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Track Listings
| 1. The Holly & The Ivy |
| 2. Un Flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle |
| 3. The Seven Rejoices Of Mary |
| 4. Noel Nouvelet! |
| 5. Good King Wenceslas |
| 6. Coventry Carol |
| 7. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen |
| 8. Snow |
| 9. Breton Carol |
| 10. Seeds Of Love |
| 11. Gloucestershire Wassail |
| 12. Emmanuel |
| 13. In The Bleak Midwinter |
Product Description
Album Description
Traditional with a twist: Loreena celebrates the season with a new CD that blends the five songs from 'A Winter Garden' (1995) with eight new recordings inspired by seasonal favourites. Look for some delightful musical surprises in 'A Midwinter Night's Dream', including Loreena's first recording in French and her exotic interpretation of 'The Holly And The Ivy.'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Consider Loreena McKennitt's latest album to be a natural expansion of her exquisite Yuletide EP, "A Winter Garden."
In fact, McKennitt includes four of those five songs on the sumptuously melancholy Christmas album "A Midwinter Night's Dream." These medieval ballads and traditional carols are soaked in an ambience of nighttime woods, embroidered tapestries, wassail and Christmas mass in a shadowy cathedral. No syrupy shopping carols -- this is Christmas music from an earlier age.
It opens with a swell of piano and quivering strings, as McKennitt murmurs, "The holly and the ivy/when they are full grown/of all the trees in the wood/the holly bears the crown... the rising of the sun/the running of the deer/the playing of the organ/sweet singing in the choir...."
It's a suitable introduction to the album -- quiet, soft, and redolent with medieval Christianity alongside the forest's powerful vibrancy. And it quickly segues into the stately fiddle-riddled dance of "Un Flambeau Jeannette Isabelle," the languid hymn "The Seven Rejoices Of Mary" and the swaying "Noël Nouvelet!"
Then she heads into more familiar traditional fare -- the sprightly "Good King Wenceslas," the gentle lullably "Coventry Carol" with its tale of King Herod's baby massacre, and staccato rhythms of "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen." After that it's a mixture of well-known and more obscure -- a pair mellow haunting instrumentals, a bittersweet ballad a trembling string rendition of the traditional "Emmanuel," and even a hearty wassailing song.
Along with Sufjan Stevens' Christmas EPs, "A Midwinter Night's Dream" is one of the few Christmas albums that breaks the mold -- no "Jingle Bells," no "Let It Snow," no sentimental carols performed exactly the same as hundreds of other renditions. In other words, no painfully commercial carols meant for radioplay.
Instead, McKennitt seems content to transport listeners back to tapestry-draped castles, dark nights filled with laughter and food, snowy forests and candelit stone churches. Her songs are crammed with stately sweet violins, plucked lute and some rhythmic little hand drums, as well as a sinuous flute that gives it a slightly Middle-Eastern flavor in "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen."
The crowning touch is McKennitt's strong, sweetly rich voice, which always sounds like she's restraining herself from REALLY blowing you away. Her voice slips easily into all the traditional carols, with their subjects ranging a saintly king's mission of mercy to Christina Rossetti's haunting poem of adoring the Christ child ("Cherubim and seraphim/Thronged the air/But his mother only/In her maiden bliss/Worshipped the Beloved/With a kiss...").
"A Midwinter Night's Dream" is a haunting, richly realized Christmas album with a melancholy edge and truly exquisite traditional carols. A must-listen in any Christmas season.
In fact, McKennitt includes four of those five songs on the sumptuously melancholy Christmas album "A Midwinter Night's Dream." These medieval ballads and traditional carols are soaked in an ambience of nighttime woods, embroidered tapestries, wassail and Christmas mass in a shadowy cathedral. No syrupy shopping carols -- this is Christmas music from an earlier age.
It opens with a swell of piano and quivering strings, as McKennitt murmurs, "The holly and the ivy/when they are full grown/of all the trees in the wood/the holly bears the crown... the rising of the sun/the running of the deer/the playing of the organ/sweet singing in the choir...."
