Her voice celestial and her spirit, down to earth: Loreena McKennitt has moved souls with albums resulting from meticulous research for nearly 40 years weaving the connections between West and East. She returns to Quebec for concerts, where the pieces visitThe disc that revealed it is a matter of debate.
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Before getting into music, Lorena McKennit wanted to be a veterinarian. Her life has led her to take care of animals, but certainly to take care of her fellow humans. His music has always exuded a softness full of mystery, comforting and feeling connected to the essence of the human experience: joy, pain, daydreaming and the need to relate to the people and places around us.
She made clear her desire to do well when it came to a tour that would take her through Montreal (at the Place des Arts on Sunday and October 9), then through Quebec and Sherbrooke. “I find it a calming experience,” she said, given the current political climate and the upheaval the entire world has just gone through due to the pandemic.
This appeasement first goes through his album songs visit, the second half of the program will see her perform on stage in full for the first time in her career. An important milestone in his discography, the disc released in 1991 revealed to the world his paradise and his music rooted in Celtic tradition, but mixed with Near East and Asia Minor influences.
can be heard from this mix All Souls’ Night, a piece that opens the album: even before hearing its song, part of the Irish tradition, one is drawn in by the reverberations of Indian tambourine and Arab melody. Lorina McKennitt always has her arms wide open: she never hesitated to sing with the Persian khanun, the viola da gamba, or the typically Celtic instruments (Irish flutes, bagpipes, violin, bodhran, etc.) with electric guitar and keyboards. .
An anthropologist at heart
Introduced to Celtic music in the late 1970s, Lorraine McKennitt furthered her knowledge of it by traveling to Ireland to “track it in its natural environment”. “Being so close to his beating heart made a strong impression on me, she recalls, but I quickly understood that traditional music cannot be understood without knowing the social context and circumstances in which it grew. »
As an anthropologist, she conducted research to trace the migration of Celtic peoples to Asia Minor. “The more I immerse myself in the story, the more doors open,” she says. I was struck by how these connections have relevant contemporary resonance. »
Her quest has made her a soul engineer of sorts. His records, like Jordi Saval’s music or Amin Malouf’s novels, first attempt to build bridges between eras and cultures. Lorina McKennit nodded happily, admitting that this was her long-hidden intention.
By bringing together scattered elements, introducing these different sounds and sometimes even different visions of the world, I have the impression that I have become a kind of diplomat. We are so absorbed in our Western culture that we sometimes forget that there are other sensitivities and other points of view – and vice versa. Music is one of the few universal mediums and can be the bridge we need.
Lorina McKennitt
Re-enter the world visit To create Edition 30e The memoir was published last year and reminded him of several trips to Ireland in the early 1990s and the “warm and friendly” atmosphere of pubs on winter evenings for information and inspiration while preparing for the concert. Most nostalgic for Lorina McKennit, however, is the sense of community she felt growing up so strongly in northern Manitoba and “where you do less, but go deeper”. According to her, this is beneficial to the planet, which is suffering from our way of life due to over-exploitation.
She applies this approach at scale on her farm in Stratford, Ontario, where she leases plots to growers by practicing land rotation and keeping sustainable development in mind. “We’re already seeing the benefits in terms of biodiversity after five or six years,” she enthuses.
This anchoring in nature and its community is essential to it. “The path I took, I knew my career in music was not natural. That’s why I stay here in Stratford where I can live a normal life,” she said. Growing up, I am also doing a vegetable garden. It is my sanctuary, the most tangible aspect of my life. It is this rootedness that gives His voice and wings to our souls to fly.
Sunday and October 9, 8 pm, Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Place des Arts
