To Drive the Cold Winter Away is Canadian musician Loreena McKennitt's second studio album, released on January 11, 1987. It pays homage to her childhood memories of music for the winter season, the most vivid of which "came from songs and carols recorded in churches or great halls, rich with their own unique ambience and tradition."[2]
To capture that remembered ambiance, McKennitt kept the arrangements sparse, celebrating the beauty of simplicity. She also chose to leave the found sounds of life in the performances, which were recorded on location in churches and great halls:[3]
"The King" features vocals by Cedric Smith. Shannon Purves-Smith plays Viols on two other tracks. Everything else was done by McKennitt.
"Snow" uses the words of the poem of the same name by Archibald Lampman. It was included on a Windham Hill Records album titled Celtic Christmas (1995).
