Shallot
Whole shallots
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
clade:	Angiosperms
clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Amaryllidaceae
Subfamily:	Allioideae
Genus:	Allium
Species:	A. cepa var. aggregatum
Binomial name
Allium cepa var. aggregatum G. Don (1827)

The shallot (Allium cepa var. aggregatum, or the Aggregatum group A. cepa) is a botanical variety of the species Allium cepa, to which the multiplier onion also belongs.^[1] The shallot was formerly classified as a separate species, A. ascalonicum, a name now considered a synonym of the currently accepted name.^[2] The genus Allium, which includes onions and garlic as well as shallots, is now classified in the plant family Amaryllidaceae, but was formerly considered to belong to the separate family Alliaceae.

Names[link]

Shallots probably originated in Central or Southeast Asia, travelling from there to India and the eastern Mediterranean. The name "shallot" comes from Ashkelon, an ancient Philistine city,^[3] where people in classical Greek times believed shallots originated.^{[citation needed]}

Indian names for shallots include kanda or gandana or pyaaz (Hindi, Marathi, Marwari and Punjabi), gundhun (Bengali), cheriya ulli or chuvanna ulli (Malayalam) and chinna vengayam (or sambar vengayam in the Chennai region) (Tamil). In Nepal, shallots are called chyapi (छ्यापी).

In Southeastern Asia, shallots are called bawang merah kecil (small red onions) in Malay, brambang in Java, and hom (หอม, fragrant) in Thai. In Cambodian (Khmer), shallots are called katem kror hom, where katem or ktem is a species of onion, and kror hom or hom meaning "red", describes their colour.

The name "shallot" is also used for the Persian shallot (A. stipitatum), from the Zagros Mountains in Iran and Iraq. The term "shallot" is further used for the French gray shallot or griselle (Allium oschaninii), a species which has been considered to be the "true shallot" by many;^{[citation needed]} it grows wild from Central to Southwest Asia. In Australia, the term "shallot" can also refer to scallions (from various species of Allium), while the term "eschalot" is used to refer to the shallot described in this article.

Description and cultivation[link]

Shallot plant (A. cepa var. aggregatum) growing in Castelltallat, Spain

Onion and shallot output in 2005

Like garlic, shallots are formed in clusters of offsets with a head composed of multiple cloves. The skin colour of shallots can vary from golden brown to gray to rose red, and their off-white flesh is usually tinged with green or magenta.

Shallots are extensively cultivated for culinary uses, propagated by offsets. In some regions ("long-season areas"), the offsets are usually planted in autumn (September or October in the Northern Hemisphere).^[4] In some other regions, the suggested planting time for the principal crop is early spring (typically in February or the beginning of March in the Northern Hemisphere).^[5]

In planting, the tops of the bulbs should be kept a little above ground, and the soil surrounding the bulbs is often drawn away when the roots have taken hold. They come to maturity in summer (about July or August in the Northern Hemisphere), although fresh shallots can now be found year-round in supermarkets. Shallots should not be planted on ground recently manured.

In Africa, shallots are grown in a very specific region of southeastern Ghana.

Culinary uses[link]

Shallots for sale in Southern France

Shallots are popular with gourmets, being used in fresh cooking in addition to being pickled. Finely sliced, deep-fried shallots are used as a condiment in Asian cuisine, often served with porridge. As a variety of onion, shallots taste somewhat like a common onion, but have a milder flavour. Like onions and garlic, when sliced, raw shallots release substances that irritate the eye, resulting in production of tears.

Shallots appear to contain more flavonoids and phenols than other members of the onion genus.^[6]

Fresh shallots can be stored^{[clarification needed]} for at least six months.^[7] Chopped, dried shallots are also commonly available.

Europe and North America[link]

In Europe, the Pikant, Atlas and Ed's Red types of Shallots are the most common. In parts of Southern France, the Grey Type is grown widely. Shallots are uncommon in North America, however its popularity varies in parts of USA, particularly Northern areas of the country.

