If On A Winter’s Night…
Album Description
If on a Winter’s Night presents an arc of songs that conjure the season of spirits, the eerie silences of the snow; days of solitude and reflection for some, a time of re-birth and celebration for many. With traditional music of the British Isles as their starting point, Sting and his guest musicians draw the listener in through a collection of songs, carols, and lullabies spanning the centuries – such as The Snow it Melts the Soonest (traditional Newcastle ballad), Soul Cake (traditional English “begging” song) Gabriel’s Message (14th century carol), as well as two of Sting’s own compositions – Lullaby for an Anxious Child and The Hounds of Winter. Also featured on the album is Hurdy Gurdy Man – a musical reworking and English translation (by Sting) of Der Leiermann from Schubert’s classic winter song-cycle Winterreise. For this exploration of the themes and emotions of winter Sting is joined by friend and long time colleague, guitarist Dominic Miller – and an ensemble of three remarkable musicians from Northern England and Scotland: Kathryn Tickell (fiddle and Northumbrian pipes) Julian Sutton (melodian) and Mary MacMaster (metal string Scottish harp). Additional guest artists include Vincent Ségal (cello), Daniel Hope (violin), Chris Botti (trumpet), Ibrahim Maalouf (trumpet), Stile Antico (vocal ensemble), Cyro Baptista (percussion), Bijan Chemirani (percussion) and the Webb Sisters (vocals). Together they’ve created an album with a wonderful, warm, and unique ensemble sound – an acoustic meditation on winter.
5 Responses
Ok, so your venture in to pop-jazz turned out great. Then you went to mainstream pop, which might have been dreary if not for some middle-eastern flavor. But now you’ve signed up with the wrong label. Elevators won’t even move to this music.
Rating: 1 / 5
…break out the ear plugs that is. I get it Sting is facinated by over 5 centuries of music and has broken it out to torture our eardrums. I can appreciate what he has done as an intellectual experience — now that I’ve experienced it once I can put it away and try to forget about it. I guess you figured out it’s not my cup of tea and I like tea. Be warned listen to it before you buy. Sample it — I found the sound of his voice grating on the nerves — most of the time distorted and unpleasant. Liked the pictures and the liner notes explaining this but it still doesn’t get my money back.
Rating: 1 / 5
Hey Music-Lovin’ Folks!
Now I have been a fan of Sting’s for 28 Yrs Now…BUT C’MON!!
Has anybody heard STING’s new christmas CD entitled “If On A Winter’s Night”??
Not the festive & joyous yuletide stuff of lore that you would normally
associate with the holidays!
It sounds like a bunch of moody dark medieval chords and is
even in some cases, sang in the dialect of that time!
This might have went over well in the court of King Charlemagne
or maybe even at the big Knights Templar Christmas Bash of 1166 A.D.,
but it’s not cutting it for me in the slightest! (-:
As I listened more and more, I could see visions of my holiday guests
leaping from my 28th Floor balcony to their deaths and having to put down
sawdust to catch the blood from others who either slashed their wrists or
plunged the dessert slicer into their chests after being seduced by
the melancholy spell of Sting’s dark & detached Christmas ramblings!
Had this CD been released as just an album of Sting exploring folk ballads
& moody medieval troubadour type material, I would’ve said “Okay, that’s just
Sting exploring other musical paths–Good for him!”
But for Christmas?, this is just not the vibe I enjoy for that time of year.
Ultimately though, the decision is up to the individual whether to buy it or not.
One person’s pretentious drivel is another person’s idea of artistic brilliance!
For what it’s worth, though I admire and respect Bob Dylan for his songwriting
talents, I have always hated his voice and think his Christmas CD is
quite atrocious!–So it’s all a matter of opinion.
Also, for all the people who’ve been sending nasty comments my way for
my review of this CD, please take into consideration the tongue & cheek
tone of my review! It amazes me that some people today have absolutely
no sense of humor and cannot distinguish the difference between when someone
is being sardonic and saying something in a joking way instead of taking it verbatim!
STING IS A GENIUS for sure!–This is just not my cup of tea for the holidays.
Rating: 1 / 5
After I saw Sting on the cover of the AARP Magazine and Costco I knew it was all over. The promise, the literate musician touching the raw nerve of society’s ways, the brilliant years, etc. Like Rod Stewart one can say these once prominent bright stars of popular music have accepted the senior moments with no regrets. He no longer seeks controversial, heart pounding sounds. Instead, like a long slide that started with the Fields of Gold mentality Sting no longer cares for cutting edge rock. He’s gone the way of the banal, surely enjoying the rewards of his fiery days. One after the other this winter endeavor managed to bring a cozy but dark mantle over my all ready hot self. Now he is folk, now he is celtic, now he is the artist that will only stir the juices of the semi-contented, the eggnog by the fireside. So artistic that to this reviewer, knowing his past works and willing trajectory into the land of the semi-retired, millions set aside so whatever he does if just peachy, where you can drift into a winter’s sleep with no possible return. Hey Sting, you use to be hot now you are not. The police and early solo works certainly his best moments. Like U2 that became David Letterman’s sit in band and have sold all manners of their same in different packages but at the same higher price, these people no longer matter in the intrepid, no holds barred, cutting edge sounds that is what popular music is all about.
Now he is making music but for an entirely new audience. He is content with his state of affairs and he has no more to add to the struggles of modern life (spirits in the material world, invisible sun). Those days are Vamoos!
The first time I saw Sting was on the film Other Policeman’s Ball? Here was this guy dressed in military tone clothing with just a guitar and a voice that shook the very grounds I was standing on. Roxanne and Just a cast away sending out I hope someone gets smart. I fell into a trance because so much of what he sang about I felt on a daily basis. And isn’t that what it was all about? Musicians expressing, playing their heart out, earning their good money but never compromising the anger they felt. Once they become tamed to their existence, contented with all the reaped rewards of their talent they tend to sound less and less viable.
Please I need to buy another collection in a different package of the golden years of whatever band wants more money, nothing like the same song in 20 different versions, let’s all go to the vaults these time for those rare mostly mediocre compositions (there was a reason why they remained in the vaults, come on people!) but now, they are not even dead and keep squeezing and squeezing till the fan, listener is saturated. What about music with soul, with a little adventure? I guess for that we must search long and hard and keep our ears close to the ground. Yes Siree, Sting in the Costco Magazine explaining how important winter is for him and his fellow musicians, all so far away and detached from a world that never ceases to shock and amaze. Just give me a minute and I shall grab my hot cider, put in my winter gloves and stir a log or two in this warm and friendly fire.
Where are the Pogues when you need them? Sting, Sting, all the yoga and environmental concerns have made you bland! 2 Stars for the once 5 Star!
Rating: 2 / 5
Absolutely from all the vomit after listening to this waste of cd. Stink, er I mean Sting hasn’t made a LISTENABLE album since 1993, ever since then his album sales have declined with each new release. I suppose this will follow suit and be a loser like the last five or six albums. Setting all that aside, this cd is really bad because Sting’s vocals on some of the tracks are like nails on a chalkboard irritating and flat out terrible. It’s like he’s purposely trying to ruining the songs. The music is uninspiring and grey. Two of the songs he has already recorded years ago, one as a B-side and the other one on a previous album. Sting has been washed up for YEARS and this cd is just another sad example of this being true. What next? Great American Songbook, Soulbook, Songs of the 80’s?
Rating: 1 / 5