海角大神

Loreena McKennitt鈥檚 new live album is a homecoming.

The Canadian songwriter and harp player usually travels to far-flung locations 鈥� Spain, Morocco, Turkey 鈥� to find inspiration for her 鈥渆clectic Celtic鈥� music. She鈥檚 sold 14 million albums that are rooted in Irish traditions but also include influences spanning from southern Europe to the Far East.聽

But in the wake of the pandemic, she yearned to create a Christmas show reminiscent of community concerts from her childhood. 鈥淯nder a Winter鈥檚 Moon,鈥� recorded in December 2021 at Knox Presbyterian Church in Stratford, Ontario, is musically adventurous yet highly accessible. The concert consists of Celtic Christmas carols and seasonal readings. It鈥檚 a communal celebration of values that are sometimes neglected in the bustle of the digital age. 聽

鈥淕ratitude is such an important concept, and I wonder if I consider it enough,鈥� says Ms.聽McKennitt during a Zoom call. 鈥淎lso, there鈥檚 a lot to learn from the divinity of nature and the endless cycle of life and how the Christ story sits within that. And those sentiments of love and peace and hope and rebirth are so important.鈥�

鈥淏road ways of thinking鈥�

The recordings for her latest album feature a five-piece band. During 鈥淭he Holly and the Ivy鈥� and 鈥淕ood King Wenceslas,鈥� an ebullient combination of Irish whistle, cello, fiddle, and bouzouki makes the more than 100-year-old Knox church sound as lively as a banquet hall. Ms. McKennitt鈥檚 shimmering soprano utilizes the natural reverb of the vaulted ceilings on celestial pieces such as 鈥淭he Wexford Carol鈥� and 鈥淏alulalow.鈥� 鈥淕od Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen鈥� incorporates Middle Eastern modalities and rhythms. 聽

鈥淪he鈥檚 been able to take the traditions that are obviously rooted in the Celtic tradition ... but just expanded it to such broad ways of thinking,鈥� says Canadian recording artist Sammy Duke in a Zoom call. The songwriter, who discovered Ms. McKennitt鈥檚 1991 album, 鈥淭he Visit,鈥� as a child, says her incorporation of textural elements of different cultures has influenced his own albums. 鈥淚 honestly don鈥檛 know if there will ever be another musician that quite sounds like her,鈥� says Mr. Duke.聽

鈥淯nder a Winter鈥檚 Moon鈥� features a prerecorded solo by Ojibway flutist Jeffrey 鈥淩ed鈥� George. The Indigenous musician also recites 鈥淲inter Diamonds,鈥� a poem that expresses gratitude for nature.

鈥淲e can鈥檛 change the climate if we don鈥檛 know the natural world,鈥� says Ms.聽McKennitt. 鈥淎nd if we don鈥檛 know the natural world, we can鈥檛 love it. And if you don鈥檛 love it, you鈥檙e not going to do anything about it.鈥�

The concert program begins with Indigenous actor Tom Jackson reading 鈥淭he Sky Woman Story,鈥� a tale that describes the creation of North America and its people.聽

鈥淗ere in Canada, we鈥檙e in a pretty deep process of Reconciliation with Indigenous people,鈥� Ms. McKennitt explains. 鈥淚 knew that Christmas and the birth of Christ was definitely going to be part of this program. And that was so important. At the same time, I was trying to widen everyone鈥檚 perspective.鈥�

The second half of 鈥淥n a Winter鈥檚 Night鈥� features actor Cedric Smith performing a live reading of Dylan Thomas鈥� 鈥淎 Child鈥檚 Christmas in Wales.鈥澛�

For Ms. McKennitt, the piece evokes memories of her own childhood in Manitoba. She recalls cherishing simple things such as the rare gift of an orange in her Christmas stocking. Another source of joy in winter was singing in choirs.

鈥淚 remember the annual Christmas concert in the gymnasium,鈥� says the artist. 鈥淚t would be packed to the rafters with parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles, and we鈥檇 be performing 鈥極 Tannenbaum鈥� in German and 鈥楲o, How a Rose E鈥檈r Blooming鈥� and always ending with the 鈥楬allelujah鈥� chorus.鈥�

An act of togetherness

Ms. McKennitt sought to replicate the spirit of those occasions from her small prairie town in her performances inside the Knox church. She was energized by the attentive electricity of the audience members in the pews, many of them attending their first concert since the pandemic lockdowns.聽

鈥淭hey realized that Zoom and all the technological avenues of communication only could go so far,鈥� says the songwriter. 鈥淭hey actually had to have that visceral agora, as our Greek friends would say, [of] being together and hearing and feeling and witnessing the same thing at the same time.鈥�

Ms. McKennitt is an advocate for celebrating rituals and traditions, whether it鈥檚 in a 海角大神 church or a Muslim mosque or someplace else, to build the sort of connections that endured in her hometown.

鈥淵ou have a strength of fabric that happens in a communal sense where people know each other and they鈥檙e vested in each other,鈥� she says. 鈥淥ur mission should be to know each other well, to look after each other.鈥