The Mummers Dance January 1, 1985, Stratford: I have just read an account of a mumming troupe which boarded a Polish ship stranded in the harbour in St. Johns, Newfoundland, on New Years Eve, to entertain the sailors. According to James Frazer in his book The Golden Bough, mumming has its roots in the tree-worshipping of the peoples who inhabited great regions of a forested Europe now long gone. Mumming usually involves a group of performers dressing up in masks (sometimes of straw) and clothes bedecked with ribbons or rags, and setting out on a procession to neighbouring homes singing songs and carrying branches of greenery. Its primarily associated with springtime and fertility, and it has a cast of stock characters, like the Fool, which recurs in some form or another from Morris dancing to the shadow puppet plays of Turkey and Greece and even the morality plays of the Middle Ages. September 1995, Palermo, Sicily: Friends have brought me to see one of the last of a long line of puppet-makers by the name of Cuticchio. We were treated to a delightful private performance of the story of Charlemagne in a puppet theatre across the narrow street from the puppet-makers workshop. October 31, 1996, Inishmore: A friend has told me of an unusual version of Halloween that takes place on the island of Inishmore, off the west coast of Ireland. As no one speaks at all, mum is definitely the word. Characters wander into the local pub, have a pint and sometimes a dance, but these …
yeah,das geht ab! – eins der schönsten Lieder……best SUN 🙂
Fantastic !!!
This is a wonderful version of this song. Loreena’s voice is angelic.
best version of this song I think
best version of this song I think
Adoro essa música!
This is now the version that is on/in my favorites list. Plus it has the lyrics!
I love this version =)
great song:):):)
completamente apaixonada por esta musica
best video of this song on youtube ! … thanks for the elegant lyrics ! – dougie in austin
and Namaste
simply a beautiful song to start the day with. It came on the radio, and now I cant stop humming it!
Have to agree. She and her band are doing it by rote more than out of enthusiasm.
more than excellent…….
i love this song so much
love this song
Nice!!!
I love this song. Its so beautiful. Its inspiring>
I second that 😛
Blessed Be~
I went to a reinassance festival, and they did a dance to this song….Oh wow…so awsome!
i have a live version of “lady of shalott” that absolutely blows the original out of the water. friend of mine gave it to me and i don’t know where or when it was, but i do know that it’s damned amazing.
not a big fan of this version of this song, though. the straight bass/snare drumbeat shatters the magic and loreena sounds almost mechanical singing along to it. if her voice wasn’t so completely awesome it’d be a dud.
Great song, Lorena is a great singer.
We need more artists like her!!!!!
A beautiful inspiration.
This is one of the few live versions that sound better than the studio. Her voice is amazing
she’s made a great song its beautiful.