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are fires, there is laughter
There's the sound of a thousand voices

Loreena's voice hits new heights on the middle eight sections of this piece and as always the music is layered and interwoven with care so that the whole range of instruments has its own place to be. An intense emotion is barely kept in check as the song drags you on its journey to places only dreamed of. The final song is inspired by a train journey through Russia and the words of Dante. Dante's Prayer begins with a vocal ensemble before piano and violin lay down a sorrowful base and again that rich and clear voice cuts through to your heart. A minimal song, again creating its beauty out of a sparseness and emotive delivery, it is enough to have a voice of this ability but it is the literacy and well crafted words that are as much part of the overall affect in these songs.

Book of Secrets is a collection of moving and beautiful songs that hint at the glorious diversity of the world around us. It revels in a wide range of styles and dozens of instruments. I can recommend no better body of work for relaxing to, it will make you forget your own place and time and connect you with the oneness of our planet. Although the album, and Loreena's work in general can take you to many far flung lands and times through its clever amalgamation of styles, the way she views the world is expressed in her diary entry at the time of writing the last track

"It is now Day 5 on this train journey across wintry Siberia. Travelling alone, it is strange not to be able to have a conversation with anyone, but one learns how much can be conveyed through actions, body language, a look in the eye... I saw some men on the platform today and one resembled my father. He had reddish hair and a long, very Celtic-looking face I would have expected to see in Ireland, not Russia... I am reminded again of the Celtic exhibition in Venice and the suggestion that the Celts may have originated in the Russian steppes. Perhaps the love of horses which began there is the very same that can be seen in County Kildare today"

The world is a very small place and this album will bring it to your door.

Learn more about this author, Dave Franklin.
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