It's a suitable introduction to the album -- quiet, soft, and redolent with medieval Christianity alongside the forest's powerful vibrancy. And it quickly segues into the stately fiddle-riddled dance of "Un Flambeau Jeannette Isabelle," the languid hymn "The Seven Rejoices Of Mary" and the swaying "Noël Nouvelet!"
Then she heads into more familiar traditional fare -- the sprightly "Good King Wenceslas," the gentle lullably "Coventry Carol" with its tale of King Herod's baby massacre, and staccato rhythms of "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen." After that it's a mixture of well-known and more obscure -- a pair mellow haunting instrumentals, a bittersweet ballad a trembling string rendition of the traditional "Emmanuel," and even a hearty wassailing song.
Along with Sufjan Stevens' Christmas EPs, "A Midwinter Night's Dream" is one of the few Christmas albums that breaks the mold -- no "Jingle Bells," no "Let It Snow," no sentimental carols performed exactly the same as hundreds of other renditions. In other words, no painfully commercial carols meant for radioplay.
Instead, McKennitt seems content to transport listeners back to tapestry-draped castles, dark nights filled with laughter and food, snowy forests and candelit stone churches. Her songs are crammed with stately sweet violins, plucked lute and some rhythmic little hand drums, as well as a sinuous flute that gives it a slightly Middle-Eastern flavor in "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen."
The crowning touch is McKennitt's strong, sweetly rich voice, which always sounds like she's restraining herself from REALLY blowing you away. Her voice slips easily into all the traditional carols, with their subjects ranging a saintly king's mission of mercy to Christina Rossetti's haunting poem of adoring the Christ child ("Cherubim and seraphim/Thronged the air/But his mother only/In her maiden bliss/Worshipped the Beloved/With a kiss...").
"A Midwinter Night's Dream" is a haunting, richly realized Christmas album with a melancholy edge and truly exquisite traditional carols. A must-listen in any Christmas season.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Loreena always has difficulty in pleasing ALL of her fans because of her 'landmark' albums, 'The Book of Secrets' and 'The Mask & the Mirror'. However, she delivers yet again with this album, which is a thoughtful mixture of old and new.
It is so atmospheric and if you only want to buy one new album for Christmas this is the one. It is wonderful to relax to. Thank you Loreena for entering our lives.
It is so atmospheric and if you only want to buy one new album for Christmas this is the one. It is wonderful to relax to. Thank you Loreena for entering our lives.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This is a beautiful selection of Christmas carols and songs sung by the unusual and ethereal Mc Kennitt,atomospheric and haunting.
Buy this and curl up next to the fire ,its gorgeous,and check out the rest of her work - you wont regret it.
Buy this and curl up next to the fire ,its gorgeous,and check out the rest of her work - you wont regret it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
So nice
Nice music from Lorenna, maybe not one of her bests but is a good one. Lovely season music, it is a review of a preview album, so there's some already heard songs with some new... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Nabil
On the nail
I've been listening to this cd in the car with the frost and snow wonderland we are having at the moment. It's perfect. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Ca
Warm the Heart on a Cold Winters Night
A wonderful collection of carols and songs to celebrate winter and all the magic this special season can bring. Read more
Published 19 months ago by dulcinea
I love this CD !
After reading the previous reviews before ordering I decided to go ahead and give this a try...I was looking for something 'different' for Christmas. Read more
Published on 22 Dec 2009 by Brown Rabbit
If she'd never existed Loreena McKennit would have to have been...
I have a pretty complete collection of Loreena McKennit including stuff from her London company Quinlan Road.The first one I bought was the Winter Garden 5 tracker. Read more
Published on 11 Dec 2009 by Richard
Loreena McKennitt does it again
Another ethereal composition of work by this most talented of female singers/composers/musicians. For me, Loreena McKennitt can do no wrong. Read more
Published on 28 Aug 2009 by Mrs. Lynn M. Massey
Top Class
Loreena always produces top class material and her arrangements are beautifully executed. Nothing really new here-but it is still all immaculate. Read more
Published on 14 Dec 2008 by gawayne
Fantastic
It's a beautiful musical fairy-tale right before Christmas time. You don't have to hesitate! You have to have this album!
Published on 26 Oct 2008 by Mitko Hristov
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