India and Southeast Asia[link]

In Indian cuisines, the distinction between onions and shallots is weak; larger varieties of shallot are often confused with small red onions and used interchangeably. Indeed, most parts of India use the regional name for onion interchangeably with shallot (Maharashtra, for instance, where both are called kanda). The southern regions of India distinguish shallots from onions in recipes more often, especially the much loved tiny varieties (about the width of a finger); these are widely used in curries and different types of sambar, a lentil-based dish. Shallots pickled in red vinegar are common in many Indian restaurants, served along with sauces and papad on the condiments tray. Indians also use it^{[clarification needed]} as a home remedy for sore throats, mixed with jaggery or sugar. In Nepal, shallots are used as one of the ingredients for making momo.

In Iran, shallots are called "mousir" (موسیر), and used in various ways, the most common being grated shallot mixed into dense yogurt, a combination served in almost every restaurant when one orders grills or kebabs. Shallots are also used to make different types of torshi (ترشی), a sour Iranian side dish consisting of a variety of vegetables under vinegar, eaten with main dishes in small quantities. Shallot is also pickled -called "shour" (شور) in Persian- along with other vegetables to be served as torshi.

In Southeast Asian cuisines, such as those of Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Indonesia, both shallots and garlic (bawang putih, white onions) are very often used as elementary spices. Raw shallot can also accompany cucumbers when pickled in mild vinegar solution. It is also often chopped finely, then fried until golden brown, resulting in tiny crispy shallot chips called bawang goreng (fried onions) in Indonesian language, which can be bought ready-made from groceries and supermarkets. Shallots enhance the flavour of many Southeast Asian dishes, such as fried rice variants. Crispy shallot chips are also used in southern Chinese cuisine. In Indonesia, shallots are sometimes made into pickles which are added to several traditional foods; the pickles' sourness is thought to increase one's appetite.

References[link]

Look up shallot in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Allium ascalonicum

v t e Allium Onion Garlic Onion cultivars Calçot Cocktail onion Pearl onion Potato onion Red onion Scallion Shallot Sweet onion Tree onion Twinleaf onion Vidalia onion Welsh onion White onion Yellow onion Onion species Allium abramsii Allium acuminatum Allium aflatunense Allium amplectens Allium atrorubens Allium bisceptrum Allium bolanderi Allium burlewii Allium caeruleum Allium campanulatum Allium cernuum Allium cratericola Allium crispum Allium cristophii Allium monanthum Allium platycaule Allium praecox Allium punctum Allium sanbornii Allium shevockii Allium siskiyouense Allium sphaerocephalon Allium stipitatum Allium textile Allium tribracteatum Allium tricoccum Allium triquetrum Allium tuolumnense Allium unifolium Allium validum Allium yosemitense Allium stellatum Onion food Blooming onion Fried onion Onion ring Pickled onion Sogan-dolma Garlic cultivars Elephant garlic Field garlic Garlic chives Ramsons Snow Mountain Garlic Solo garlic Garlic species Allium canadense Allium drummondii Allium moly Allium neapolitanum Allium nigrum Allium roseum Allium sphaerocephalon Allium triquetrum Allium vineale Garlic food Black garlic Persillade Pistou Garlic press Garlic bread Garlic chutney Beurre à la bourguignonne Garlic/onion constituents Allicin Allistatin Category:Allium

Emilie Autumn
Autumn performs live at Nachtleben 2007
Background information
Also known as	Emilie Autumn Liddell
Born	(1979-09-22) September 22, 1979 (age 32) Los Angeles, California
Genres	Classical, Dark cabaret, Electronica, Industrial
Occupations	singer-songwriter, musician, writer, poet, actress
Instruments	Vocals, violin, keyboard, piano, viola
Years active	1997 - Present
Labels	Traitor Records Trisol Music Group The End Records
Associated acts	Ravensong The Jane Brooks Project Convent The Chelsea Courtney Love Veronica Varlow
Website	EmilieAutumn.com

