loreena mckennitt / albums

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To Drive the Cold Winter Away,Loreena McKennitt

- To Drive the Cold Winter Away
- - 21,037 plays
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Loreena McKennitt
Released 1987

Banquet Hall
03:53
2,459 plays

In Praise of Christmas
06:06
2,233 plays

Snow
05:38
2,183 plays

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songs

- 1
- In Praise of Christmas
- 06:06
- 2,233 plays

- 2
- The Seasons
- 04:51
- 2,135 plays

- 3
- The King
- 02:05
- 2,142 plays

- 4
- Banquet Hall
- 03:53
- 2,459 plays

- 5
- Snow
- 05:38
- 2,183 plays

- 6
- Balulalow
- 03:12
- 2,059 plays

- 7
- Let Us the Infant Greet
- 03:47
- 1,925 plays

- 8
- The Wexford Carol
- 06:10
- 1,999 plays

- 9
- The Stockford Carol
- 03:06
- 2,030 plays

- 10
- Let All That Are to Mirth Inclined
- 09:31
- 1,872 plays

album review

Recorded in various halls and abbeys in Ireland, and completed in the Church of Our Lady in Guelph, Ontario, harpist/arranger/vocalist Loreena McKennitt's first foray into the crowded field of holiday music -- she would go on to release an EP called Winter Garden in 1995 -- is steeped in old-world atmosphere. To Drive the Cold Winter Away celebrates the winter solstice through eight traditional English, Scottish, and Irish carols and ballads and two Mckennitt originals. The artist's reverence for her source material is moving, and her meticulous yet simple arrangements help tracks such as "The Wexford Carol," "The Kings," and "Let Us the Infant Greet" resonate with all of the grace and piousness that the lyrics and poems strive for. McKennitt has succeeded in making a beautiful, haunting, and ambitious yuletide song cycle that despite taking itself a little too seriously, ranks among her finest. ~ James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide