Canadian singer/composer/harpist Loreena McKennitt's lush Celtic-infused balladry and worldbeat sensibilities lend themselves well to holiday music, a genre she toyed with in 1995 on her Winter Garden: Five Songs for the Season EP.
Released in 2008, A Midwinter Night's Dream takes those five songs (newly remastered) "Coventry Carol," "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen," "Good King Wenceslas," "Snow," and "Seeds of Love," and adds eight new songs (all of which were recorded at Peter Gabriel's Real World recording studio) including "The Holly and the Ivy," "In the Bleak Midwinter," "Breton Carol," and "Emmanuel." The songs are immaculately produced as always, and McKennitt's predilection for Eastern mysticism and unique instrumentation keeps them from falling into the usual seasonal clichés.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Seven Rejoices Of Mary | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 04:33 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 2 | Good King Wenceslas | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 03:16 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 3 | God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen [Abdelli Version] | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 07:19 | 16 MB | 45 MB |
| 4 | Snow | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 05:05 | 11 MB | 30 MB |
| 5 | Breton Carol | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 03:30 | 8 MB | 17 MB |
| 6 | Seeds Of Love | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 04:54 | 11 MB | 28 MB |
| 7 | Gloucestershire Wassail | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 02:39 | 6 MB | 16 MB |
| 8 | The Holly And The Ivy | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 04:49 | 11 MB | 23 MB |
| 9 | Bring A Torch, Jeanette, Isabella (Un Flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle) | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 03:06 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 10 | Noël Nouvelet! (Now The Green Blade Rises) | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 05:11 | 11 MB | 34 MB |
| 11 | The Coventry Carol | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 02:18 | 5 MB | 11 MB |
| 12 | O Come, O Come Emmanuel | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 04:55 | 11 MB | 24 MB |
| 13 | In The Bleak Midwinter | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 02:43 | 6 MB | 13 MB |
| 54 mins | 125 MB | |||||
| 54 mins | 317 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abdelli | Main Personnel, Mandola, Vocals |
| 2 | Dan Ar Bras | Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Main Personnel |
| 3 | Waiel Abo Baker | Main Personnel, Violin |
| 4 | Robin Baynton | Assistant Engineer |
| 5 | Bob Berry | Main Personnel, Vocals |
| 6 | Gill Berry | Main Personnel, Vocals |
| 7 | Aidan Brennan | Guitar (Acoustic), Main Personnel |
| 8 | Stuart Bruce | Audio Engineer, Editing, Engineer, Mixing |
| 9 | Bernard Coulter | Vocals |
| 10 | Simon Edwards | Bass (Acoustic), Bass (Electric), Guitar (Acoustic), Main Personnel, Marimbula, Sentir |
| 11 | Greg Freeman | Assistant Engineer |
| 12 | Ben Grossman | Hurdygurdy, Main Personnel, Percussion |
| 13 | Brian Hughes | Audio Production, Guitar, Guitar (Synthesizer) |
| 14 | Brian L Hughes | Assistant Producer, Bouzouki, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Synthesizer) |
| 15 | Susan Hutchinson | Production Coordination |
| 16 | Russel Kearney | Assistant Engineer |
| 17 | George Koller | Bass (Acoustic), Main Personnel |
| 18 | Caroline LaVelle | Cello, Main Personnel |
| 19 | Rick Lazar | Main Personnel, Percussion |
| 20 | Bob Ludwig | Mastering, Remastering |
| 21 | Hugh Marsh | Main Personnel, Violin |
| 22 | Loreena McKennitt | Accordion, Adaptation, Arranger, Audio Production, Harp, Keyboards, Piano, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| 23 | Theo Mondle | Engineer |
| 24 | Brad Nelson | Assistant Engineer |
| 25 | Mark Peters | Assistant Engineer |
| 26 | Stratis Psaradellis | Lute, Lyra, Main Personnel |
| 27 | Donald Quan | Accordion, Main Personnel, Tabla, Viola |
| 28 | Hossam Ramzy | Main Personnel, Percussion |
| 29 | Ellen Robotham | Main Personnel, Vocals |
| 30 | Philippa Toulson | Main Personnel, Vocals |
| 31 | Eddie Upton | Main Personnel, Vocals |
| 32 | Robert A. White | Shawm, Uillean Pipes, Whistle |
| 33 | Jeff Wolpert | Engineer, Mixing |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |