Loreena McKennitt

Biography

Loreena McKennitt (born February 17, 1957) 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 16 million records worldwide.

Early life and education

McKennitt was born in Morden, Manitoba, of Irish and Scottish descent to parents Jack McKennitt (died 1992) and Irene née Dickey (1931–2011). In Morden, she developed her love for music, influenced, in part, by the musical traditions of the local Mennonite community.
McKennitt enrolled at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg to become a veterinarian. While in Winnipeg she discovered folk music, including fellow Canadians Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and Gordon Lightfoot. After performing at the inaugural Winnipeg Folk Festival in 1974, McKennitt developed an interest in Celtic music and visited Ireland to hear it for herself. She learned to play the Celtic harp and began busking at various places, including St. Lawrence Market in Toronto to earn money to record her first album.
In 1981, she moved to Stratford, Ontario to join the Stratford Festival acting company; she still resides there.

Initial success: 1985–1998

McKennitt's first album, Elemental×Elemental1985 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Blacksmith3:212She Moved Through the Fair4:053Stolen Child5:084The Lark in the Clear Air2:075Carrighfergus3:276Kellswater5:177Banks of Claudy5:378Come by the Hills3:049Lullaby4:27, was released in 1985, followed by To Drive the Cold Winter Away×To Drive the Cold Winter Away1987 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1In Praise of Christmas6:062The Seasons4:523The King2:064Banquet Hall3:545Snow5:396Balulalow3:127Let Us the Infant Greet3:478The Wexford Carol6:119The Stockford Carol3:0610Let All That Are to Mirth Inclined6:54 (1987), Parallel Dreams (1989), The Visit (1991), The Mask and Mirror (1994), A Winter Garden (1995), and The Book of Secrets (1997). All of her work is released under her own label, Quinlan Road.
In 1990, McKennitt provided the music for the National Film Board of Canada documentary The Burning Times, a feminist revisionist account of the Early Modern European witchcraft trials. She and the musical team she headed would later re-record the documentary's main theme on her album The Visit×The Visit1991 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1All Souls Night5:082Bonny Portmore4:213Between the Shadows3:414The Lady of Shalott11:355Greensleeves4:266Tango to Evora4:107Courtyard Lullaby4:578The Old Ways5:459Cymbeline5:03 under the title "Tango to Evora".
In 1993, she toured Europe supporting Mike Oldfield. In 1995, her version of the traditional Irish song "Bonny Portmore" was featured in the Highlander series, followed by the 1994 film Highlander 3: The Sorcerer. McKennitt's single "The Mummers' Dance" received airplay in North American markets during the spring of 1997, and was used as the theme song for the short-lived TV series Legacy. It also saw use in the trailer for a wide-release 1998 Drew Barrymore film Ever After.
Her music appeared in the movies The Santa Clause, Soldier, Jade, Holy Man, The Mists of Avalon, and Tinker Bell. It was also featured in the television series Roar, Due South, and Full Circle (Women and Spirituality).

Personal tragedy and hiatus

In July 1998, McKennitt's fiancé Ronald Rees, his brother Richard, and their close friend Gregory Cook drowned in a boating accident on Georgian Bay. She was deeply affected by the event, and she founded the Cook-Rees Memorial Fund for Water Search and Safety in the same year. At the time of the incident, she was working on a live album of two performances called Live in Paris and Toronto×Live in Paris and Toronto1999 · Album · LiveSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 17 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Prologue5:002The Mummers’ Dance4:013Skellig5:244Marco Polo4:535The Highwayman9:306La serenissima5:557Night Ride Across the Caucasus6:228Dante’s Prayer5:25Disc 21The Mystic’s Dream6:312Santiago6:223Bonny Portmore3:524Between the Shadows4:325The Lady of Shalott9:216The Bonny Swans7:087The Old Ways5:388All Souls Night4:499Cymbeline6:27. The proceeds from this album were donated to the newly created memorial fund, totalling some three million dollars.
After the release of the live album, McKennitt decided that she would substantially reduce the number of her public performances, and she did not release any new recordings.

