The Mirror Pool

Overview

About the album's title, Gerrard explained: "If you read about African music, they believe that during the process of making this music that you come into contact with spirits from another plane. They say that this place is like a mirror of the world we live in, [...] With the best music, you don't find the composer or the musicians within the work, you find yourself, your own feelings."

The repertoire of this album spans seven years from 1988 to 1995, featuring some of her material not worked into Dead Can Dance albums, as explained by Gerrard: "There is usually a surplus of work that overlaps the continuous nature of a Dead Can Dance record. Some of these pieces, which were not realized for reason of continuity, have been collected together in the form of largely orchestral-based works and pieces written primarily for 'voice' music."

The tracks "La Bas", "Celon" and "Gloradin" were also used for the 1995 Heat soundtrack.

Among this album's musicians was Pieter Bourke, who later co-wrote Gerrard's 1998 album Duality.

"La Bas" was featured in an episode of the second season of Xena: Warrior Princess.

Track listing

1. "Violina (The Last Embrace)" – 5:43
2. "La Bas (Song of the Drowned)" – 7:41
3. "Persian Love Song (The Silver Gun)" – 2:33
4. "Sanvean (I Am Your Shadow)" – 3:48
5. "The Rite" – 3:22
6. "Ajhon" – 3:09
7. "Glorafin" – 4:50
8. "Majhnavea's Music Box" – 1:34
9. "Largo" – 2:52
10. "Werd" – 1:39
11. "Laurelei" – 5:58
12. "Celon" – 6:06
13. "Venteles" – 2:37
14. "Swans" – 5:47
15. "Nilleshna" – 6:29
16. "Gloradin" – 3:56

Music by Lisa Gerrard, except 3 (traditional, arranged by Gerrard), 4 (Gerrard, Andrew Claxton), 9 (Handel, public domain), and 11 (arranged by Gerrard, Bonnar, Kyryakou).

Personnel