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Loreena McKennitt

The Wind That Shakes The Barley

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Loreena McKennitt - The Wind That Shakes the Barley
Loreena McKennitt - Brian Boru's March
Loreena Mckennitt on George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight: INTERVIEW
1 As I Roved Out  
2 On a Bright May Morning  
3 Brian Boru's March  
4 Down By the Sally Gardens  
5 The Star of the County Down  
6 The Wind that Shakes the Barley  
7 The Death of Queen Jane  
8 The Emigration Tunes  
9 The Parting Glass  
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With a recording career spanning more than two decades and over 14 million albums sold worldwide, Canadian artist Loreena McKennitt continues to explore the many aspects of traditional Celtic music with the release of her forthcoming album, The Wind That Shakes The Barley. Due November 16 on Verve, the album marks a pointed return to the traditional Irish and Scottish music that began McKennitt's career, revisiting the age-old music of Elemental, her 1985 debut.

"This has been a somewhat spontaneous project," says McKennitt, "and it was one that I wanted to accomplish close to home. I was inpsired and encouraged by many of my friends and fans who asked that I record traditional material once again." She continues, "In another sense, it has been like ‘touching the stone' going back to the roots of my intial infatuation with Celtic music which inspired my musical travel writing of recent years. And I must say it feels wonderful to return to my musical roots."

Mixing familiar classics with lesser-known traditional songs, The Wind That Shakes The Barley includes songs such as as "Down by the Sally Gardens," "The Star of the County Down" and "The Parting Glass," as well as "The Death of Queen Jane" and "As I Roved Out." There are two instrumental tracks, including the McKennitt original "The Emigration Tunes (From Cobh to Gros Ile)," referring to Irish-Canadian history during the famine of the 1840s.

Recorded this past summer at the Temple of the Children of Peace in a handcrafted wooden building north of Toronto, The Wind That Shakes The Barley features some of McKennitt's longtime musical companions, including violinist Hugh Marsh, guitarist Brian Huges, cellist Caroline Lavelle and percussionist/hurdy-gurdy player Ben Grossman. The album was engineered by Jeff Wolpert, with whom McKennitt has worked on numerous other live recording projects, including Live in Paris and Toronto, Nights from the Alhambra and A Mediterranean Odyssey.

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