The Book of Secrets, the follow-up to 1994's The Mask and Mirror -- there was a Christmas EP, A Winter Garden, released in 1995) -- finds Loreena McKennitt in the same musical vein, mixing Celtic, Spanish, Italian, and new age to create her own distinct sound.
The only problem is that she did not seem to progress much during the time between releases.
This is not necessarily a bad thing, since she still knows how to write incredible melodies and layer instruments to produce peaceful images.
"Night Ride Across the Caucasus" and "Dante's Prayer" are just two prime examples of this.
And she continues her practice of setting classic poetry to music (Alfred Noyes' "The Highwayman").
Expertly recorded at Peter Gabriel's Real World studios, this CD serves as a travelog of sorts for McKennitt, musically detailing her travels during 1995 and 1996.
She provides the musical and lyrical inspirations from each location she visited, utilizing the instruments and sounds she encountered on her travels.
Although she may be referred to as the Canadian Enya, McKennitt is definitely her own person, producing music of beauty and warmth.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PrologueLoreena McKennitt | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 04:25 | 0 MB | 22 MB |
| 2 | The Mummers' DanceLoreena McKennitt | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 06:10 | 0 MB | 36 MB |
| 3 | SkelligLoreena McKennitt | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 06:10 | 0 MB | 35 MB |
| 4 | Marco PoloLoreena McKennitt | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 05:19 | 0 MB | 34 MB |
| 5 | The HighwaymanLoreena McKennitt, Alfred Noyes | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 10:20 | 0 MB | 60 MB |
| 6 | La SerenissimaLoreena McKennitt | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 05:10 | 0 MB | 26 MB |
| 7 | Night Ride Across the CaucasusLoreena McKennitt | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 08:32 | 0 MB | 52 MB |
| 8 | Dante's PrayerLoreena McKennitt | Loreena McKennitt | Play | 07:11 | 0 MB | 35 MB |
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| 53 mins | 306 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anne Bourne | Cello |
| 2 | Aidan Brennan | Guitar (Acoustic), Mandola, Mandolin |
| 3 | Andy Brown | Strings, Viola |
| 4 | Martin Brown | Guitar (Acoustic), Mandola, Mandolin |
| 5 | Stuart Bruce | Assembly, Engineer, Mixing, Vocal Drone |
| 6 | Paul Clarvis | Drums (Snare) |
| 7 | Ann Cutting | Photography |
| 8 | Caroline Dale | Arranger, String Arrangements |
| 9 | Nigel Eaton | Hurdygurdy |
| 10 | Claude Fortin | Translation |
| 11 | Brian Gascoigne | Arranger, String Arrangements |
| 12 | Justin Griffith | Assistant Engineer, Mixing Assistant |
| 13 | Steafan Hannigan | Bodhran |
| 14 | Nick Hayley | Lira (Lyra), Rebec, Serp |
| 15 | Brian Hughes | Assistant Producer, Bouzouki, Guest Artist, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Classical), Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Synthesizer), Oud, Vocal Drone |
| 16 | Robin Jeffrey | Guitar |
| 17 | Martin Jenkins | Mandocello, Mandolin |
| 18 | Manu Katché | Drums |
| 19 | Kevin Killen | Engineer, Mixing |
| 20 | Iain King | Strings, Violin |
| 21 | Caroline LaVelle | Cello, Viola da Gamba |
| 22 | Rick Lazar | Percussion |
| 23 | Joanna Levine | Viola da Gamba |
| 24 | Bob Ludwig | Mastering |
| 25 | Hugh Marsh | Violin |
| 26 | Loreena McKennitt | Accordion, Arranger, Composer, Harp, Kanun, Keyboards, Piano, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| 27 | Marco Migliara | Assistant Engineer, Mixing Assistant |
| 28 | Alfred Noyes | Composer |
| 29 | Osama | Violin |
| 30 | Steve Pigott | Keyboards |
| 31 | Donald Quan | Assistant Producer, Keyboards, Tabla, Timba, Timbales, Viola, Vocal Drone |
| 32 | Hossam Ramzy | Percussion |
| 33 | Johnathan Rees | Strings, Violin |
| 34 | David Rhodes | Guitar (Electric) |
| 35 | Doug Riley | Arranger, String Arrangements |
| 36 | Danny Thompson | Bass (Acoustic) |
| 37 | Jacquie Turner | Assistant Engineer, Mixing Assistant |
| 38 | Chris Van Kampen | Cello, Strings |
| 39 | Bob White | Shawm, Tin Whistle, Whistle (Instrument) |
| 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). |