Emilie Autumn Liddell^[1] (born on September 22, 1979 in Los Angeles), better known by her stage name Emilie Autumn, is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and violinist. Autumn draws influence for her music—the style of which she has alternatively labeled as "Victoriandustrial" and glam rock—from plays, novels, and history, particularly the Victorian era. Performing with her all-female backing band The Bloody Crumpets, Autumn incorporates elements of classical music, cabaret, electronica, and glam rock with theatrics, and burlesque.^[2]

Growing up in Malibu, California, she began learning the violin at the age of four and left regular school five years later with the goal of becoming a world-class violinist; she practiced eight or nine hours a day and read a wide range of literature. Progressing to writing her own music, she studied under various teachers and went to Indiana University, which she left over issues regarding the relationship between classical music and the appearance of the performer. Through her own independent label Traitor Records, Autumn debuted with her classical album On a Day: Music for Violin & Continuo, followed by the release in 2003 of her supernaturally themed album Enchant.

She appeared in singer Courtney Love's backing band on her 2004 America's Sweetheart tour and returned to Europe. She released the 2006 album Opheliac with the German label Trisol Music Group. In 2007, she released Laced/Unlaced; the re-release of On a Day... appeared as Laced with songs on the electric violin as Unlaced. She later left Trisol to join New York-based The End Records in 2009 and release Opheliac in the United States, where previously it had only been available as an import. Currently she is on tour for her upcoming album titled Fight Like A Girl. She played the role of Painted Doll in Darren Lynn Bousman's 2012 film The Devil's Carnival.

Life and career[link]

1979–2000: Beginnings[link]

Autumn attributes her ability to write music in her mind to the fact that as a child, she played Pachelbel's Canon in D (pictured) mentally every night to suppress her auditory hallucinations caused by bipolar disorder^[3] and sleep.^[4]

Emilie Autumn was born in Los Angeles, California,^[5] on September 22, 1979.^[6] Autumn grew up in Malibu, California,^{[note 1]} and according to her, "being surrounded by nature and sea had a lot to do with [her] development as a 'free spirit.'"^[8] Her mother worked as a seamstress and Autumn says she is a descendant from the Liddell family.^[6][9] Her father was a German immigrant,^[9][10] and Autumn says that she did not share a close relationship with him.^[10] While not musicians, her family enjoyed various genres of music.^[8]

When she was four years old, she started learning the violin, and later commented: "I remember asking for a violin, but I don't remember knowing what one was. I might have thought it was a kind of pony for all I know, but I don't remember being disappointed."^[4] Four years later, Autumn made her musical debut as a solo violinist performing with an orchestra, and won a competition.^[8] At the age of nine or ten,^{[note 2][3][11]} she left regular school with the goal of becoming a world-class violinist.^[11] On her time at the school, she remarked, "I hated it anyway, what with the status as 'weird,' 'antisocial,' and the physical threats, there seemed to be no reason to go anymore, so I just didn't."^[8] She practiced eight or nine hours a day,^[8][11] had lessons, read a wide range of literature, participated in orchestra practice, and was home-schooled.^[3][8] Growing up, she owned a large CD collection of "violin concertos, symphonies, chamber music, opera, and a little jazz."^[8] She began writing her own music and poetry at age thirteen or fourteen, though she never planned to sing any of her songs.^[8][12] She studied under various teachers and attended Indiana University in Bloomington, but left after two years there, because she disagreed with the prevailing views on individuality and classical music.^[11] She believed that neither the audience nor the original composer would be insulted by the clothing and appearance of the performer.^[11]

While convinced that she would only play violin, eighteen-year-old Autumn decided to sing on one of her songs as a way of demonstrating to a major music producer, who wanted to sign her on a label, how it should sound.^[8] She became unhappy with the changes done to her songs, and decided to break away from the label and create her own independent record label, Traitor Records.^[8] Through it, she debuted with her classical album On a Day: Music for Violin & Continuo, which she recorded in 1997 when she was seventeen years old;^[6][8] its title refers to the fact that the album took only a day to record.^[8] It consists of her performing works for the baroque violin accompanied by Roger Lebow on the baroque cello, Edward Murray on harpsichord, and Michael Egan on lute.^[8][13] She considered it "more of a demo despite its length", and released it as "a saleable album" after fans who enjoyed her "rock performances starting asking for a classical album so that they could hear more of the violin."^[8] She also debuted with her poetry book Across The Sky & Other Poems in 2000, later re-released in 2005 as Your Sugar Sits Untouched with a music-accompanied audiobook.^[12][14][15]