Return to music: 2006–present

During 2005, McKennitt began working on the album An Ancient Muse×An Ancient Muse21 November 2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Incantation2:352The Gates of Istanbul6:593Caravanserai7:364The English Ladye and the Knight6:495Kecharitomene6:356Penelope’s Song4:227Sacred Shabbat4:008Beneath a Phrygian Sky9:299Never‐Ending Road (Amhrán Duit)6:03, her seventh full-length studio album, released in November 2006. In September 2006, she performed live at the Alhambra in Spain. The performance premiered on PBS and in August 2007 was released on a three-disc DVD/CD set titled Nights from the Alhambra.
In 2008, McKennitt wrote and composed "To the Fairies They Draw Near" for the theme song for Disney's direct-to-video animated film Tinker Bell. She also provided the narration for the film.
In early 2008, she returned to Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios to record A Midwinter Night's Dream, an extended version of her 1995 mini-album A Winter Garden: Five Songs for the Season×A Winter Garden: Five Songs for the Season7 November 1995 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1Coventry Carol2:212God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen6:493Good King Wenceslas3:194Snow5:045Seeds of Love4:55. The album was released on October 28, 2008.
Since the release of An Ancient Muse, McKennitt has toured consistently, in Europe and North American, including the An Ancient Muse tour in 2007, another extensive tour across Canada and United States later in 2007, a tour of Europe in 2008 and a Mediterranean tour in 2009 with stops in Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon, Hungary and Italy.
On September 17, 2009, McKennitt announced the release of a two-disc album, A Mediterranean Odyssey×A Mediterranean Odyssey19 October 2009 · Album · CompilationSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 21 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11The Mystic’s Dream8:312Tango to Evora6:493The Gates of Istanbul4:364Penelope’s Song3:315Marco Polo3:136Marrakesh Night Market5:537Santiago6:088Caravanserai7:069The Dark Night of the Soul5:0110Sacred Shabbat5:2611The Mummer’s Dance3:33Disc 21The Gates of Istanbul8:312The Dark Night of the Soul6:493Marco Polo4:364Penelope’s Song3:315Sacred Shabbat3:136Caravanserai5:537Santiago6:088Beneath a Phrygian Sky7:069Tango to Evora5:0110Full Circle5:26. The first CD, "From Istanbul to Athens×From Istanbul to Athens2009 · Album · LiveSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1The Gates of Istanbul8:312The Dark Night of the Soul6:493Marco Polo4:364Penelope's Song3:315Sacred Shabbat3:136Caravanserai5:537Santiago6:088Beneath a Phrygian Sky7:069Tango to Evora5:0110Full Circle5:26", consisted of 10 new live recordings from her 2009 Mediterranean tour, including songs she had never before recorded in concert. The second CD, "The Olive and the Cedar×The Olive and The Cedar2009 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1The Mystic's Dream7:442Tango to Evora4:103The Gates of Istanbul4:034Penelope's Song3:555Marco Polo3:596Marrakesh Night Market4:097Santiago4:198Caravanserai3:539The Dark Night of the Soul4:0210Sacred Shabbat4:0111The Mummers' Dance3:31", had a Mediterranean theme which McKennitt herself curated. It contained previously released studio recordings created between 1994 and 2006.
November 16, 2010, saw the US release (November 12 for Europe) of McKennitt's studio album, The Wind That Shakes the Barley×The Wind That Shakes the Barley7 March 2010 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1As I Roved Out4:592On a Bright May Morning5:093Brian Boru’s March3:514Down by the Sally Gardens5:405The Star of the County Down3:346The Wind That Shakes the Barley6:017The Death of Queen Jane6:048The Emigration Tunes4:429The Parting Glass5:14. Recorded at the Sharon Temple in Ontario, the album comprises nine traditional Celtic songs.
When McKennitt released The Wind that Shakes the Barley she visited several countries to help promote the album. During the promotional tour she performed an hour-long concert in the studios of German radio station SWR1, accompanied only by Brian Hughes (guitars) and Caroline Lavelle (cello) who have long been part of her tours and recordings. This live concert was released on CD in 2011. Called Troubadours on the Rhine, the album was nominated for a 2012 Grammy for Best New Age Album.
On November 30, 2012, McKennitt lent her support to Kate Winslet's Golden Hat Foundation together with Tim Janis, Sarah McLachlan, Andrea Corr, Hayley Westenra, the Sleepy Man Banjo Boys, Dawn Kenney, Jana Mashonee, Amy Petty, and a choir, along with others, performing on "The American Christmas Carol" concert at Carnegie Hall.
McKennitt's 10th studio album, Lost Souls×Lost Souls3 May 2018 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Spanish Guitars and Night Plazas6:422A Hundred Wishes4:353Ages Past, Ages Hence5:274The Ballad of the Fox Hunter5:485Manx Ayre4:036La Belle Dame sans merci6:097Sun, Moon and Stars4:358Breaking of the Sword5:309Lost Souls5:09, was released on May 11, 2018. She planned a tour to support the album's release in 2018 and 2019.
She had a small acting role in the 2018 film Road to the Lemon Grove, as the voice of God.
In 2019, McKennitt released the live album Live at the Royal Albert Hall×Live at the Royal Albert Hall1 November 2019 · Album · LiveSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 20 tracks1Bonny Portmore (live at the Royal Albert Hall)4:292All Souls Night (live at the Royal Albert Hall)4:303A Hundred Wishes (live at the Royal Albert Hall)4:034Ages Past, Ages Hence (live at the Royal Albert Hall)5:465The Ballad of the Foxhunter (live at the Royal Albert Hall)5:436Marco Polo (live at the Royal Albert Hall)4:317Spanish Guitars and Night Plazas (live at the Royal Albert Hall)6:598The Star of the County Down (live at the Royal Albert Hall)3:409The Two Trees (live at the Royal Albert Hall)6:2110The Bonny Swans (live at the Royal Albert Hall)6:4011The Mystic’s Dream (live at the Royal Albert Hall)6:0212Santiago (live at the Royal Albert Hall)6:2113As I Roved Out (live at the Royal Albert Hall)4:3014Manx Ayre (live at the Royal Albert Hall)3:4915The Lady of Shalott (live at the Royal Albert Hall)6:4816The Mummers’ Dance (live at the Royal Albert Hall)4:1217The Old Ways (live at the Royal Albert Hall)4:5418Lost Souls (live at the Royal Albert Hall)4:5119Tango to Evora (live at the Royal Albert Hall)4:5520Dante’s Prayer (live at the Royal Albert Hall)4:58, recorded earlier that year in London.

