History Music / LoreenaMcKennitt

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: While musically Loreena's style tends to be all over the map (literally!), most of her songs tend to fall under Celtic or Arabic in mood and motif, and the majority are also arrangements of traditional songs or literature set to music. Some songs, however, break the mold by being original pieces about matters of social concern to her ("Breaking the Silence"), incorporating a verbal recording to contrast with the song's lyrics (see SpokenWordInMusic below), standing out thematically from the rest of the album ("Full Circle"), or genre/style (her Tom Waits-like rendition of "Greensleeves"). And then there's her song in honor of her native Canada and its UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne dead, "The Breaking of the Sword", complete with military band and chamber choir backing her up.

* AnonymousBand: Averted. While few of her band's members are known to the general public outside of her work, and they only act as the background musicians to her as the main singer/musician, all of their names are always listed and credited in every album, and at concerts she makes an effort to give them all spotlight moments and even introductions. Among those singled out are Brian Hughes (most guitar work, including ethnic and Celtic types), Caroline Lavelle (cello), and especially Hugh Marsh (violin).

** One rather complexly-layered example is the track "Sun, Moon, and Stars" which is essentially the Jewish national anthem "Hatikvah" given a more Arabic instrumentation...but said tune, written by Samuel Cohen in 1888, was itself taken from an even older Italian song called "La Mantovana" which spread all across Renaissance Europe through folk songs, appearing in places as far-flung as Bohemia (Czech composer Bedrich Smetana's symphony "Ma vlast") and France (Camille Saint-Saens' "Rapsodie Bretonne"). So it not only displays Loreena's theme of journeys and traveling, but partakes of many different cultures and histories to express her great respect for and deep immersion in the music she studies.

* ShownTheirWork: For a musician who always does a great deal of research on the works she sets to music, the locations they came from, and the overall history of the places she visits during her songwriting, this is a given--in fact all of her albums from at least ''The Visit'' onward were explicitly written as inspirations taken from her physical journeys. (See LadyOfAdventure.) One thing which stands out, however, is her incorporation of such knowledge instrumentally as well as lyrically--for example, her usage of an actual song played during the time when pilgrimages to Santiago, Spain were at their height in her song named after the city; and her use of an actual popular mummers' song in the chorus of "The Mummers' Dance".

** And while the album title for ''Lost Souls'' appears (obviously) in the ending title track, it's also dropped in the very first song on the album, "Spanish Guitars and Night Plazas": "The ocean opens its arms to lost souls..." (This same song ''also'' has an AlbumTitleDrop to ''The Visit'', implying this is the album from which it was originally cut, although instrumentally and thematically it fits ''The Mask and Mirror'' more.)

** This is also implied to be the case in "The Highwayman", where the ostler who secretly watches Bess and the highwayman kissing and overhears the latter's plans to return after his latest robbery is likely the one who informed on him to the redcoats. [[SubvertedTrope However]], this verse of the original poem [[AdaptationInducedPlotHole is omitted]] by [=McKennitt=], leaving the British troops showing up in the song to come across as more of a ContrivedCoincidence[=/=]CantGetAwayWithNuthin moment.

* TheDogWasTheMastermind: In "Standing Stones", an unidentified admirer of the heroine is mentioned in passing in the first verse and then promptly forgotten about. It is implied that this is the person who ends up causing the tragic ending of the story, by ambushing and murdering the heroine's lover in the dark.

* EpicRocking: As her music is often slow and contemplative, she has quite a few, the longest being: ''The Lady of Shalott'' (11:34), ''The highwayman'' (10:19), ''Beneath a Phrygian sky'' (9:32), ''Cé hé mise le Ulaingt?/The two trees'' (9:06), ''Night ride across the Caucasus'' (8:30) and ''Annachie Gordon'' (8:22).

* YourCheatingHeart: The titular "Blacksmith" who seduces the narrator with false promises of marrying her, then abandons her and marries someone else.

* EpicRocking: She surrounds herself with virtuoso musicians, so her live shows tend to have this at least a couple times a night. One of the more well-known examples is the version of "Huron 'Beltane' Fire Dance" from ''Nights from the Alhambra'': the studio verson on ''Parallel Dreams'' simply repeats the motif while a fiddle plays an accent line over the fadeout. The live version starts off with Brian playing a short lead, then Uilleann pipe player Steafan Hannigan plays a short lead, then Hugh takes over and tries to saw the strings off his fiddle for nearly thirty seconds. This was also during a tour when she had hired former Music/BillyIdol drummer Tal Bergman.

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: The titular "Highwayman" attempts one of these after learning of the death of his lover; it doesn't go well for him. The knight of "The English Ladye and the Knight", however, succeeds in getting his vengeance upon the lady's brother, then becomes TheAtoner and DeathSeeker both by going off to the Crusades and dying in battle.