[edit] 2001–04: Enchant and collaborations

As part of a recording project, Autumn traveled to Chicago, Illinois, in 2001, and decided to stay because she enjoyed the public transportation system and music scene there.^[8] She released the 2001 extended play (EP) Chambermaid while finishing Enchant—she alternatively labeled the musical style on Chambermaid as "fantasy rock" and cabaret—and wrote the 2001 charity single "By the Sword" after the events of September 11, 2001.^[6][8] According to her, the song is about strength, not violence; the act of swearing by the sword represents "an unbreakable promise to right a wrong, to stay true."^[8]

On February 26, 2003,^{[note 3]} she released her concept album Enchant, which spanned multiple musical styles: "new age, pop and trip-hop chamber music".^[3] Written during her late teenage years, Enchant revolved around the supernatural realm and its effect on the modern-day world. Autumn labeled it as "fantasy rock", which dealt with "dreams and stories and ghosts and faeries who'll bite your head off if you dare to touch them".^[8] The faery-themed "Enchant Puzzle" appeared on the artwork of the album; her reward for the person who would solve it consisted of faery-related items.^[8] Her bandmates consisted of cellist Joey Harvey, drummer Heath Jansen, guitarist Ben Lehl, and bassist Jimmy Vanaria, who also worked on the electronics.^[8] At the same time of Enchant's release, Autumn had several side projects: Convent, a musical group for which she recorded all four voices; Ravensong, "a classical baroque ensemble" that she formed with friends in California; and The Jane Brooks Project, which she dedicated to the real-life, 16th-century Jane Brooks—a woman executed for witchcraft.^{[8][note 4]}

On the night of the Enchant release party, Autumn learned that Courtney Love had invited her to record an album, America's Sweetheart, and embark on the tour to promote it.^[8] Contributing violin and vocals,^[21] Autumn appeared in Love's backing band The Chelsea—Radio Sloan, Dvin Kirakosian, Samantha Maloney, and Lisa Leveridge—on the 2004 tour.^[3][22] Much of Autumn's violin work did not get released on the album; she commented: "This had to do entirely with new producers taking over the project after our little vacation in France, and carefully discarding all of our sessions."^[23] She performed live with Love and The Chelsea on Late Show with David Letterman on March 17, 2004, and at Bowery Ballroom the next day.^[24] In September 2004, her father died from lung cancer, even though he had quit smoking twenty years earlier.^[10] Near the end of 2004, she was filmed for an appearance on an episode of HGTV's Crafters Coast to Coast, showing viewers how to create faery wings and sushi-styled soap—both products she sold in her online "web design and couture fashion house", WillowTech House.^[8][25] On December 23, 2004, she appeared on the Chicago-based television station WGN as part of the string quartet backing up Billy Corgan and Dennis DeYoung's duet of "We Three Kings".^[26]

[edit] 2005–09: Opheliac, Laced/Unlaced, and A Bit O' This & That

The title of Opheliac is a reference to Shakespeare's character Ophelia (above) from the play Hamlet, whom Autumn felt a connection to,^[27] and the archetype of the "self-destructive" woman.^[28]

Autumn began work on her concept album Opheliac in August 2004,^[18] and recorded it at Mad Villain Studios in Chicago.^[29] In August 2005, she created the costumes for Corgan's music video for the track "Walking Shade"; she also contributed violin and vocals for the track "DIA" from his 2005 album The Future Embrace.^[30] In late 2005, Autumn also recorded vocals and violin for "The Gates of Eternity" from Attrition's 2008 album All Mine Enemys Whispers: The Story of Mary Ann Cotton, a concept album focusing on the Victorian serial killer Mary Ann Cotton.^[31][32] Autumn later protested the release of the song, claiming that it was unfinished, "altered without her permission," and had been intended only as a possible collaboration with Martin Bowes.^[32]

