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lights against warm terracotta walls and the bustle of merchants and visitors from distant lands are not hard to imagine.

The forty shades of green of Ireland are the more familiar setting for "The Bonny Swans" and musically it has a more familiar make up. Driven by the usual hand percussion rather than the full kit but formed mainly of a violin and electric guitar that spiral around each other, there is a very Celtic folk feel to this. It seems odd to many people that such glorious music inspirited by the various threads that stem from the Celtic lands, i.e. Western Europe is done so well by someone not born of the place, McKennitt is after all from rural Manitoba, Canada. But the woman in question seems to have lived a very nomadic lifestyle for the last twenty years exploring the Celtic legacy through music and should really be considered a citizen of the global village in a very real sense.

"The Dark Night of the Soul" is based on Spanish medieval poetry, specifically a work called "St John of the Cross" a work that seems inspired by Islamic ideology though firmly sitting in the Christian body of devotional work. Musically it is a haunting melody, only a minimal acoustic guitar and a violin, which really comes into its own in the spaces between the vocals arrangement, back the soft and breathy vocals. It is a soothing and relaxing work and typifies the nature of Loreena McKennitt's work. It is a non-intrusive style that washes over you and connects with the emotional parts of the mind, making it wonderful background music for those quiet times. But also once you take the time to understand what the music is about it is inspirational and breath taking in its scope. This is certainly one area that far exceeds the better-known Enya whose words can often let her music down due to their immature style and cheesy delivery. Here the lyrics add a whole dimension to the work rather than detract from it.

In terms of theme "Marrakech Night Market" returns to the same ideas as the opening song. But whereas the first number mixed eastern and western traditions, musically this is pure Arabic flavour and only the fact that it is sung in English gives away its non-authentic origins. Again hand drums do the bulk of the work but this time amongst the violins and bells is the rhythmic shuffle of a guitar creating a solid framework on which the other instruments can hang themselves. The violin in particular is impressive as its gypsy style wanders through stealing the scene.

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