Elemental (Loreena McKennitt album)
Encyclopedia
Elemental is the first album recorded by Loreena McKennitt
and vehicle with which she launched the Quinlan Road
label. It was released in 1985. The album was recorded in one week in July, 1985. The studio was in a barn in southern Ontario
and situated in a field of sunflowers.
Loreena McKennitt
Loreena Isabel Irene McKennitt, CM, OM, is a Canadian singer, composer, harpist, accordionist and pianist who writes, records and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern themes. McKennitt is known for her refined, clear soprano vocals...
and vehicle with which she launched the Quinlan Road
Quinlan Road
Quinlan Road is an independent record label founded in 1985 and based in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. It is maintained by its sole artist, Loreena McKennitt.-History:...
label. It was released in 1985. The album was recorded in one week in July, 1985. The studio was in a barn in southern Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and situated in a field of sunflowers.
Track listing
- "BlacksmithBlacksmith (song)"Blacksmith" is a traditional English folk song, also known as "A Blacksmith Courted Me". The song was noted down by Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1909 from a Mrs Powell. On that occasion it was sung to the tune "Monk's Gate", better known as the tune of "To be a pilgrim", the hymn by John Bunyan....
" (Traditional/Loreena McKennitt)– 3:20 - "She Moved Through the FairShe Moved Through the Fair"She Moved Through the Fair" is a traditional Irish folk song, existing in a number of versions and which has been recorded many times.-Origins:...
" (Traditional/Padraic ColumPadraic ColumPadraic Colum was an Irish poet, novelist, dramatist, biographer, playwright, children's author and collector of folklore. He was one of the leading figures of the Celtic Revival.-Early life:...
/Loreena McKennitt)– 4:05 - "Stolen Child" (William Butler YeatsWilliam Butler YeatsWilliam Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms...
/Loreena McKennitt) – 5:05 - "The Lark in the Clear Air" (Traditional/Loreena McKennitt) – 2:06
- "CarrighfergusCarrickfergus (song)"Carrickfergus" is an Irish folk song. The origins of the song are unclear, but it has been traced to an Irish language song, "Do bhí bean uasal" , which is attested to the poet Cathal Buí Mac Giolla Ghunna, who died in 1745 in County Clare.The song appears on a ballad sheet in Cork City in the mid...
" (Traditional/Loreena McKennitt) – 3:24 - "Kellswater" (Traditional/Loreena McKennitt) – 5:19
- "Banks of Claudy" (Traditional/Loreena McKennitt) – 5:37
- "Come by the Hills" (Traditional/Loreena McKennitt) – 3:05
- "Lullaby" (William BlakeWilliam BlakeWilliam Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
/Loreena McKennitt) - 4:26
Song information
- "Stolen Child" is based on the William Butler YeatsWilliam Butler YeatsWilliam Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms...
poem "The Stolen ChildThe Stolen Child"The Stolen Child" is a poem by William Butler Yeats, published in 1889 in The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems.-Overview:The poem was written in 1886 and is considered to be one of Yeats's more notable early poems. The poem is based on Irish legend and concerns faeries beguiling a child to come...
". - The main vocals of "Carrighfergus" are sung by Cedric SmithCedric Smith (actor)Cedric Smith is a British-Canadian actor and musician. He played Alec King in the CBC television series Road to Avonlea and was the voice of Professor X in the X-Men TV series.-Music:...
. - "Lullaby" uses the words of a poem by William BlakeWilliam BlakeWilliam Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
. It was written for the 1983 Stratford Festival of CanadaStratford Festival of CanadaThe Stratford Shakespeare Festival is an internationally recognized annual celebration of theatre running from April to November in the Canadian city of Stratford, Ontario...
production of Blake by Elliot Hayes and performed by Douglas CampbellDouglas Campbell (actor)Douglas Campbell, CM was a Canadian-based stage actor. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland.-Acting career:...
.