5 inspired songs for an extraordinary season

If only there were more songs on this CD! The five that do appear are fun and exhilirating--definitely a way to perk up your spirits after encountering any Scrooges. "Coventry Carol" is haunting, "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" hypnotic and a blast, "Good King Wenceslas" and "Snow" beautiful, and "Seeds of Love" an interesting introduction and adaptation of a traditional English folk song into holiday music. Loreena McKennitt's contributions to the season are worth exploring for anyone tired of the blase Christmas carols found in shopping malls these days.

A Beautiful Winter Garden

Having already recorded a full-length Christmas album, "To Drive The Cold Winter Away," Loreena McKennitt went into Peter Gabriel's Real World studios for three days with some musicians in July 1995 to record five Christmas songs just for fun. The end result is the Christmas EP, "A Winter Garden." Just 22 minutes long, "A Winter Garden" can easily be taken as a companion disc to "To Drive The Cold Winter Away." Loreena & company perform this quintet of holiday songs beautifully, especially the gorgeous, nearly-7 minute rendering of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," easily one of the very best versions of this classic song ever recorded. There are also spirited performances of "Coventry Carol," "Good King Wenceslas," "Snow" (originally featured on "To Drive The Cold Winter Away"), and "Seeds Of Love." "A Winter Garden" is a lovely holiday postcard from Loreena McKennitt.

Lullay lullay

Finally -- a Christmas album that doesn't include "Jingle Bells," "Joy to the World" or "Let It Snow." Instead, Loreena McKennitt looks back on an almost-forgotten time when Christmas was a sacred holy day, in the all-too-brief but very lovely EP "A Winter Garden."



It opens with the soothing, lullaby-like "Coventry Carol," before heading to the majestic catchiness of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and utterly enchanting "Good King Wenceslas," where a saintly king and his servant travel on foot to bring food and firewood to a poor woodsman's family. It's a beautiful little song, and the sprightly tune makes it even more so.



A smoother, softer tone comes in with "Snow," the musical adaptation of a poem by nineteenth-century Canadian poet Archibald Lampman. It's a frosty, beautiful portrait of a winter evening, without any direct reference to Christmas, but its formal tone fits in. The EP rounds off with the traditional "Seeds of Love," a sweet little love song.



Christmas is one of those holidays swamped by commercial profit and not by the traditions and beliefs behind it. So it's refreshing to hear songs that don't bring to mind mall muzak -- instead, McKennitt's EP make you think of wassail, medieval castles, cathedrals draped in holly, and blankets of snow over dark forests.



"A Winter Garden" was recorded over a few days in the summer of 1995, in Wiltshire's recording studios. It sounds pretty laid-back, and the relaxed tone of the results shows it. Her selection of songs is excellent -- four are traditional ballads, rich and underused by most singers. I'm not quite sure why she included "Seeds of Love," which while a lovely song, has no reference to Christmas or wintertime.



McKennitt not only provides her rich vocals, but also plays the harp and adds some keyboard flourishes. Backing her is Rich Lazar's medieval-sounding percussion, Hugh Marsh's violin and Caroline Lavelle's cello -- among others. There are also acoustic guitars, bass, viola, and pipes, which all are woven into a sort of medieval-pop.



While a full-length Christmas album can be found in "To Drive the Cold Winter Away," the "Winter Garden" EP is an enchanting, atmospheric listen that gives a whole new look at Christmas carols.