Laura Griffin Designs

It has been over 15 years since Loreena McKennitt has graced a Dallas stage. I had the privilege of seeing her perform live this past Tuesday night. For those of you that may not have heard of her, Loreena is a Canadian singer, songwriter, harpist, pianist, & accordian player extraordinaire. Although Celtic in origin, her music sounds as though it were excavated from deep, exotic corners from all over the world.  

After the loss of her fiance in a tragic boat accident, Loreena travelled to many far off corners of the world studying Celtic tribe history & artifacts in places like China, Mongolia, Turkey, Morroco, etc. During the show, she occasionally stopped to share stories of her adventures & help us understand the inspiration behind her music. You could definitely hear the influence of those far-off lands in her work. Loreena tours with a group of at least 10 performers…all very talented musicians. I was particularly drawn to the unusual instruments she uses in her arrangements including the hurdy-gurdy & the Greek lyra. They lent such an interesting texture to the sound. The highlight of the show was when she played “Marco Polo” & “Highwayman” back-to-back. “Marco Polo” was an Eastern influenced song that some co-workers & I used to dance to every night in the wee hours of the morning working on budgets. “The Highwayman” is a beautiful musical translation of this famous poem by Alfred Noy. I didn’t think it could get any better, and then she played Dante’s Prayer, my 3rd favorite song next!!!! This little mp3 snippet of music that I wrote years ago was inspired by that song. If you are interested in hearing her work, I highly suggest her 2-disc live Paris/Toronto recording that can be bought here. It is phenomenal and includes many favorites.

I went to the symphony recently with my friend Rhonda.  Along with some pieces by Berlioz & Strauss, we had the privilege of listening to a great cellist, Ralph Kirshbaum, play the Cello Concerto In E Minor, Op.85 by Edgar. 

I’m not sure how many of you have seen the movie Hilary & Jackie about the famous cellist Jacqueline du Pre who had MS?  Anyways, this particular concerto was featured throughout the film, and the beauty & passion of it struck me back when the movie first came out in 1998.  It gave me goose bumps to hear it live!  The cello has always been one of my favorite instruments.  To listen to samples from the Hilary & Jackie soundtrack, click here and then click on “Listen to Samples” under the main image.

I changed by blog header recently to read “Dreaming Out Loud”. It’s one of my favorite phrases. I think I first heard it as a quote from U2′s lead singer, Bono. Yes – I admit that I was quite the U2 fan in my college days (which is probably the understatement of the century). *LOL*

Here’s a pic from a concert back in 1997 when I was pulled up onto stage by Bono.

He sang the song “With or Without You” to me …. from my lap.

I have to admit that it was kind of a surreal experience in front of 30,000 people! Although I haven’t listened to them much in recent years, I do love the positive energy that seems to flow through their music & I’ve always admired the work they have done to help those in need.

To me, “Dreaming Out Loud” means to be courageous, to be creative, to have integrity, & to live beyond what we know we are capable of. I know that I frequently forget to live this philosophy – but it is still something I aspire to.

I promised to put some more music on here…so here’s something new. This is a random theme I had in my head one day a few years ago. It’s fairly repetitive with a slight variation throughout and some ambient vocals laid on top. I recorded the piano & drum loop using my Yamaha Clavinova. Seems like something you might here in the lobby of a contemporary-style hotel or something. Click on the speaker to listen. Hope you like it!

I’ve always loved Sarah McLauchlan’s album “Fumbling Towards Ecstasy”. She really entered a whole new level of songwriting with that album. Although it’s kind of a creepy premise (written from the perspective of a guy that was stalking her), I think the song Possession is beautiful. I picked out the chords on my piano & recorded my own version of it a few years ago. This is pretty bare bones with just voice & piano. You can listen to an mp3 by clicking on the image above. Enjoy!