Genre

McKennitt's music has generally been classified as World or Celtic music even though it contains aspects and characteristics of music from around the globe and is sometimes classified as folk music in record stores.
McKennitt is occasionally compared to Enya, but McKennitt's music is more grounded in traditional and classical invocations, using literary works as sources of lyrics and springboards for interpretation such as "The Lady of Shalott" by Lord Tennyson, "Prospero's Speech" (the final soliloquy in William Shakespeare's The Tempest), the Northumbrian murder ballad "The Twa Sisters" (which inspired "The Bonny Swans×The Bonny Swans1994 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1The Bonny Swans (edit)4:582The Lady of Shalott11:353Prospero’s Speech3:274The Bonny Swans7:17" on The Mask and Mirror), "Snow" by Archibald Lampman, "Dark Night of the Soul" by St. John of the Cross, Dante's Inferno, William Blake's "Lullaby", Yeats' "The Stolen Child," "The English Ladye and the Knight" by Sir Walter Scott, and "The Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes.

Influences

Before McKennitt composes any music, she engages in considerable research on a specific subject which then forms the general concept of the album. Before creating Elemental and Parallel Dreams, she travelled to Ireland for inspiration from the country's history, folklore, geography and culture. The album The Mask and Mirror×The Mask and Mirror22 March 1994 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1The Mystic’s Dream7:422The Bonny Swans7:213The Dark Night of the Soul6:454Marrakesh Night Market6:305Full Circle5:576Santiago5:597Cé Hé Mise le Ulaingt? / The Two Trees9:108Prospero’s Speech3:23 was preceded by research in Spain where she studied Galicia, a Celtic section of Spain, along with its abundant Arabic roots. The result was an album that included elements of Celtic and Arabic music. According to the jacket notes, her album An Ancient Muse×An Ancient Muse21 November 2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Incantation2:352The Gates of Istanbul6:593Caravanserai7:364The English Ladye and the Knight6:495Kecharitomene6:356Penelope’s Song4:227Sacred Shabbat4:008Beneath a Phrygian Sky9:299Never‐Ending Road (Amhrán Duit)6:03 was inspired by travels among and reading about the various cultures along the Silk Road.

