From Loreena McKennitt’s forthcoming new live album Under A Winter’s Moon.
Loreena has released a single of the oldest-known Canadian Christmas hymn, “Huron Carol.” It’s the first time she has ever recorded the song, written in 1642 by a Jesuit missionary living among the Huron people. Also known as “Twas in the Moon of Wintertime,” the original lyrics were in the native Huron-Wendat indigenous language. The single is available for download on streaming platforms, and sheet music is available from the Loreena McKennitt Shop.
Under a Winter’s Moon was recorded during Loreena’s December 2021 concerts in a historic church sanctuary in her home base of Stratford, Ontario. The seasonal concerts were an intimate and moving miscellany of music and spoken word and were recorded live. They’ll be released as her 16th album on November 18th…
The above info is from the caption at youTube and her website.
Bruce Cockburn’s version of The Huron Carol is also one of our favorites. I am moved every time I hear Cockburn sing the verses in Huron instead of the usual French and English. Cockburn remarks that it’s about “the birth of Christ as a liberation from the thrall of evil.” Along with “Joy to the World,” this is my favorite Christmas carol (quoted here). I’ve included this album on my list of favorite Christmas recordings.
