Loreena McKennitt - The Gates of Istanbul

See there, in that far-off field
Flowers turned to the sky
Feel there, in that dark blue night
The music calling us home

Stars may always guide our way
From desert sands where winds blow harsh and long
But here's where our hearts will pray
And all our loves will slumber with a song

Stars may always guide our way
From desert sands where winds blow harsh and long
But here's where our hearts will pray
And all our loves will slumber with a song

So now, if our hearts be true
And like a pool of truth reflect the sun
We will find right honour there
And keep us safe and lead us from all harm

So come love, let us dance all night
Until birds they waken at the dawn
Then come love, let us sing all night
And all our loves will slumber with a song

Then come love, let us dance all night
Until birds they waken at the dawn
Then come love, let us sing all night
And all our loves will slumber with a song

music and lyrics: Loreena McKennitt
From: An ancient muse (2006).

Source of the lyrics: the official website,
with two minor corrections to fit what Loreena actually sings.

 
Loreena McKennitt's commentary on the song, taken from the transcript of an audio interview:

The inspiration for "The Gates Of Istanbul" came via a route that has come up before in some of the recordings and that is reflecting on the theme of places and periods of time where various religious communities cohabitated somewhat harmoniously. When I think of let's say Spain prior to 1492, there were about 700 or 800 years where the Christian, Judaic and Muslim communities cohabitated and it represented a real pinnacle of a time where agriculture, literature, mathematics excelled. And indeed it's believed that some of these influences that ultimately made their way into the West actually originated in the Arabic culture in Africa and came up through north of Africa into Spain and then via pilgrimage routes like that of Santiago de Compostela; that this influence then migrated into other parts of Europe. So I was wanting to create a piece that shone a spotlight on another period of time which would have been around the time of Mehmed II. This was, I believe, 1462, somewhere in there. It was just going from being called Constantinople to Istanbul. And he was encouraging people to come to the city so he could populate it with people of different skill sets and sensibilities. It was a real renaissance, that period of time. I mean, I know that one of the incredible lessons that has struck me time and again as I've pored over various corners of history, that history has many faces and it has many perceptions and many interpretations and, indeed, there are a lot of controversies that go with all of that, but it is one interpretation that this period of time during the reign of Mehmed II was a kind of renaissance for the arts. And so I wanted to create a piece that just shone a spotlight on that particular period.

© 2006, Quinlan Road Ltd.

 
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created: 11 November 2006
last modified: 20 January 2007