An Ancient Muse | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 20, 2006 | |||
Recorded | June 2005–August 2006 | |||
Genre | World music, folk | |||
Length | 54:19 | |||
Label | Quinlan Road, MRA | |||
Loreena McKennitt chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
About.com | [1] |
Allmusic | [2] |
An Ancient Muse is the seventh full-length studio album of the Canadian singer, songwriter, accordionist, harpist, and pianist, Loreena McKennitt. It was released on November 20, 2006, internationally, and November 21, 2006, in the United States and Canada. [3] It was her first studio album after a 9-year gap. It has sold over a half a million copies worldwide since its release. [4]
Work on An Ancient Muse started in 2005. According to reports on McKennitt's Quinlan Road website, most of the inspiration for the tracks of the album came from the music of Greece, Turkey, the Middle East and the Far East. Most of the tracks, with the exception of three revealed at the mid-September concerts in the Alhambra of Granada in Spain, were completely unknown until the release.
An Ancient Muse debuted on the U.S. Billboard 200 at number 83, with about 19,000 copies sold in its first week. [5] This was also its peak position on the chart. [6]
All music and lyrics written by Loreena McKennitt except as noted.
Chart (2006) | Peak position |
---|---|
Germany Albums Chart | 15 [10] |
Spain Albums Chart | 26 [11] |
Belgium Albums Chart | 46 [12] |
France Albums Chart | 41 [13] |
Swiss Albums Chart | 45 [14] |
Austria Albums Chart | 59 [15] |
Dutch Albums Chart | 11 [16] |
Danish Albums Chart | 25 [17] |
Canadian Albums Chart | 9 [18] |
US Billboard 200 | 83 [18] |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [19] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Loreena Isabel Irene McKennitt is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer who writes, records, and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern influences. McKennitt is known for her refined and clear soprano vocals. She has sold more than 14 million records worldwide.
The Visit is the fourth studio album by Loreena McKennitt. Released on September 27, 1991, the album has been certified four times Platinum in Canada and Gold in the United States. It was produced by McKennitt and Brian Hughes.
The Mask and Mirror is the fifth studio album by Loreena McKennitt. Released in 1994, the album has been certified Gold in the United States.
Live in Paris and Toronto is a two CD live album by Loreena McKennitt, released in 1999. Disc one is a live performance of the studio album The Book of Secrets; disc two features songs from her albums The Visit and The Mask and Mirror.
The Book of Secrets is the sixth studio album by Loreena McKennitt, released in 1997. It reached #17 on the Billboard 200. The lead single of the album, "The Mummers' Dance," remixed by DNA, was released during the winter of 1997–98, and peaked at #18 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #17 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. The album is certified double-platinum in the United States. It has now sold more than four million copies worldwide.
Volume 3: Further in Time is the third studio album from Afro Celt Sound System, released on 19 June 2001 through Real World.
Shaming of the Sun, sometimes mislabeled as Shaming the Sun, is the sixth studio album by the Indigo Girls, released in 1997. It was the duo's highest-charting album in the U.S., peaking at number 7 on the Billboard 200.
"Hurdy Gurdy Man" is a song by the Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was recorded in April 1968 and released the following month as a single. The song gave its name to the album The Hurdy Gurdy Man, which was released in October of that year in the United States. The single reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. and number 4 on the UK Singles Chart.
Faun is a German band that was formed in 1998 and plays pagan folk, darkwave, and medieval music. The originality of their music style is that it falls back to "old" instruments, and the singing is always the center of attention. The vocals are performed in a variety of languages, including German, English, Latin, Greek, and Scandinavian languages. Their instruments include Celtic harp, Swedish nyckelharpa, hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes, cittern, flutes, and many others.
The Hole Truth... and Nothing Butt is the first compilation album by American punk band Butthole Surfers, officially released in March 1995. All songs were written by Butthole Surfers, except for "Come Together" and "Hurdy Gurdy Man".
Nigel Eaton is a British multi-instrumentalist and composer best known for playing the hurdy-gurdy. Born in Lyndhurst, Eaton played the piano and cello before switching to the hurdy-gurdy in 1981 when his father, Christopher Eaton, began manufacturing them. Eaton has been described as the "foremost hurdy-gurdy player in popular music in North America and Europe".
Nights from the Alhambra is a live album and DVD from the Canadian singer, songwriter, accordionist, harpist, and pianist, Loreena McKennitt and is her first live concert DVD. It was recorded in September 2006, live at the Palace of Charles V, in the Alhambra, Granada, Spain, and released commercially in September 2007.
A Midwinter Night's Dream is the eighth studio album by the Canadian singer, songwriter, accordionist, harpist, and pianist Loreena McKennitt, released on October 28, 2008.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley is the ninth studio album by the Canadian singer, songwriter, accordionist, harpist, and pianist Loreena McKennitt, which was released on November 12, 2010.
Helvetios is the fifth studio album by Swiss folk metal band Eluveitie. The album was released 10 February 2012 through Nuclear Blast. The CD was recorded at New Sound Studio in Pfäffikon, a municipality in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland, with producer Tommy Vetterli. It was the last album to include violinist Meri Tadić and guitarist Simeon Koch.
Ben Grossman is a Canadian hurdy-gurdy player, percussionist, composer and improviser. He performs both as a soloist and as part of various ensembles. Ben's work is featured on over 80 CDs. He has also been recorded for film soundtracks, radio dramas, as well as for television shows and commercials.
Way Out Yonder is an album by Andy Irvine, recorded between July and December 1999 and released in January 2000. It was co-produced by Irvine and Steve Cooney.
A Mediterranean Odyssey is a two-disc collection of the music of Canadian singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Loreena McKennitt. The disc titled From Istanbul To Athens features a selection of previously unreleased live recordings from her 2009 Mediterranean Tour, while the disc titled The Olive And The Cedar contains previously released studio recordings selected by Loreena to complement the project's Mediterranean theme.
Lost Souls is the tenth studio album by Canadian singer Loreena McKennitt, which was released on May 11, 2018. The track "The Ballad of the Fox Hunter" is an adaptation of the poem by W. B. Yeats, and "La Belle Dame Sans Merci" is an adaptation of the poem by John Keats.
The Road Back Home is a live album by Canadian singer Loreena McKennitt. It was released on March 8, 2024, through Quinlan Road.