A Midwinter Night's Dream [Digipak] (CD - 2008)

Personnel: Loreena McKennitt (vocals, harp, accordion, piano, keyboards); Abdelli (vocals, mandola); Eddie Upton, Philippa Toulson, Gill Berry, Ellen Robotham, Bob Berry (vocals); Brian Hughes (guitar, guitar synthesizer); Dan ArBraz (guitar); Simon Edwards (acoustic guitar, marimbula, electric bass); Aidan Brennan (acoustic guitar); Ben Grossman (hurdy-gurdy); Stratis Psaradellis (lute); Hugh Marsh, Waiel Abo Baker (violin); Donald Quan (viola, accordion, tabla); Caroline LaVelle (cello); Robert A. White (whistle, Uilleann pipe, shawm); George Koller (acoustic bass); Hossam Ramzy, Rick Lazar (percussion).

Audio Mixers: Jeff Wolpert; Stuart Bruce.

Audio Remasterer: Bob Ludwig.

A MIDWINTER NIGHT'S DREAM is an expansion of a 1995 EP called A WINTER GARDEN, on which folksinger Loreena McKinnett tackled traditional Christmas carols. This 13 track version adds a few original holiday songs and more traditional material. Focusing on delightful but less overexposed tunes like "Coventry Carol" and "The Holly and the Ivy," A MIDWINTER NIGHT'S DREAM is a lovely antidote to uninspired cookie-cutter Christmas albums.

Canadian singer/composer/harpist Loreena McKennitt's lush Celtic-infused balladry and worldbeat sensibilities lend themselves well to holiday music, a genre she toyed with in 1995 on her Winter Garden: Five Songs for the Season EP. 2008's Midwinter Night's Dream takes those five songs (newly remastered) "Coventry Carol," "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen," "Good King Wenceslas," "Snow," and "Seeds of Love," and adds eight new songs (all of which were recorded at Peter Gabriel's Real World recording studio) including "The Holly and the Ivy," "In the Bleak Midwinter," "Breton Carol," and "Emmanuel." The songs are immaculately produced as always, and McKennitt's predilection for Eastern mysticism and unique instrumentation keeps them from falling into the usual seasonal clichés. ~ James Christopher Monger minimize