* {{Star Crossed Lovers}}:

** Played straight in another song, "Annachie Gordon." They even ''die'' at the end.
** Also played straight in "The English Ladye and the Knight".
** "The Highwayman". Set in 18th century New England, the poem tells the story of the titular highwayman who is in love with Bess, a landlord's daughter. After being betrayed to the authorities, the highwayman escapes ambush when Bess sacrifices herself to warn him. Learning of her death, he dies in a [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge futile attempt at revenge]], shot down on the highway. In the final stanza, the ghosts of the lovers meet again on winter nights.

* {{Motifs}}: Aside from her love of tragic ballads, a thread which begins in ''The Visit'' and weaves its way more fully into ''The Mask and Mirror'' is that of the {{Unicorn}}. It first appears in "Courtyard Lullaby" (which [[ShownTheirWork also references]] the pomegranate tree, the fruit of which was often depicted in medieval times as the end of a unicorn's tail to represent the fecundity that was the unicorn's opposite), but images from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunt_of_the_Unicorn the Unicorn Tapestries]] are used on the cover and liner sheets from ''The Mask and Mirror'', and in the music video for "Bonny Swans" both the characters of the song and Loreena herself are shown literally becoming part of the tapestries. The motifs of thundering hooves and beating wings appear in "Night Ride Across The Caucasus" and "The Old Ways", referencing a belief that advanced meditators feel these sensations in their spine. Coming home appears in "The Mystic's Dream", "The Old Ways" and "Caravanserai".

* NotableOriginalMusic: Wrote the soundtrack for the made-for-TV documentary "Goddess Remembered". One song from this, "Ancient Pines", appears on ''Parallel Dreams''. She also wrote the theme music for "The Burning Times" (a feminist re-interpretation of the witchcraft trials), which she reworked as "Tango to Evora."

* ArcWords: "Our love must make us strong" in "Beneath A Phrygian Sky" [[note]] If you're curious about how one song can contain this,it helps that "Beneath A Phrygian Sky" is [[EpicRocking nine and a half minutes long]] [[/note]]

* {{Motifs}}: Aside from her love of tragic ballads, a thread which begins in ''The Visit'' and weaves its way more fully into ''The Mask and Mirror'' is that of the {{Unicorn}}. It first appears in "Courtyard Lullaby" (which [[ShownTheirWork also references]] the pomegranate tree, the fruit of which was often depicted in medieval times as the end of a unicorn's tail to represent the fecundity that was the unicorn's opposite), but images from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunt_of_the_Unicorn the Unicorn Tapestries]] are used on the cover and liner sheets from ''The Mask and Mirror'', and in the music video for "Bonny Swans" both the characters of the song and Loreena herself are shown literally becoming part of the tapestries. The motifs of thundering hooves and beating wings appear in "Night Ride Across The Caucasus" and "The Old Ways", referencing a belief that advanced meditators feel these sensations in their spine.

* {{Motifs}}: Aside from her love of tragic ballads, a thread which begins in ''The Visit'' and weaves its way more fully into ''The Mask and Mirror'' is that of the {{Unicorn}}. It first appears in "Courtyard Lullaby" (which [[ShownTheirWork also references]] the pomegranate tree, the fruit of which was often depicted in medieval times as the end of a unicorn's tail to represent the fecundity that was the unicorn's opposite), but images from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunt_of_the_Unicorn the Unicorn Tapestries]] are used on the cover and liner sheets from ''The Mask and Mirror'', and in the music video for "Bonny Swans" both the characters of the song and Loreena herself are shown literally becoming part of the tapestries. The motifs of thundering hooves and beating wings appears in "Night Ride Across The Caucasus" and "The Old Ways", referencing a belief that advanced meditators feel these sensations in their spine.

* {{Motifs}}: Aside from her love of tragic ballads, a thread which begins in ''The Visit'' and weaves its way more fully into ''The Mask and Mirror'' is that of the {{Unicorn}}. It first appears in "Courtyard Lullaby" (which [[ShownTheirWork also references]] the pomegranate tree, the fruit of which was often depicted in medieval times as the end of a unicorn's tail to represent the fecundity that was the unicorn's opposite), but images from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunt_of_the_Unicorn the Unicorn Tapestries]] are used on the cover and liner sheets from ''The Mask and Mirror'', and in the music video for "Bonny Swans" both the characters of the song and Loreena herself are shown literally becoming part of the tapestries. The motifs of thundering hooves and beating wings appears in "Night Ride Across The Caucasus" and "The Old Ways", referencing a belief that advanced meditaters feel these sensations in their spine.

