An evocative and wonderfully mystic album

Ms. McKennitt is probably the most talented of the new-age/world-music divas who became so popular in the 80s and 90s. And while she has produced a number of excellent albums during her career, The Mask and Mirror is almost certainly her best work to date. These eight songs strike an ideal balance between the pop music influences that weigh more heavily in her later work and the traditional Celtic roots of her early albums. Also, around the time this album was released she was just beginning to experiment with Middle Eastern tones and rhythms; the fusion between the Celtic stylings and the Middle Eastern instruments is wonderful, certainly the best she has achieved so far.

The Mask and Mirror is a brilliant mood piece. It doesn't fit neatly into a particular category or genre, but the melodies are so beautiful that this doesn't seem to matter one whit. There are some albums and some artists who manage to transcend traditional genres... Loreena McKennitt is one of these. The music roams the world but is at the same time both cosmopolitan and thoroughly unified. The variety of instruments is superb, with arrangements that are broad and poetic without ever feeling haphazard. Of course, the best instrument of all is Ms. McKennitt's voice, which soars above and sails through the instrumental arrangements of the songs like the aural embodiment of a visionary spiritual character straight out of her lyrics.

There's an evocative feel that permeats the music, hearkening back to somewhere in the middle of the 15th century. The songs are is in many ways extremely literate (or at least literary-- the focus of her influences is sometimes a little narrowly defined). Most people will be familiar with the Shakespeare passages in the last song, "Prospero's Speech." Much more unusual are the beautiful Yeats poem used in "The Two Trees" and also the quotes from the mystic St. John of the Cross's work used as lyrics for "The Dark Night of the Soul." In fact, there's a common mystic strain in all of these literary references, and the album makes a wonderfully appropriate soundtrack for readings in medieval poetry or mythology.

And finally, it's not often that the liner notes are as much fun as the music, but the snatches of diary and gorgeous illustrations in the (typically thick) notes that accompany the album are a delight... their pithy and eclectic character makes me suspect that Ms. McKennitt would make an excellent weblogger!

I never get tired to listening to this album of exotic music

I am now of the strong opinion that "The Mask and Mirror" is Loreena McKennitt's finest album to date and an amazing amalgama of Celtic, Moorish, Egyptian and Middle Eastern music. Listening to this music, from the chants at the opening of "The Mystic's Dream" to the closing track which sets "Prospero's Speech" from Shakespeare's "The Tempest" to music, I have always felt there was a strong medieval quality to some of these songs. Of course, once you read McKennitt's liner notes, which are always as intriguing as her music, you know that this was exactly her intent. The infusion of Eastern instruments such as the oud, dumbeg, tabla and nai blends well with the Urilleaann pipes and bodhrain of Ireland that having also accented the more standard keyboard guitars and strings. Each song features a different confluence of instruements such as guitar and percussions on "The Bonny Swan," guitar and strings on "The Dark Night Of The Soul," percussions and strings on "Marrakesh Night Market," and so forth. "Full Circle" might feature a esraj while "Santiago" offers not only great fiddle playing but a hurdy-gury and accordian to go along with a balaiaka and bouzouki. Of course McKennitt uses her own voice as well as those of others as instruments as well. I find the blend of "Eastern" and "Western" music to be enchanting and the album constitutes McKennitt's actual journey from Ireland through Spain across to Africa and over to the Middle East. The best thing I can say about "The Mask and Mirror" is that I never get tired of listening to it. It is one of those albums I can put on at work and let it play in the background all day long. The music is so textured that I can enjoy it just paying attention to the vocals, the perscusions, the fiddle playing, or something different every time around. I also love the "cover" art work.

Wow...

My friend advised me to buy this CD, so I did. And WOW! It's so pretty! Her voice is amazing! Almost everything my friend suggest me to buy is **Really good** but this is the best of them yet! Now I long for more of her music...

Song number three is good for a story... very pretty, talking about love and night. Number four has this nice touch to it that makes me want to hear it over and over again.