In January 2006, she performed a song from the album, "Misery Loves Company", on WGN,^[33] before the album's release by the German label Trisol Music Group in September.^[34] She released the limited-edition, preview EP Opheliac through her own label, Traitor Records, in spring 2006;^[35] while the Opheliac EPs were being shipped, Autumn claimed that her offices had been robbed, causing the delay in the album release and the shipping of the EPs.^[36] According to her, Opheliac "was the documentation of a completely life-changing and life-ending experience".^[27] At one time, Autumn did have plans to film a music video for her song "Liar", which included "bloody bathtubs".^[37] Her song "Opheliac" later appeared on the 2007 albums 13th Street: The Sound of Mystery, Vol. 3, published by ZYX Music, and Fuck the Mainstream, Vol. 1, published by Alfa Matrix on June 19.^[38][39] On October 9, 2006, she appeared on the Adult Swim cartoon Metalocalypse as a guest artist^[40] and on the subsequent 2007 album The Dethalbum.^[41] November 2006 saw the release of the EP Liar/Dead Is the New Alive, which featured remixes of songs from Opheliac and new material.^[42]

She released her instrumental album, Laced/Unlaced in March 2007; it consisted of two discs: Laced, the re-release of On a Day..., and Unlaced, new songs for the electric violin.^[43] She decided to re-release On a Day as Laced because she "felt that it made a nice contrast to the metal shredding fiddle album, "Unlaced," and [...] loved that it was the perfect representation of "then" versus "now."^[4] She also performed live at the German musical events Wave Gotik Treffen and M'era Luna Festival in 2007.^[44][45] She later released A Bit O' This & That: a compilation album of her covers, including songs from The Beatles and The Smiths, classical pieces, and her own songs.^[20] In 2008, she released the EP 4 o'Clock, which contained remixes of songs from Opheliac, new songs, and a reading from her autobiographical novel The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls.^[46] She also released another EP, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun &Bohemian Rhapsody, the same year.^[47] A year later, Autumn broke away from Trisol Music Group to join The End Records and re-release Opheliac in the United States on October 27, 2009; previously, it was only available there as an import.^[27][28][48] The re-release included extras such as pictures, bonus tracks, an excerpt from The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls, and a video.^[48]

In addition to releasing her own material, Autumn collaborated with other musicians. She contributed backing vocals and violin to the track "Dry" by Die Warzau and made an appearance in the band's music video for "Born Again".^[49] She played violin on the song "UR A WMN NOW" from OTEP's 2009 album, Smash the Control Machine.^[21] Additionally, two of her tracks appeared in film soundtracks: "Organ Grinder" from 4 o'Clock on the European edition of Saw III and a remixed version of "Dead Is The New Alive" from Opheliac on the international version of Saw IV.^[21]

[edit] 2010–present: Fight Like a Girl

Autumn performs "Liar" in Manchester, England, April 2012

In June 2010, Autumn released the acronym of her upcoming album, F.L.A.G., on her Twitter account,^[50] before revealing the full title as Fight Like a Girl.^[51] In her words, the meaning behind the title is "about taking all these things that make women the underdogs and using them to your advantage."^[52] Based on her autobiographical novel, The Asylum for Wayward Victorican Girls,^[53] the album has been described as "an operatic feminist treatise set inside an insane asylum, wherein the female inmates gradually realize their own strength in numbers."^[52] On August 30, 2010, she announced that she would be undergoing jaw surgery, and recovered from it.^[54] In September 2011, she posted the full lyrics to the album's title track, "Fight Like a Girl" on her Twitter account.^[55][56] Autumn appeared at the 2011 Harvest Festival in Australia,^[57] and had planned to debut two songs from Fight Like A Girl during those performances.^[58] On April 11, 2012, Autumn released the single "Fight Like a Girl", with the song "Time for Tea" appearing as a B-side.^[59]

On April 16, 2012, Autumn announced her plans to debut a three-hour musical adaptation of her autobiographical novel on London's West End theatre in 2014.^[53][60] According to her interview with Mulatschag, she has plans to play the roles of both protagonists, Emilie and Emily.^[61]

She also appeared in the twelve-minute teaser for Darren Lynn Bousman and Terrance Zdunich's upcoming project Devil's Carnival,^[62] and for which she played the role of The Painted Doll.^[52] Bloody Crumpets members Contessa and Captain Maggots also appear in the film as Woe-Maidens.

