Winter Carols
Winter Carols is the sixth studio album by the group Blackmore's Night, released in the United Kingdom on October, 2006, and in the United States on November 7, 2006. It is a Christmas themed album. The cover artwork for this album, painted by Karsten Topelmann, is an adaptation of a street in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany, in line with the band's heavy Renaissance influence. The same street is portrayed in the cover of Blackmore's Night's second studio album, Under a Violet Moon. In the cover of "Winter Carols" the street is painted as winter time, whereas Under a Violet Moon's cover takes place on apparently a summer night. While the selections "Winter (Basse Dance)" is credited to Ritchie Blackmore as composer, it is an adaptation of the second section of Joaquin Rodrigo's "Fantasía para un gentilhombre," which Rodrigo composed for classical guitar virtuoso Andres Segovia in 1954.
| Winter Carols | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 2006 | |||
| Recorded | 2006 | |||
| Genre | Celtic, folk rock, neo-medieval, Christmas music | |||
| Length | 42:38 | |||
| Label | AFM Records (Germany)[1] Locomotive Music (US) | |||
| Producer | Pat Regan | |||
| Blackmore's Night chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    |
| Metal Storm | (7.4/10) [3] |
On December 2006, Winter Carols entered at #7 on USA Billboard New Age Charts.[4]
The album won the New Age Reporter Lifestyle Music Award as the Best Holiday Album.[5]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hark the Herald Angels Sing / Come All Ye Faithful" | trad. | 3:50 |
| 2. | "I Saw Three Ships" | trad. | 2:40 |
| 3. | "Winter (Basse Dance)" | Ritchie Blackmore | 3:07 |
| 4. | "Ding Dong Merrily on High" | trad. | 3:16 |
| 5. | "Ma-O-Tzur" | trad. | 2:19 |
| 6. | "Good King Wenceslas" | trad. | 4:44 |
| 7. | "Lord of the Dance / Simple Gifts" | Sydney Carter / Joseph Brackett | 3:34 |
| 8. | "We Three Kings" | trad. | 4:48 |
| 9. | "Wish You Were Here" (song from Shadow of the Moon) | Leskelä Teijo | 5:02 |
| 10. | "Emmanuel" | trad. | 3:32 |
| 11. | "Christmas Eve" | Blackmore, Candice Night | 4:20 |
| 12. | "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" | trad. | 1:21 |
2013 Reissue
The album was re-issued in 2013 with an additional CD of live versions, along with that year's single – a reworking of the track Christmas Eve.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hark the Herald Angels Sing / Come All Ye Faithful - Live from Minstal Hall 2013" | trad. | 4:12 |
| 2. | "Emmanuel – Live from Minstal Hall 2013" | trad. | 4:35 |
| 3. | "We Three Kings – Live from Minstal Hall 2013" | trad. | 5:26 |
| 4. | "Ma-O-Tzur – Live from Minstal Hall 2013" | trad. | 5:26 |
| 5. | "Good King Wenceslas – Live from Minstal Hall 2013" | trad. | 6:13 |
| 6. | "Christmas Eve – 2013 Version" | Blackmore, Candice Night | 4:33 |
| 7. | "Christmas Eve – German Radio Edit" | Blackmore, Candice Night | 3:56 |
| 8. | "Christmas Eve – English & German Radio Edit" | Blackmore, Candice Night | 3:56 |
| 9. | "Christmas Eve – English Radio Edit" | Blackmore, Candice Night | 3:56 |
| 10. | "Christmas Eve – Video" | Blackmore, Candice Night |
2017 Reissue
Disc 1
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Deck the Halls" | trad. | 2:45 |
| 2. | "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" | trad. | 4:33 |
| 3. | "Oh Christmas Tree" | trad. | 4:54 |
| 4. | "Hark the Herald Angels Sing / Come All Ye Faithful" | trad. | 3:50 |
| 5. | "I Saw Three Ships" | trad. | 2:40 |
| 6. | "Winter (Basse Dance)" | Ritchie Blackmore | 3:07 |
| 7. | "Ding Dong Merrily on High" | trad. | 3:16 |
| 8. | "Ma-O-Tzur" | trad. | 2:19 |
| 9. | "Good King Wenceslas" | trad. | 4:44 |
| 10. | "Lord of the Dance / Simple Gifts" | Sydney Carter / Joseph Brackett | 3:34 |
| 11. | "We Three Kings" | trad. | 4:48 |
| 12. | "Wish You Were Here" (song from Shadow of the Moon) | Leskelä Teijo | 5:02 |
| 13. | "Emmanuel" | trad. | 3:32 |
| 14. | "Christmas Eve" | Blackmore, Candice Night | 4:20 |
| 15. | "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" | trad. | 1:21 |
Disc 2
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hark the Herald Angels Sing / Come All Ye Faithful – Live from Minstal Hall 2013" | trad. | 4:12 |
| 2. | "Emmanuel – Live from Minstal Hall 2013" | trad. | 4:35 |
| 3. | "We Three Kings – Live from Minstal Hall 2013" | trad. | 5:26 |
| 4. | "Ma-O-Tzur – Live from Minstal Hall 2013" | trad. | 5:26 |
| 5. | "Good King Wenceslas – Live from Minstal Hall 2013" | trad. | 6:13 |
| 6. | "Christmas Eve – 2013 Version" | Blackmore, Candice Night | 4:33 |
| 7. | "Christmas Eve – German Radio Edit" | Blackmore, Candice Night | 3:56 |
| 8. | "Christmas Eve – English & German Radio Edit" | Blackmore, Candice Night | 3:56 |
| 9. | "Christmas Eve – English Radio Edit" | Blackmore, Candice Night | 3:56 |
| 10. | "Christmas Eve – Video" | Blackmore, Candice Night |
Personnel
- Ritchie Blackmore – arrangements, guitar, mandola, nyckelharpa, hurdy-gurdy, percussion
- Candice Night – vocals, shawm, pennywhistle
- Pat Regan – production, arrangements, keyboards
- Sir Robert of Normandie (Robert Curiano) – bass
- Sisters of the Moon: Lady Madeline and Lady Nancy (Madeline and Nancy Posner) – harmony vocals
- Bard David of Larchmont (David Baranowski) – keyboards
- Sarah Steiding – violin
- Anton Fig – drums
- Albert Dannemann – bagpipes, backing vocals
- Ian Robertson and Jim Manngard – backing vocals
Charts
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[6] | 74 |
References
- "AFM Records will release Blackmore's Night winter album!". AFM-Records official website. 2006-09-15.
- Prato, Greg. Winter Carols at AllMusic
- http://www.metalstorm.net/pub/review.php?review_id=3494
- "Ritchie Blackmore Bio". The Official Ritchie Blackmore and Blackmores Night Website. Retrieved 2011-03-16.
- "NAR 2006 LifeStyle Music Award Winners". ZoneMusicReporter. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
- "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
- "discogs.com – Blackmore's Night – Winter Carols". Retrieved December 25, 2008.
- "Allmusic – Blackmore's Night – Winter Carols". Retrieved 2008-12-25.