Born on February 17: Loreena McKennitt, Celtic high priestess of New Age folk music

The Canadian artist was born in Manitoba in 1957.

Loreena's destiny was mapped out for her. A first-rate harpist as well as an excellent accordionist, the composer and performer has always found her inspiration in the depths of her Celtic roots. She spices up this instantly recognizable new-age folk with oriental, Arabic and Indian spices brought back from her peregrinations around the world. 

Since her debut album “Elemental” (1985), the result has been a repertoire of poetic melodies, often haunting, even hypnotic, that make her music utterly unique. In her four-decade career, Loreena has released barely a dozen studio recordings, of which “The Mask And Mirror” (1994) is the cornerstone. With its Gregorian and Indian accents, “The Mystic's Dream” on this album has become an anthem for aficionados of the Canadian artist, as well as her best-known song beyond the (wide) circle of unconditional admirers.

She has also offered her songs or written original music for an impressive number of documentaries and films, including, of course, 1995's “Highlander”. It wasn't until the third episode of the saga, subtitled “The Sorcerer”, that anyone finally thought of associating her with the most Celtic of films! She reunited with Christophe Lambert and composer Peter Robinson, author of the musical score.

“Lost Souls”, her latest personal album, dates back to 2018. Asked about certain vocal similarities with Kate Bush on the song “Ages Past, Ages Hence”, Loreena made no secret of her admiration for the author of “Running Up That Hill”...

(Stéphane Soupart - Tr.: MH - Photo : © Etienne Tordoir)
Photo: Loreena McKennitt on stage at the Cirque Royal in Brussels (Belgium) on January 4, 2024