An Ancient Muse

Work on An Ancient Muse started in 2005. According to reports on McKennitt's Quinlan Road website, most of the inspiration for the tracks of the album came from the music of Greece, Turkey, the Middle East and the Far East. Most of the tracks, with the exception of three revealed at the mid-September concerts in the Alhambra of Granada in Spain, were completely unknown until the release.

An Ancient Muse debuted on the U.S. Billboard 200 at number 83, with about 19,000 copies sold in its first week.Katie Hasty, [http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/56552/jay-z-reclaims-his-kingdom-with-no-1-debut "Jay-Z Reclaims His 'Kingdom' With No. 1 Debut"], Billboard.com, November 29, 2006. This was also its peak position on the chart.[{{BillboardURLbyName|artist=loreena mckennitt|chart=all}} Artist chart history for Loreena McKennitt (albums)], Billboard.com.

All music and lyrics written by Loreena McKennitt except as noted.

1. "Incantation" – 2:35
2. "The Gates of Istanbul" – 6:59
3. "Caravanserai" – 7:36
4. "The English Ladye and the Knight" (lyrics by Sir Walter Scott)based on Sir Walter Scott's It was an English Ladye Bright ballad from The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805) – 6:49
5. "Kecharitomene"{{lang|grc|κεχαριτωμένη}}, Gabriel's greeting to Mary in {{Bibleref|Luke|1:28}}, translated gratia plena "full of grace" – 6:34
6. "Penelope's Song" – 4:21
7. "Sacred Shabbat" (Kâtibim arr. Loreena McKennitt){{Cite web |url=http://boards.quinlanroad.com/topic/sacred-shabbat-1 |title="Sacred Shabbat" | Loreena McKennitt Community |access-date=2014-08-18 |archive-date=2016-04-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407063057/http://boards.quinlanroad.com/topic/sacred-shabbat-1 |url-status=dead }} – 3:59
8. "Beneath a Phrygian Sky" – 9:32
9. "Never-ending Road (Amhrán Duit)" – 5:54

;Bonus tracks

1. "Raglan Road" – 6:12 – an unreleased track on a bonus disc exclusive to Barnes & Noble
2. "Beneath a Phrygian Sky" (Gordian version) – 9:25 – exclusive iTunes Store remix

• Tal Bergman – drums (2, 3), percussion (5, 8)
• Stuart Bruce – vocal drone (1, 8), percussion (5)
• Clive Deamer – drums (8)
• Panos Dimitrakopoulos – kanoun (2, 3, 5, 7, 9)
• Nigel Eaton – hurdy-gurdy (3, 5)
• Ben Grossman – hurdy-gurdy (5)
• Ed Hanley – tabla (5), udu drum (5)
• Jason Hann – percussion (8)
• Steáfán Hannigan – Turkish clarinet (1, 5, 8), vocal drone (1, 8), uilleann pipes (8, 9)
• Brian Hughes – electric guitar (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9), guitar synthesizer (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9), vocal drone (1, 8), oud (2, 3, 5), Celtic bouzouki (2, 3, 5, 8), nylon string guitar (5, 8, 9)
• Charlie Jones: acoustic bass (5, 6)
• Manu Katché – drums (5)
• Georgios Kontogiannis – Greek bouzouki (2, 3)
• Tim Landers – bass (2, 3, 8)
• Caroline Lavelle – cello (2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
• Rick Lazar – percussion (1, 5, 8)
• Annbjørg Lien – nyckelharpa (6)
• Hugh Marsh – violin (3, 5, 6)
• Loreena McKennitt – vocals (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9), keyboards (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9), accordion (3), harp (4), percussion (5), piano (8)
• Marco Migliari – vocal drone (1, 8)
• Donald Quan – viola (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9), vocal drone (1, 8)
• Hossam Ramzy – percussion (2, 5)
• Sokratis Sinopoulos – lyra (2, 3, 7, 8)
• Haig Yazdjian – oud (2, 3, 5, 6, 7)
• Choristers of Westminster Abbey; Alex Pott, Elliot Thompson and Nicholas Morris – vocals (4)

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