* {{Motifs}}: Aside from her love of tragic ballads, a thread which begins in ''The Visit'' and weaves its way more fully into ''The Mask and Mirror'' is that of the {{Unicorn}}. It first appears in "Courtyard Lullaby" (which [[ShownTheirWork also references]] the pomegranate tree, the fruit of which was often depicted in medieval times as the end of a unicorn's tail to represent the fecundity that was the unicorn's opposite), but images from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunt_of_the_Unicorn the Unicorn Tapestries]] are used on the cover and liner sheets from ''The Mask and Mirror'', and in the music video for "Bonny Swans" both the characters of the song and Loreena herself are shown literally becoming part of the tapestries. The motifs of thundering hooves and beating wings appears in "Night Ride Across The Caucasus" and "The Old Ways", [[GeniusBonus referencing a belief that advanced meditators feel these sensations in their spine]].

* {{Motifs}}: Aside from her love of tragic ballads, a thread which begins in ''The Visit'' and weaves its way more fully into ''The Mask and Mirror'' is that of the {{Unicorn}}. It first appears in "Courtyard Lullaby" (which [[ShownTheirWork also references]] the pomegranate tree, the fruit of which was often depicted in medieval times as the end of a unicorn's tail to represent the fecundity that was the unicorn's opposite), but images from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunt_of_the_Unicorn the Unicorn Tapestries]] are used on the cover and liner sheets from ''The Mask and Mirror'', and in the music video for "Bonny Swans" both the characters of the song and Loreena herself are shown literally becoming part of the tapestries.
* MurderBallad: "The Bonny Swans".

** By contrast, the lyrics to "Let All That Are to Mirth Inclined" are ones of hope and salvation (in the birth of Jesus, [[ChristmasSongs naturally]]), but the tune is somber, pensive, and even sorrowful at times, and the instrumentation, while as beautiful as ever, is often grim and ominous. The echoes in the cathedral where it was recorded, when placed against [=McKennitt=]'s high, ethereal voice, is also rather distancing and unsettling.

* CircleOfStandingStones: Has a song called "Standing Stones" about a [[StarCrossedLovers tragic young couple]] who pledge their love at a circle of standing stones in the Orkney Islands.

* LyricalDissonance: "The Bonny Swans" has a very upbeat melody (especially in the live version) but the lyrics are about a young woman being murdered by her older sister and her body being turned into a harp! Although the end of the song does at least imply a karmic comeuppance to her murderous sister.

* ForDoomTheBellTolls: ''Also'' used in [[BookEnds the beginning and ending]] of "The English Ladye and the Knight", although it is less creepy or unsettling than most examples, only adding a solemnity to the song's overall air of sadness.

* ChristmasSongs: ''To Drive the Cold Winter Away'', ''A Winter Garden'', and ''A Midwinter Night's Dream'' all have a number of such songs. Three of the five on ''A Winter Garden'' are traditional carols ("Coventry Carol", "Good King Wenceslas", and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"), but the entirety of ''A Midwinter Night's Dream'' is Christmas music, not merely winter-themed, and all but three (or five, depending on how you count them[[labelnote:*]]"The Kings" and "In Praise of Christmas" both make reference to the holiday and the overall spirit of the season, but otherwise don't strictly count as Christmas songs[[/labelnote]]) of the songs on ''To Drive the Cold Winter Away'' are Christmas carols.

* ChristmasSongs: ''To Drive the Cold Winter Away'', ''A Winter Garden'', and ''A Midwinter Night's Dream'' all have a number of such songs. Three of the five on ''A Winter Garden'' are traditional carols ("Coventry Carol", "Good King Wenceslas", and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"), but the entirety of ''A Midwinter Night's Dream'' is Christmas music, not merely winter-themed, and all but three (or five, depending on how you count them[[labelnote:*''"The Kings" and "In Praise of Christmas" both make reference to the holiday and the overall spirit of the season, but otherwise don't strictly count as Christmas songs[[/labelnote]]) of the songs on ''To Drive the Cold Winter Away'' are Christmas carols.

* ChristmasSongs: ''To Drive the Cold Winter Away'', ''A Winter Garden'', and ''A Midwinter Night's Dream'' all have a number of such songs. Three of the five on ''A Winter Garden'' are traditional carols ("Coventry Carol", "Good King Wenceslas", and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"), but the entirety of ''A Midwinter Night's Dream'' is Christmas music, not merely winter-themed.

* AnonymousBand: Averted. While few of her band's members are known to the general public outside of her work, and they only act as the background musicians to her Face Of The Band, all of their names are always listed and credited in every album, and at concerts she makes an effort to give them all spotlight moments and even introductions. Among those singled out are Brian Hughes (most guitar work, including ethnic and Celtic types), Caroline Lavelle (cello), and especially Hugh Marsh (violin).