[1st CD] Elemental (1985)
Loreena's first album contains a number of good songs. I especially like the song Stolen child, which is a poem by W.B. Yeats, sung with Loreena's good voice and supported by nice, soft music. And Lullaby from William Blake, spoken by Douglas Campbell, sound very "strong" and the music fits well to it.

[2nd CD] To drive the cold winter away (1987)
This album contains Christmas and other winter songs that are not well known, but it can be played all through the year. This is a special, interesting record - I like it.

[3rd CD] Parallel dreams (1989)
Loreena's third album is really very good: her music and her singing combine very well, especially in Standing stones of the Orkney Isles, in the love of Jeannie for Annachie Gordon, and in the melodious Breaking the silence, which is a tribute to Amnesty International. No wonder this album was very successful!
[This is the second CD of Loreena I bought.]

[4th CD] The visit (1991)
This is Loreena's best known CD up till now, and it is somewhat better than the previous one, though not much. The album contains original and traditional songs. One of the latter is the song Greensleeves, the lyrics of which may have been written by King Henry VIII (not everyone is convinced that this is true). This song is performed by many artists, but Loreena's version is the best I've ever heard; it's grand! Furthermore, it contains a wonderful musical version of the "Mediaeval" poem about The Lady of Shalott by Alfred Lord Tennyson.
[This is the first CD of Loreena I bought.]

[5th CD] The mask and mirror(1994)
Here it said at first: "I haven't bought this CD yet, but I've heard some fragments and my first impression is: good, but not like The visit or Parallel dreams." Now I've bought the CD there's not much to add to this. Loreena's voice is again very good, of course, but the music is not always that nice: in some songs the music tends to sort-of dominate the singen. For the rest: the more I listen to it, the more I like it - but not as much as the previous ones.

[6th CD] A winter garden: Five songs for the season (1995)
This CD contains five nice winter and Christmas songs, and it is a musical collaborations with an international cast of guest artists. All in all it has become a very nice CD indeed!

[7th CD] Live in San Francisco at the Palace of Fine Arts (1995)
"Recorded life in May 1994 with McKennitt and her touring band, this six-track EP includes stirring, vibrant renditions" [says a leaflet released by Quinlan Road] of numbers from earlier CDs. At first I was afraid that live versions would be disappointing compared with the CD versions, but that surely isn't the case!
 
[8th CD] The book of secrets (1997)
At first I was disappointed by this album, but after listening a few times I must say it has turned out to be a good album, but not an excellent one, maybe because Loreena has tried to incorporate too many impressions which has made the music to complicated. I still by far prefer The visit as well as the earlier work. [leaflet released by Quinlan Road]

Video

[Video] No journey's end (1996)
"This 30-minute documentary film (...) uses Loreena McKennitt's own words and music to highlight the influences behind albums such as The Visit and the mask and mirror. Includes segments of live performances of 'Santiago', 'The dark night of the soul' and 'The Lady of Shalott', and an excerpt from the promotional video clip for 'The bonny swans'."
(Click here for a larger picture: 22 kb.)