Influences and musical style[link]

Autumn in Frankfurt, 2007

Her music encompasses a wide range of styles.^[2] Autumn's vocal range is contralto, but can expand to dramatic soprano,^[7] and her vocal work has been compared to Tori Amos,^[63][64] Kate Bush,^[64] and The Creatures.^[63] She has released two instrumental albums (On a Day... and Laced/Unlaced), and three which feature her vocals: Enchant, Opheliac, and A Bit o' This & That. The 2003 album Enchant drew on "new age chamber music, trip-hop baroque, and experimental space pop".^[63] Autumn layers her voice frequently, and incorporates electronics and electronic effects into her work on Enchant; she also combines strings and piano for some songs, while others feature mainly the piano or violin.^[8] The 2006 release Opheliac featured "cabaret, electronic, symphonic, new age, and good ol' rock & roll (and heavy on the theatrical bombast)."^[64]

A classically trained musician, Autumn draws influence from plays, novels, and history, particularly the Victorian era.^[9][27] She enjoys the works of Shakespeare, Elizabeth Barrett Browning and her husband Robert, and Edgar Allan Poe.^[9] She incorporates sounds resembling Victorian machinery such as locomotives, which she noted was "sort of a steampunk thing".^[27] While a young Autumn cited Itzhak Perlman as an influence because of the happiness she believed he felt when he played, her main musical influence and inspiration is the English violinist Nigel Kennedy.^[8] Her favorite singer is Morrissey from The Smiths.^[11] She takes inspiration for her songs from her life experiences and mixes in "layers and layers of references, connections, other stories and metaphors".^[9] Autumn describes her music and style as "Psychotic Vaudeville Burlesque."^[65] She alternatively labels her music and style as "Victoriandustrial'", a term she coined, and glam rock because of her use of glitter onstage.^[27][49][66] According to Autumn, her music "wasn't meant to be cutesy" and is labeled as industrial mainly because of her use of drums and yelling.^[27] Her adaption of "O Mistress Mine" was praised by author and theater director Barry Edelstein as "a ravishing, guaranteed tearjerker."^[67]

For her live performances, which she calls dinner theatre because of her practice of throwing tea and tea-time snacks offstage, Autumn makes use of burlesque—"a show that was mainly using humour and sexuality to make a mockery of things that were going on socially and politically"^[66]—to counterbalance the morbid topics such as abuse and self-mutilation.^[3] She incorporates handmade costumes,^[66] fire tricks, theatrics, and a female backing band, The Bloody Crumpets: Veronica Varlow, Captain Maggot, and The Blessed Contessa, and formerly Lady Aprella, Little Lucina, Jacinda, Lady Joo Hee, Captain Vecona, Mistress Apnea, Little Miss Sugarless and the model Ulorin Vex.^[2][49][68] Her wish for the live shows is to be an "anti-repression statement" and empowerment.^[28]

Personal life[link]

Autumn performing in Essen Zeche Carl

Autumn has bipolar disorder, which caused her to experience drastic mood swings, insomnia, and auditory hallucinations,^[3][37] and for which she takes medication.^[3] Some of her songs—"Manic Depression", "Swallow", and "Misery Loves Company" from Opheliac—deal with living with the disorder.^[5] While she would "prefer to not have it [...] and probably be a lot happier," she believes that it gives her a different perspective on life and plans to "use it for all it’s worth so that [she is] not a victim of it."^[28] Autumn experienced abuse, which began when she was six years old, and is a survivor of rape.^[69] She keeps a ritual of drawing a heart on her cheek as a symbol of protection.^[3]

