Last night I had the pleasure of watching a performance by Loreena McKennitt, filmed on location at the Alhambra, an exquisite medieval Moorish palace in Spain.
Loreena McKennitt is one of those enviable artists who is truly living her dream. She has spent her musical career tracing the footsteps of the ancient Celts, traveling from Ireland and Cornwall to Britanny and Galacia, from Italy and Turkey to Russia and China. In each of these places, she absorbs the culture, music, art, and history and distills them into her music. One cannot help but admire her tenacity of spirit, her artistic sensibilities, and her dedication to her work.
The experience of her music doesn't end with the song: Each song opens the door, which opens the garden gate, which leads to that overlooked trailing path which winds ever through the world. There are webworks of connections to be made here: Her songs reference Shakespeare, Tennyson, Blake, Dante, tales from long ago, historical places, and nearly forgotten cultural and religous traditions.
The location of her concert sent me fumbling through my book collection until I came upon a book that I own but have not yet read: Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving. Irving, I have since learned, was appointed American ambassador to Spain, and sometime in the spring of 1829, he and a friend, the Russian ambassador, travelled from Seville to Granada. This book is a record of that journey, along with tales and legends Irving heard along the way. Thousands of pilgrims from Europe, America, and Africa have trekked to the Alhambra, which represents a blend of two great civilizations and three major world religions. Although separated by over two centuries, Irving and McKennitt are fellow travelers on that road, evoking elusive memories of a Romantic and picturesque past.
As for me, Irving's Tales of the Alhambra and McKennitt's Nights from the Alhambra are calling me out on my own mythic journey. I wonder what I will find...
Current mood: Musing
Current music: Loreena McKennitt "The Old Ways" from The Visit
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