The Mask and Mirror explained

The Mask and Mirror
Type:	Album
Artist:	Loreena McKennitt
Cover:	Album_Cover-The_Mask_and_Mirror.jpg
Released:	March 15, 1994^[1] ^[2]
Genre:	New-age^[3] folk world
Length:	52:46
Label:	Quinlan Road, Warner Bros.
Producer:	Loreena McKennitt
Prev Title:	The Visit
Prev Year:	1991
Next Title:	Live in San Francisco at the Palace of Fine Arts
Next Year:	1995

The Mask and Mirror is the fifth studio album by Loreena McKennitt. Released in 1994, the album has been certified Gold in the United States.^[4]

Overview

Like most of Loreena McKennitt's albums, The Mask and Mirror is heavily influenced by her travels. Her experiences in Spain and Morocco, specifically, serve as the inspiration for this album.

As her introduction to the album, McKennitt wrote:

Accompanying all the selections, as the liner remarks, are some of the entries in a traveler's log that McKennitt kept all throughout her journey.

The album's cover uses a collage made from the medieval The Hunt of the Unicorn tapestries.

Tracks

Loreena McKennitt wrote the lyrics and composed the music for all the songs except as noted.

1. "The Mystic's Dream" – 7:40
2. "The Bonny Swans" (lyrics: traditional, arr. McKennitt, music by McKennitt) – 7:18
3. "The Dark Night of the Soul" (lyrics by St. John of the Cross, OCD; arr. McKennitt; music by McKennitt) – 6:44
4. "Marrakesh Night Market" – 6:30
5. "Full Circle" – 5:57
6. "Santiago" (traditional, arr. McKennitt) – 5:58
7. "Cé Hé Mise le Ulaingt?/The Two Trees" (lyrics by W. B. Yeats, music by McKennitt) – 9:06
8. "Prospero's Speech" (lyrics by William Shakespeare, arr. McKennitt, music by McKennitt) – 3:23

Song details

• "The Mystic's Dream" was featured in the 2001 miniseries The Mists of Avalon and in the 1995 film Jade.
• "The Bonny Swans" was made into a video.
• "The Dark Night of the Soul" is based on the poem "Dark Night of the Soul" by the Roman Catholic mystic, priest, and Doctor of the Church St. John of the Cross, OCD.
• "Santiago" is named after the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela, and the melody is based on a spirited arrangement of the early 13th-century song "Non é gran cousa se sabe," number 26 of the Cantigas de Santa Maria.
• The opening of the song "Cé Hé Mise Le Ulaingt?/The Two Trees" is "Cé Hé Mise Le Ulaingt" ("Who am I to Bear It" in Irish), It was written and performed by Patrick Hutchinson on Uilleann pipes. The second part of the song is Loreena's version of "The Two Trees". Hence the two titles.
• "The Two Trees" derives its lyrics from a poem of William Butler Yeats.
• "Prospero's Speech" is the final soliloquy and epilogue by Prospero in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest.
• "Cé Hé Mise le Ulaingt?" and "The Two Trees" were both featured in the soundtrack of as well as "Bonny Portmore" from the album The Visit)

Chart performance

Chart (1994)	Peak position
Australian Albums Chart^[5]	21
Dutch Albums Chart^[6]	54
Germany Albums Chart^[7]	18
New Zealand Albums Chart^[8]	15
Spanish Albums Chart^[9]	6
Swedish Albums Chart^[10]	25
US Billboard 200^[11]	143
US World Albums^[12]	1
US New Age Albums	7

Notes and References

1. News: McKennitt to perform in Stratford. Waterloo Region Record (Ontario, Canada) (Published as Record, The (Kitchner, Ontario, Canada)). 1994-02-08. D6. supporting her CD The Mask and the Mirror scheduled for a March 15 release.
2. News: Blackwell. Tom. Blackwell, Tom. An oasis: McKennitt's new release has Spanish, African flavors. Waterloo Region Record (Ontario, Canada) (Published as Record, The (Kitchner, Ontario, Canada)). 1994-03-15. D5. English. McKennitt's guitarist played it on The Mask and Mirror, and the lilting sounds of Spain and North Africa are woven throughout the record, which is to be released today..
3. Book: Knopper, Steve . Gary. Graff . Daniel . Durchholz . 1998 . MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide . Loreena McKennitt . . Detroit . 734–735.
4. Web site: Recording Industry Association of America . RIAA . 2012-03-01.
5. Web site: australian-charts.com - Loreena McKennitt - The Mask And Mirror . australian-charts.com . 2010-05-15 .
6. Web site: dutchcharts.nl - Loreena McKennitt - The Mask And Mirror . dutchcharts.nl . 2010-05-15 .
7. Web site: Musicline.de - Chartverfolgung - MCKENNITT, LOREENA - THE MASK AND MIRROR . www.musicline.de . 2010-05-15 .
8. Web site: charts.nz - Loreena McKennitt - The Mask And Mirror . charts.nz . 2010-05-15 .
9. Hits of the World: Spain. 1994-05-16. 2010-10-26. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 106. 16. 55.
10. Web site: swedishcharts.com - Loreena McKennitt - The Mask And Mirror . swedishcharts.com . 2010-05-15 .
11. Web site: [{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=loreena mckennitt|chart=all}} The Mask and Mirror - Loreena McKennitt ]. www.billboard.com . 2010-05-15 .
12. Billboard.com