Documentaries

Late in the 1990s, McKennitt created No Journey's End, a half-hour documentary, for American television in which she discussed the influences behind her music. No Journey's End contained excerpts from several songs from the albums Parallel Dreams×Parallel Dreams1989 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1Samain Night4:312Moon Cradle4:323Huron ‘Beltane’ Fire Dance4:224Annachie Gordon8:255Standing Stones6:596Dickens’ Dublin (The Palace)4:437Breaking the Silence6:268Ancient Pines3:36, The Visit×The Visit1991 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1All Souls Night5:082Bonny Portmore4:213Between the Shadows3:414The Lady of Shalott11:355Greensleeves4:266Tango to Evora4:107Courtyard Lullaby4:578The Old Ways5:459Cymbeline5:03, and The Mask and Mirror×The Mask and Mirror22 March 1994 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1The Mystic’s Dream7:422The Bonny Swans7:213The Dark Night of the Soul6:454Marrakesh Night Market6:305Full Circle5:576Santiago5:597Cé Hé Mise le Ulaingt? / The Two Trees9:108Prospero’s Speech3:23. It also shows live performances of the songs "The Lady of Shalott", "Santiago", and "The Dark Night of the Soul×The Dark Night Of The Soul1996 · EP · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1The Dark Night of the Soul (radio edit)4:032Greensleeves4:263Huron ‘Beltane’ Fire Dance4:224All Souls Night5:07". It was later released on DVD and VHS, the former also containing music videos for "The Mummers' Dance" and "The Bonny Swans×The Bonny Swans1994 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1The Bonny Swans (edit)4:582The Lady of Shalott11:353Prospero’s Speech3:274The Bonny Swans7:17." A bonus copy of the DVD was included with the 2004 remastered versions of McKennitt's CDs.
In 2008, McKennitt released A Moveable Musical Feast, based on her 2007 An Ancient Muse tour. The DVD included interviews with McKennitt, her band, crew, fans and professional colleagues from the Canadian music industry.

Court case

In 2005, McKennitt was involved in an acrimonious court case in England when her former friend and employee, Niema Ash, published a book, Travels with Loreena McKennitt: My Life as a Friend, that contained intimate details of their friendship. McKennitt argued that much of the book contained confidential personal information that Ash had no right to publish. The English courts found that there had indeed been a breach of confidence and a misuse of McKennitt's private information, and the case set important precedents in the law of England and Wales on the privacy of public figures. The House of Lords affirmed the lower court's decisions in 2007.

Honours

Juno Award, Best Roots/Traditional Album 1992, for The Visit×The Visit1991 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1All Souls Night5:082Bonny Portmore4:213Between the Shadows3:414The Lady of Shalott11:355Greensleeves4:266Tango to Evora4:107Courtyard Lullaby4:578The Old Ways5:459Cymbeline5:03
Juno Award, Best Roots/Traditional Album 1994, for The Mask and Mirror×The Mask and Mirror22 March 1994 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1The Mystic’s Dream7:422The Bonny Swans7:213The Dark Night of the Soul6:454Marrakesh Night Market6:305Full Circle5:576Santiago5:597Cé Hé Mise le Ulaingt? / The Two Trees9:108Prospero’s Speech3:23
Billboard Music Award for International Achievement, 1997
Honorary Doctor of Letters, Wilfrid Laurier University, 2002
Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Manitoba, June 2005
Canadian Ambassador, Hans Christian Andersen Bicentenary, June 2005
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Queen's University, October 2005
Investiture as Honorary Colonel, 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force, December 2006
Nominated for a Grammy award, Best Contemporary World Music Album, in 2007
Western Canadian Music Awards Lifetime Achievement Award, September 2009
Performed at Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, Opening Ceremonies, February 12, 2010
Honorary Bachelor of Applied Business, George Brown College, June 2010
Nominated for a Grammy award, Best New Age Album, in 2012
Appointment as Honorary Colonel of the Royal Canadian Air Force, September 2014
Inductee, Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, 2023
Joseph-Elzéar Bernier Medal, Royal Canadian Geographical Society, 2023
Paul Harris Fellow, Rotary International, 2025
Inductee, Canadian Music Hall of Fame, 2025

Awards and decorations

McKennitt's personal awards and decorations include the following:

Quinlan Road

Quinlan Road is an independent record label founded in 1985 and based in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. It is owned and operated by its sole artist, Loreena McKennitt. Quinlan Road started out at McKennitt's home where she sold recordings by mail order. Today Quinlan Road music is distributed internationally by Universal Music Group.

Videos

The Bonny Swans (1994)
The Mummers' Dance (1997)
Nights from the Alhambra (2007, live concert in Spain premiered on PBS)
A Moveable Musical Feast (2008, a tour documentary from McKennitt's 2007 North American Tour)

Other

No Journey's End (half-hour profile, aired on PBS; DVD)
Heaven on Earth (TV movie 1987 – played "Lady Traveler")
Highlander III: The Sorcerer (Soundtrack contribution)
The Santa Clause (Soundtrack contribution, "The Bells of Christmas")
Léolo (Soundtrack contribution)
Una casa con vista al mar (Soundtrack contribution)
The Mists of Avalon (Soundtrack use)
The Burning Times (Soundtrack contribution)
Due South (Soundtrack use)
Northern Exposure (Soundtrack use)
Tinker Bell (Direct-to-DVD movie, 2008 – Narrator)
Soldier (Soundtrack use)