Autumn identifies as asexual.^[70] She went vegetarian at age eleven after being unable to rationalize why she should eat farm animals but not her pet; in her late-teens, she turned vegan.^[71] She believes that there is a link between the treatment of women and animals in society.^[71] She cares for two pet rats, Sir Edward and Basil, and a cat named Fish/Fishy,^[71][72] and endorses companies such as Manic Panic and Samson Tech.^[68]

Hospitalization and autobiographical novel[link]

Returning from Courtney Love's 2004 tour, Autumn resumed working on her own career and became pregnant, although she had been on birth control.^[3] Terrified of pregnancy and childbirth and unwilling to pass on her bipolar disorder, she decided to have an abortion.^[3] Later, she attempted suicide, which caused her to be admitted to a psychiatric ward at a Los Angeles hospital and kept on suicide watch.^[3][66] On her experience there, she commented: "No one tried to break me out or contact me, and I wasn’t allowed to call anyone. Now, I watch One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and realise it’s actually a pretty accurate portrayal of a modern-day asylum."^[3]

After being released, she had her cell block number tattooed on her right arm as a way of remembering what happened to her^[3] and penned her autobiographical novel, The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls, which was published in 2010.^[51] Because of the book's nature as an autobiography, its release was delayed because some did not want it published.^[27] Based on her diary written in red crayon while institutionalized, the book incorporated talking rats and the diary of a fictional Victorian inmate named "Emily".^[3][71] Autumn explained that "one of the main messages is" that many of the patients were not insane and that the subject of mental illness remains misunderstood.^[28]

Discography[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Across the Sky & Other Poems (2000)
• Your Sugar Sits Untouched (2005)
• The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls (2010)

Filmography[link]

• 11-11-11 as 11'er in Video (Uncredited)
• The Devil's Carnival as Painted Doll

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Emilie Autumn

• Official website
• Emilie Autumn at The End Records' website
• Interview with Emilie Autumn (Italian)

Loreena McKennitt
Background information
Birth name	Loreena Isabel Irene McKennitt
Born	(1957-02-17) 17 February 1957 (age 55) Morden, Manitoba, Canada
Origin	Stratford, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Celtic, world, New Age
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, producer
Instruments	Voice, piano, harp, accordion
Years active	1985–present
Labels	Quinlan Road, Warner Bros., Verve Forecast/Universal
Website	quinlanroad.com

Loreena Isabel Irene McKennitt, CM, OM (born February 17, 1957) is a Canadian singer, composer, harpist, accordionist and pianist who writes, records and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern themes. McKennitt is known for her refined, clear soprano vocals.^[1] She has sold more than 14 million records worldwide.^[2]

Early life[link]

McKennitt was born in Morden, Manitoba of Irish and Scottish descent to parents Jack (died 1992; a livestock dealer) and Irene McKennitt (1931-2011; a nurse). She moved to Stratford, Ontario in 1981, where she still resides.

When Loreena was young she wanted to become a veterinarian but she found that music chose her rather than she it.^[3] Developing a passion for Celtic music, she learned to play the Celtic harp and began busking at various places, including St. Lawrence Market in Toronto in order to earn money to record her first album.^[4]

Career[link]

McKennitt's first album, Elemental, was released in 1985, followed by To Drive the Cold Winter Away (1987), Parallel Dreams (1989), The Visit (1991), The Mask and Mirror (1994), A Winter Garden (1995), The Book of Secrets (1997), An Ancient Muse (2006), A Midwinter Night’s Dream (2008), and The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2010). All of her work is released under her own label, Quinlan Road.

In 1990, McKennitt provided the music for the National Film Board of Canada documentary The Burning Times, a feminist revisionist account of the Early Modern European witchcraft trials. The main theme would later be rerecorded by her and her band and called "Tango to Evora", a track that appears on her album The Visit.

In 1993, she toured Europe supporting Mike Oldfield. In 1995, her version of the traditional Irish song "Bonny Portmore" was featured in the Highlander series. McKennitt's single "The Mummers' Dance" received airplay in North American markets during the spring of 1997, and was used as the theme song for the short-lived TV series Legacy. It also saw use in the trailer for a wide-release 1998 Drew Barrymore film Ever After.^[5]

Her music appeared in the movies The Santa Clause, Soldier, Jade, Holy Man, The Mists of Avalon and Tinkerbell; and in the television series Roar, Due South, and Full Circle (Women and Spirituality).

