To Drive the Cold Winter Away | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | January 11, 1987 | |||
Genre | Folk · seasonal recording | |||
Length | 44:29 | |||
Label | Quinlan Road | |||
Producer | Loreena McKennitt | |||
Loreena McKennitt chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
To Drive the Cold Winter Away is Canadian musician Loreena McKennitt's second studio album, released on January 11, 1987. It pays homage to her childhood memories of music for the winter season, the most vivid of which "came from songs and carols recorded in churches or great halls, rich with their own unique ambience and tradition." [2]
To capture that remembered ambiance, McKennitt kept the arrangements sparse, celebrating the beauty of simplicity. She also chose to leave the found sounds of life in the performances, which were recorded on location in churches and great halls: [3]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "In Praise of Christmas" (traditional) | 6:06 |
2. | "The Seasons" (traditional) | 4:55 |
3. | "The King" (traditional) | 2:04 |
4. | "Banquet Hall" (McKennitt) | 3:53 |
5. | "Snow" (Archibald Lampman, McKennitt) | 5:35 |
6. | "Balulalow" (traditional) | 3:09 |
7. | "Let Us the Infant Greet" (traditional) | 3:46 |
8. | "The Wexford Carol" (traditional) | 6:07 |
9. | "The Stockford Carol" (McKennitt) | 3:02 |
10. | "Let All That Are to Mirth Inclined" (traditional) | 6:52 |
Total length: | 44:29 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Worldwide | — | 84,000 [4] |
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.
Manu Katché is a French drummer and songwriter of Ivorian descent. He has worked extensively as a session musician, notably with Sting and Peter Gabriel, and his solo albums as a bandleader are largely in the jazz fusion style.
Elemental is the debut studio album by Canadian musician, composer, singer-songwriter and instrumentalist Loreena McKennitt and the vehicle with which she launched the Quinlan Road label. The album was recorded in one week in July 1985 and released later in the year. The studio was a barn in southern Ontario, situated in a field of sunflowers. It sold 67,000 pieces worldwide.
Parallel Dreams is Canadian musician Loreena McKennitt's third studio album, released on March 7, 1989. The album features McKennitt's own original compositions along with her interpretations of traditional material. It's one of the most successful independently-released Canadian albums ever.
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.
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.
"The Death of Queen Jane" is an English ballad that describes the events surrounding the death of a Queen Jane. It is catalogued by Francis James Child as Child #170. Some of the versions given are Scottish, in which the queen's name is Jeanie or Jeany.
The King or His Majesty The King may refer to:
Brian Hughes is a Canadian guitarist whose work draws from smooth jazz and Latin music. Hughes also plays oud, bouzouki, and balalaika. For over twenty years, he has worked in the studio with singer-songwriter Loreena McKennitt. He co-produced many of her recordings and leads her touring band.
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. It was her first studio album after a 9-year gap. It has sold over a half a million copies worldwide since its release.
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 Winter Garden: Five Songs for the Season is an extended play (EP) by Loreena McKennitt. Recorded and released in 1995, it contains five tracks: three Christmas carols, McKennitt's adaptation of Archibald Lampman's poem "Snow", and the traditional English "Seeds of Love."
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 Mummers' Dance" is a song written and performed by Canadian singer Loreena McKennitt, released as a single from her sixth studio album, The Book of Secrets (1997), in November 1997. The song refers to the seasonal mummers' play performed by groups of actors, often as house-to-house visits. Its lyrics indicate a springtime holiday. Remixed by electronic music production duo DNA for its single release, "The Mummers' Dance" reached No. 10 in Canada, No. 18 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1 on the Billboard Triple-A chart. A music video was also produced for the song.
John Joseph Welsman is a Canadian composer known for his work in film and television. He has written film and television scores for production companies in both Canada and the United States. Some of the films he has worked on are The Peace Tree, A Winter Tale, and Nurse.Fighter.Boy and Lantern Hill. He has been nominated for the Gemini Award ten times, winning four times for his work on the television series Road to Avonlea, and once for the short film 'The Bellringer'.
Maybe This Christmas is a holiday compilation album released in November 2002 through Nettwerk Records featuring contemporary musicians performing both classic and original Christmas songs. The album, named by Ron Sexsmith, is the first in a series of three holiday compilations released through the record label between 2002 and 2004. A portion of the proceeds from the sales of each album went to Toys for Tots, a charity supported by the United States Marine Corps. Most of the tracks exclusive to Maybe This Christmas were recorded just a few months prior to its release. The album's cover art was designed by artist Paul Frank, creator of Julius the pictured "wide-mouth monkey". Critical reception of the compilation was mixed, with reviewers often complimenting or criticizing select tracks. In the United States, the album reached a peak position of number thirty-eight on Billboard's Top Holiday Albums chart.
Timothy Gerard Landers is an American bassist best known for his contribution to the 1970s-80s jazz-fusion genre and his work with Al Di Meola, Billy Cobham, and Gil Evans. Landers is a session musician and was a member of Tom Scott's band on The Pat Sajak Show.
"All Hail to the Days", also known as "Drive the Cold Winter Away", "In Praise of Christmas", and "The Praise of Christmas", is an English Christmas carol of Elizabethan origins. The carol first appeared as a broadside in circa 1625, though its origins are unclear; Thomas Durfrey is sometimes erroneously identified as the lyricist. Though obscure, the carol has featured in numerous hymnals over the centuries. It is traditionally sung to the tune "When Phoebus did rest", under which it is printed in the Pepys and Roxburgh collections and Playford’s The English Dancing Master.
The Road Back Home is a live album by Canadian singer Loreena McKennitt. It was released on March 8, 2024, through Quinlan Road.