Loreena McKennitt was just (well… a few weeks ago) awarded an honorary doctorate of letters by Wilfred Laurier University. Read her acceptance speech here. If you haven’t heard of her, might I *VERY* highly recommend that you check her out? A lot of people complain about the Wiccan influences in her music but a lot of her music also draws from Christian sources as well as some really amazing poetry such as Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shallot” and Shakespeare’s works.
Meditatio
"Though she be but little she is fierce." — William Shakespeare
I loooove Loreena McKennit. actually, I think she’s indirectly responsible for you and I "meeting" – I believe I commented on something you said about her? I don’t remember exactly. but anyway, I love her music. so good for studying. I love her rendition of "The Lady of Shalott" 🙂
I’d actually been lurking in your journal for a while before that comment but I think that was how we got to be friends. I saw her in concert 8 years ago and I’m on the mailing list so that I know when the next tour will be.
Her rendition of "The Lady of Shallot" was the first thing I heard of hers and it helped me memorize the poem in 8th grade.
I first saw Loreena in a tiny cafe in Ottawa… fourteen years ago. She was sitting, playing and singing, no farther away from me than I am from my computer. (At the moment, about four feet.)
It was an intensly religious experience. Last year, a friend of mine was working on composing a dance to a couple of her pieces, so the three of us had tea together. She is a wonderful person, as well as an accomplished artist.
(And her hair is the most beautiful shade of red, too!) 🙂