Personal life[link]

In 1998, McKennitt's fiancé Ronald Rees, his brother Richard and their close friend Gregory Cook drowned during a boating accident on Georgian Bay. She was deeply affected by the event and subsequently founded the Cook-Rees Memorial Fund for Water Search and Safety in the same year.

At the time of the incident, she was working on a live album of two performances called Live in Paris and Toronto. The proceeds from this album were donated to the newly created memorial fund, totaling some three million dollars.^[6] After the release of the live album, McKennitt decided to substantially reduce the number of her public performances and did not release any new recordings until the studio album An Ancient Muse in 2006.

Honours[link]

• Juno Award, Best Roots/Traditional Album 1992, for The Visit.
• Juno Award, Best Roots/Traditional Album 1994, for The Mask and Mirror.
• Billboard Music Award for International Achievement, 1997.
• Headline performer for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at The Golden Jubilee Celebrations, Province of Manitoba, 2002.
• Honorary Doctor of Letters, Wilfrid Laurier University, 2002.
• Member of the Order of Manitoba, July 2003.
• Member of the Order of Canada, July 2004.
• Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Manitoba, June 2005
• Canadian Ambassador, Hans Christian Andersen Bicentennary, June 2005
• Honorary Doctor of Laws, Queen's University, October 2005
• Investiture as Honorary Colonel, 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force, December 2006
• Nominated for a Grammy award, Best Contemporary World Music Album, in 2007
• Western Canadian Music Awards Lifetime Achievement Award, September 2009
• Performed at Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, Opening Ceremonies, February 12, 2010
• Honorary Bachelor of Applied Business, George Brown College, June 2010

Genre and work[link]

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McKennitt's music has generally been classified as World / Celtic music even though it contains aspects and characteristics of music from around the globe and is sometimes classified as Folk music in record stores.^{[citation needed]}

Before McKennitt composes any music, she engages in considerable research on a specific subject which then forms the general concept of the album.^{[citation needed]} Before creating Elemental and Parallel Dreams, she traveled to Ireland for inspiration from the country's history, folklore, geography and culture. The album The Mask and Mirror was preceded by research in Spain where she engaged in studying Galicia, a Celtic section of Spain, along with its abundant Arabic roots.^{[citation needed]} The result was an album that included elements of Celtic and Arabic music. According to the jacket notes, her album An Ancient Muse was inspired by travels among and reading about the various cultures along the Silk Road.

McKennitt is compared to Enya,^{[citation needed]} but McKennitt's music is more grounded in traditional and classical invocations,^{[citation needed]} using literary works as sources of lyrics and springboards for interpretation such as "The Lady of Shalott" by Lord Tennyson, "Prospero's Speech" (the final soliloquy in William Shakespeare's The Tempest), "Snow" by Archibald Lampman, "Dark Night of the Soul" by St. John of the Cross, Dante's Inferno, William Blake's "Lullaby", Yeats' "The Stolen Child", "The English Ladye and the Knight" by Sir Walter Scott and "The Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes.

Court case[link]

In 2005, McKennitt was involved in an acrimonious court case in Britain when her former friend and employee, Niema Ash, published a book that contained intimate details of their friendship. McKennitt argued that much of the book contained confidential personal information that Ash had no right to publish. The British courts found that there had indeed been a breach of confidence and a misuse of McKennitt's private information, and the case is likely to set important precedents in British law on the privacy of celebrities.^[7] The House of Lords affirmed the lower court's decisions in 2007.

2006 and later[link]

In September 2006, McKennitt performed live at the Alhambra. The performance premiered on PBS and in August 2007 was released on a three-disc DVD/CD set titled Nights from the Alhambra.

In 2008, McKennitt wrote and composed a song she titled "To The Fairies They Draw Near" as the theme song for Disney's direct-to-video animated film Tinker Bell. She also provided the narration for the film.^[8]