Customer Reviews: Read 23 more reviews...
 Inspirational and Deeply Calming February 9, 2007
Rebecca Johnson (Washington State)
29 out of 30 found this review helpful
Who would not want to read a book of secrets...Except, this is one you listen to.
"The journey not the destination, becomes a source of wonder."
Loreena McKennitt spent a few years thinking about Celtic nomadic ways. She wondered if this need arose from an insatiable curiosity. She set off to travel to Rome and ended up in Istanbul. She set off for Japan and ended up on a train across Siberia. The CD booklet, is interesting to read as you listen and reveals her sources of inspiration. Of course after reading the booklet, you might feel compelled to go off on your own journey
The songs on this album are all a reflection of Loreena's knowledge of the world. She seems to be seeking, exploring possibilities and expressing what she has captured.
1. Prologue - inspired by "From The Holy Mountain" by William Dalrymple. There is a certain emptiness and remorse woven into this piece. Maybe a longing for what could have been. You can almost imagine monks traveling from monastery to monastery to collect ancient wisdom.
2. The Mummers' Dance - Loreena incorporated the chorus of a traditional mumming song and her words take on new meaning when you realize that mumming involves a group of performers who dress up in masks and clothes bedecked with ribbons and carrying branches of greenery. This "mumming" has its roots in tree worshiping, which will make you consider why you bring a tree in at Christmas time, at least it is worth considering. Although I think people are more interested in worshipping materialism at the malls.
3. Skellig - this song becomes almost hypnotic as it seems to spin in circles or maybe it is more like the flicker of a candle that grows brighter as you approach it on a dark night.
4. Marco Polo - Loreena has interwoven an authentic Sulfi melody at the beginning and middle of this piece. It is rather intoxicating.
5. The Highwayman - friends suggested setting Alfred Noyes' poem "The Highwayman" to music. While in the studio, Loreena imagined the sound of horses galloping down a moonlit lane. Best to listen to this song while reading the lyrics, which are included and paint a tragic tale even more dramatically in song.
6. La Serenissima - Delicate and haunting.
7. Night Ride Across the Caucasus - the notes explain how people are affected by music and either hear the spiritual meaning or the material sound.
"In the velvet of the darkness
By the silhouette of silent trees
They are watching, they are waiting
They are witnessing life's mysteries."
8. Dante's Prayer - inspired by Dante's The Divine Comedy (a vernacular poem in 100 cantos), Loreena thinks about the human condition and how we all want to believe there is a place better than our own. An almost sorrowful and yet hopeful melody. Italian poet, Dante (1265-1321) gave an explanation of what happens after we die and this question is still just as controversial today.
Perhaps she was inspired by: "Temo di perder viver tra coloro, che questo tempo chiameranno Antico." (I fear I will lose life among those who will call this time ancient." She sings "Please remember me." She also speaks of "Beyond the ice and the fire." The innermost pit of hell is for Dante, ice. The dark woods implies the present state of mankind and when you think about this while listening, the words suddenly become more meaningful.
I found this CD to be an expression of continuing knowledge. Knowledge from the past flows through Loreena McKennitt's consciousness and turns into music. It is an evolution of travel and contemplation. Through her experiences, music evolves into moments of pure beauty.
~The Rebecca Review
Loreena's Book Of Secrets February 19, 2007
Alan Caylow (USA)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
Loreena McKennitt's biggest-selling album to date is 1997's "The Book Of Secrets." Once again, with her gorgeous singing voice & instrumental skill, McKennitt weaves her unique celtic/new age/world music magic with this very beautiful, entrancing album. Great tracks include the melodic "The Mummers' Dance" (a surprise Top 20 hit for Loreena on the U.S. singles chart), the enchanting instrumental "Marco Polo," the memorable tale of "The Highwayman," and the soothing finale of "Dante's Prayer." From beginnng to end, Loreena McKennitt's "The Book Of Secrets" is wonderful music.
McKennitt's Radiant Travelogue February 11, 2007
Drewcifer Von Tone (Analog Planet)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
Take a journey through an exotic, alluring world with Canadian singer/multi-instrumentalist Loreena McKennitt; a world where east harmonizes soulfully with west.
I am a late-comer to McKennitt's music, but what a wonderful find she has been! "The Book of Secrets" is a musical masterwork, conjuring magical images and dreamscapes of rare color. Being a fan of Clannad, and to a lesser extent of Enya, I find McKennitt's music to be more haunting, more deeply spiritual and more aurally textural than either of the other two.
There are many inviting tales inside "The Book of Secrets", but none more entertaining than her 1997 hit single, "The Mummer's Dance", a positively addicting blend of Arabic percussion, hypnotic drones, and beautiful vocal melody. I consider myself much more a World music fan than a New-Ager, but this song is a genre-buster; cutting a wide appeal across World, Celtic, New Age, Folk, and even Pop. The more traditionally Celtic "Skellig" paints the lonely picture of an ancient Irish Monk, devoutly sequestered in the harsh Skellig Islands. The instrumental "Marco Polo" transports us to the smoky late-night Bazaars of Arabia, where mystery, danger and romance await around every narrow corner; behind every silken veil. You can almost smell the opium. And perhaps my favorite is "The Highwayman", a tragic love story whose lyrics are adapted from the famous poem by Alfred Noyes. McKennitt is obviously a life-long student of classic poetry, and her own lyric-writing reads like it. These songs resonate. These songs intoxicate.
Clearly, McKennitt's musical journey has brought her a long way from the misty moors of Ireland to the mysterious markets of Marrakech. Atop it all, her ringing soprano stirs the very soul of the ancient traveler, the lover; the dreamer. You wouldn't imagine that an artist could weave Celtic and Arabic styles so seamlessly in to one tapestry, but not only does McKennitt do just that, she does it so beautifully that it makes one realize that these ancient sounds are not so diverse after all. She has found, at the core of it, that Eastern and Western music share a common and radiant soul.
It leads you to a magic word June 9, 2006
Sarah (Lima, LIMA Peru)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
The first time I heard Loreena's music I was with my best friend at the University, ten years ago, trying to escape from the burdens of the world. He gave me a copy of "The Visit" and I loved every song. I didn't hear from Loreena again until February 2001, when I came into a music store and, by instinct, I bought a copy of "Book of secrets". This fantastic piece of art transported me to a magic and enchanted place. It was like to be born again in some fantastic land lost between the memories of my childhood and the beginning of my adulthood as Loreena's crystal voice starts surrounding your soul in a soft and lovely atmosphere. "The Mummer's dance"-one of my favorite pieces-is strongly linked to the most important and clue moments of my life. Every time I feel in a crossroad I play this song, close my eyes and, immediately, everything comes back to its original place.
The Secret Should Be Out on Loreena McKennitt August 5, 2006
Winslow Bunny (Rockledge, Florida United States)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
And that secret would be Loreena's beautiful voice and seemingly effortless singing on this album. This album has been her biggest commercial success, due to the song "Mummer's Dance" which hit the charts in 1997, but the other songs more than carry their own weight. Meticulous research of her songs and a knowledge of people and history aid immensely in Loreena obtaining the right feel for a song.
During the height of this album's popularity, Loreena's fiance died in a boating accident, leading her into mourning and away from music for years. I, for one, hope that her mourning has been resolved and more music is on the way, if possible. She's a major talent and deserves all of the accolades and musicial fame
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