Track Listing

1. In Praise of Christmas
2. Seasons
3. King
4. Banquet Hall
5. Snow
6. Balulalow
7. Let Us the Infant Greet
8. Wexford Carol
9. Stockford Carol
10. Let All That Are to Mirth Inclined

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32748 in Music
• Brand: Verve
• Released on: 2006-11-14
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Enhanced, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Customer Reviews

Let all that are to mirth inclined
Most Christmas albums sound tailor-made for mall muzak -- bland and recycled, with the same ol' songs about bells, Santa Claus, and snow. Loreena McKennitt breaks the mold with "To Drive the Cold Winter Away," an enchantingly wintry collection with muted instrumentation, and a classic feel.

It opens with the ethereal "In Praise of Christmas," a languid little harp ballad, and the rich "Seasons," which sounds like a solo performance at a medieval banquet. "Come all you lads and lasses, I'd have you give attention/To these few lines I'm about to write here,/'Tis of the four seasons of the year that I shall mention,/The beauty of all things doth appear," McKennitt sings in her rolling voice.

Those songs set the tone of the remaining songs -- pretty, airy wintry ballads accompanied mostly by harp. A few exceptions are sprinkled through it, such as the icily pretty instrumental "Banquet Hall," languid harp music in "Snow," and a few songs like "Let All That Are to Mirth Inclined" are done without instrumentation at all.

It's not hard to get sick of the endless repetitions of "Jingle Bells," "The Christmas Song" and "Let It Snow." It comes to the point where people get violent at mall loudspeakers. Loreena McKennitt's "To Drive the Cold Winter Away" is an antidote of sorts -- she dips into traditional Christmas and winter ballads from England, Scotland and Ireland, sometimes going back hundreds of years.

On the other hand, the sound quality is worse than McKennitt's other albums, particularly her a capella songs. While her singing cannot be faulted, she sang them in an old Irish abbey, which causes a weird echo effect in some songs. Her voice doesn't sound quite on top form in these.

However, the instrumentation often covers this effect -- it's much more minimal than in most of Mckennitt's work, often with her merely playing harps, and occasionally a tin whistle or accordian. The ethereal, minimal instrumentation gives the feeling of chilliness and beauty in a winter forest.

It's a bit hard to sing some old ballads, especially since many do not have specific tunes assigned to them. McKennitt does well at this; despite a few awkward moments, she sings richly and soulfully. "The King," her duet with Cedric Smith, is not so great, however since Smith's mediocre voice often blots out hers completely. Aside from that, her voice lilts lightly over the songs about Christ, snow, and firesides during the winter.

"To Drive the Cold Winter Away" is a truly beautiful collection of traditional Christmas songs. Despite the occasional echo problems, McKennitt's sweet voice and music bring out an older, richer side of Christmas.

A Haunting Experience
The best word I can come up with for Loreena McKennitt's voice is "haunting". I almost said ethereal and that would have been correct too but I chose haunting because it is one that keeps coming back to me. It makes me wonder if I really heard some of the things it said. In this context, that is a good thing.

This is a collection of "Christmas" songs but it is definitely not a collection of carols. They are songs of midwinter and the voice and instrumentation conveys that theme as well as the lyrics. They would not be out of place in a medieval hall.

This is not a somber collection but it might well be perceived as such by someone expecting ditties about reindeer with red noses or jolly old elves. It is a joyous collection with the joy is sedate, as is the whole album. That does not stop it from being a masterful work of art.

Try this one and let it haunt your memories through the winter and the rest of the year.

wonderful
This is an amazing CD. It is very sparse yet beautiful and seems to capture the mood of a winter's evening perfectly. Loreena's voice and musical offerings through the years have increased in complexity and multi-cultured flavorings.....a wonderful evolution for a deep artist. But on returning to this album you get a very stripped down Loreena, lotsa tracks with just her and maybe 1 or 2 instruments while she sings very old Christmas/Solstice songs.....Strangely, this is not only my favorite Christmas/Solstice CD but also my favorite album by her in general. It just,,,,,speaks to anyone who has spent Christmas/Solstice in the quiet countryside and witnessed the true miracle of the season....the stillness and beauty of winter in the country.