly a string quartet and a plucked acoustic guitar. It is, as the name implies, extremely serene and is a nice come-down after the intense emotion of the previous song. It turns to a major key for its melody and eases the transition from depressing love song back to stories of nature.

Night Ride Across the Caucasus returns to the minor key and middle-eastern instruments with a slow, introspective melody about the human desire to learn the secrets of the world, and the lengths to which a curious mind will go to find them.

Dante's Prayer, the last song, begins with a cathedral-ish chant but quickly gives way to a soft piano/violin combination as Loreena wraps up her journeys with a quiet melody about rising to a higher level of life. Her voice fades out and the cathedral tune comes back briefly then fades as well.

This is one of the few albums that I can actually listen to while going to sleep. It's conducive to meditation and a relaxed state of mind.. another good "bathtub album" if you will. It's also enjoyable to listen to this CD through an open door while you sit on the porch with your soda/beer/cigarette/other vice and contemplate the stars. This CD is a great introduction to Celtic-style music and I'm glad Loreena shared her journey's book of secrets with us. I'll end with a quote from the liner notes.. "Music and singing do not produce in the heart that which is not in it." Ponder at will, and enjoy the album.

My least favorite of the four Warner-label studio albums, Book of Secrets drags at times. McKenna's voice is beautiful, but you will find songs like The Highwayman, which repeats its chorus line every 30 seconds for 11.5 minutes, a little much to swallow. There are some gorgeous moments, as with all of McKennitt's albums, but if you're coming here from Mask and the Mirror and expecting that level of excellence, you'll be disappointed. 3 1/2 stars.

Loreena McKennitt's CD, The Book of Secrets, is a pleasing example of Celtic fusion music.

This was the first CD that introduced me to the enchanting music of Loreena McKennitt. I was blown away by her music! She's a great story teller through her lyrics and and they go beautifully with different exotic instruments. It led me to purchase additional works of this talented artist. Great music!

This c.d is so beautiful. There is not one song that I wanted to skip over. Loreena's voice is magical. I would definately recomend this for anyone.

This is one of those albums you can just listen to in the background while you are doing something relaxing. I think she has one of the best female voices out there! Way better than what is on the radio!

This music is great for traveling far and wide. The music is both imaginatively and intellectually stimulating. This is an album that calms me, comforts me, and soothes the depths of my soul. Loreena is such a magnificent vocalist and the music that she creates I will never forget. The "Book of Secrets" was the first album of hers that I listened to and bought. I just so happened to stumble upon a copy in a public library and checked it out because I was intrigued by the neat cover art. Well, sweet fortune drew me to her, and ever since, she has been one of my favorite artists to listen to. I would rate her among the top five I have ever heard. I thank God from bringing her to me. One day, I will surely live to travel to see her live in concert. I must do it before I die!

This is pure Loreena at her best, in my opinion. I've only listened to it twice since I received it, but I know I'll be playing it as much as time allows. Enjoy.

timeless piece of music, i will enjoy it forever. You can never get tired of hearing it.

This was the first album I heard by Loreena McKennitt and I loved it. Will buy more in the future!

What I really want to say about this remarkable artist, cannot be expressed in words. Its like trying to describe the taste of a perfect mango, you have to experience it - to KNOW.

I do know that listening to Loreena and her "Highwaymen" accompanists, is like entering into another world. Her's is the music and words of our ancestors, the deeds, loves, sorrows and joys of living on this planet in another time, in the celtic spirit, carried on the wings of divine music.

She is Canadian, but she sings these verses like she's a Celtic angel, sent to us to help us remember where we came from, and how far we've traveled. Buy this or any of her works if you yearn for an escape from the present, live in another time, in a place, when we were free and owed allegience to no king, only to the heartbeat of Nature, the rhythm of existance.

Last night I put track 8, Dante's prayer, on repeat, so I could stay in the trance it invokes for a long time. Do you know what its like to be truly moved by an artist? Moved to tears, to joy, to a state of emotional surrender? Do the same with track 3, Skellig. I swear, I could feel the rocks under my old sandels, and the weariness of the journey from the rocky shores of Ireland to the fields of Romanie, stopping along the way to hear the bells - who call all to mass.

This music will make you appreciate a good set of head phones again, like the Sony MDR7502's. Find the time to hear this music, its transforming.