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41 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Beautiful Taste Of Christmas In A Bygone Era, November 8, 2006
1- Hark The Herald Angels Sing/Oh Come All Ye Faithful- I love the drums and horns that start this off and reappear on occasion throughout the piece. It gives a majestic regal feel to the piece. The soft guitar work and strings weave wonderfully into Candice Night's warm and blissful voice. Ritchie puts a nice bit of electric guitar into this "medley" that mixes with quick drums for a rollicking feel in the second piece. The backing chorals are beautiful. I find it puzzling that Christ is not mentioned by name in either tune , (Christ is born in Bethelem is replaced with Peace has come to Bethlehem in"Hark" and in "Faithful" "Christ the Lord" is instead "He is the Lord" ). Still the instrumentation and splendid singing make for an arresting piece.
2. I Saw Three Ships - I was quickly drawn in by the festive of this piece provided by the old-time period style percussion and instrumentation. As always, Candice's Night's voice invites the listener to bask in the joy of the piece and the season. The hand-claps are a nice occasional percussive touch, and I love the flute in here too. Ritchie Blackmore's guitar put a smile on my face.
3- Winter (Basse Dance) - Here we are invited to stand amidst the first gentle snowfall of the season and rejoice in the beauty of God's creation, and the company of good friends in an era long past. Ritchie Blackmore's guitar melodies mate exquisitely with soft percussion and yearning strings to take us on a beautiful and nostalgic journey into that era. This is among the loveliest cuts on this CD, and is among my favorites on the disc.
4. Ding Dong Merrily On High- I admit, I found the title humorous, but this is my first exposure to this song, and I am glad I've had it. Ritchie Blackmore's guitar and Candice Night's voice blend beautifully and sparkle with warmth and reverence. I LOVE the touch added by the church bells, but the best part, the highlight is the backing choral singing and the harnony vocals by Lady Madeline And Lady Nancy, the "Sisters of the Moon" The church bells and organ at the end provide a beautiful close to this piece.
5. Ma-O-Tzur- This is a lovely song. A 'simple' but arresting tune, crafted of exquisite soft guitar melody mated with beautiful strings, and the soothing voice of Candice Night singing first in what sounds like Hebrew, and then in English. BEAUTIFUL!
6. Good King Weinceslas- A soft yet primal drumming combines with Candice Night intoning a lyricless melody to start us off, dancing with beautiful soft guitar and tambourines. This has the feel of a warm but adventurous ballad. It's the first time I've heard this song but I love it. The appearance of what sounds like a flute or other period woodwind insturment is really nice too, as is the heart-stirring string work.
7. Lord Of The Dance/Simple Gifts- A beautiful tune comprised of horns, percussion and guitar, this seems to speak from the Lord Jesus Christ's point of view. The lyrics seem to encourage enthusiastic participation in the "dance" of life with simplicity, humility and love. The handclaps and harmony vocals are very nice and add to the festive feel of this piece.
8. We Three Kings - Plaintive strings, mandolin and guitar combine with exotic percussion and Candice Night's exquisite voice to relate the tale of a royal trio as they make the journey to see the newborn Christ Child Jesus . I love the harmony vocals in this, and the horns lend it a fitting regality, given its subject. The appearance of the cello is very welcome as well.
9. Wish You Were Here - This is a heart-stirring ballad of longing and love. Comprised of lovely guitar and strings, drums and Candice Night bewitching voice, this one gets to me quickly upon each listen. Ritchie Blackmore gives it a touch of electric guitar wizardry, and the Sisters of the Moon provide absolutely great harmony vocals in spots.
10. Emmanuel - A rendition of "Oh, Come Oh Come Emmanuel", Blackmore's Night give this a dignified and beautiful treatment. Candice Night's exquisite vocal singing is coupled with ethereal guitar work that glows with tender reverence. The flute in the middle can bring tears to the eyes, especially with the way the guitar dances and glides underneath it. The cello makes her prescence known very softly, and she sings beautifully as well, even though she sings in what is almost a whisper.
11. Christmas Eve- This is yet another festive tune. It is crafted with great guitar work, beautiful flute, and the lovely voice Candice Night is known for. It invites reflection on childhood innocence and wonder. The harmony vocals are exquisite. The handclaps are a welcome touch and call to mind images of a festive dance and smiling faces as we gather with those we love. I love the church bell's appearance along the horns, organ and keyboards. If I had to use three words for this song, I would say "joyous", "lovely" and "warm". I even love the sleigh bells present at the end.
12. We Wish You A Merry Christmas - This tune is sadly rather short. Despite that, it is beautiful. I admit that I was surprised to see it on the playlist, and the first word that came to mind was "childish". I was gladly proven wrong however. The mix of percussion, flute and other period instrumentation gave the song a dignity and a warmth that brought a smile to my face. The harmony vocals are exquisite, and the blend of the trio of voices carry the song terrifically. This brought back to my heart the joy of childhood and taught me that it is indeed good to remain happy and young at heart no matter what you face in your life.
In closing, you cannot go wrong with Winter Carols if you are a fan of Blackmore's Night. Go ahead, and take the journey back in time to celebrate the holidays in a time where the love of God and family and friends meant more than buying the most expensive presents and owning the fastest car and the biggest house on the block. You won't regret this purchase. I loved it all the way through. Peace, and love to all who read this.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A white Christmas? Or deep purple?, December 9, 2006
Neither, actually, but the cover shows a German townscape covered in snow (obviously from the days before global warming) while Ritchie Blackmore, the main musician here (he plays guitar, mandola, nyckelharpa, hurdy gurdy and various percussion), made his name originally with heavy rockers Deep Purple. The music here is very different from Ritchie's earlier music with Deep Purple and (later) Rainbow. I think it is essentially a folk album, rooted in the medieval era while sounding contempory, yet I found it in the mainstream pop-rock section of my local store. I also learned that the album made the top 10 of the American Billboard new age chart. So classify it however you want, but this is Christmas music of the highest quality. Candice Night (a wonderful singer) provides all the lead vocals and some of the harmonies and also plays shawns, pennywhistle and recorder. Producer Pat Regan plays all the keyboards.
The song selection is very British, including as it does I saw three ships, Ding dong merrily on high, Good King Wenceslas and the traditional British folk song Lord of the dance (great to see that one, even if it's not actually a Christmas song as such - it can be interpreted as one), finally closing with We wish you a merry Christmas. More familiar to American ears will be We three kings, Emmanuel and the opening medley of Hark the herald angels sing and O come all ye faithful, joined together by a great instrumental bridge.
Ritchie wrote a couple of tracks - the instrumental Winter (basse dance) and the outstanding Christmas Eve, which was actually released as a single in 2005. The other two songs are covers but they're new to me. Wish you were here (another non-Christmas song that fits in well) is the Rednex song, not the equally brilliant Barbara Mandrell song of that title with which I've long been familiar. I don't know where Ritchie found the traditional Ma-o-tzur but I'm glad he did.
I found this to be a very upbeat album and enjoyed every minute of it. I had no real idea what to expect when I bought it but I sensed that it was likely to be special and it is. I've heard plenty of Christmas albums and this, while not my favorite, is certainly among the best. And as for Blackmore's Night, I'll certainly have to investigate their music further one day.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Journey to a Starlit Wnter's Night in the Days of Olde..., November 18, 2006
This album has it all - dazzling guitar playing, lush orchestrations and beautiful singing, all performed in a style truly reverent to to the olde tyme feeling that these traditional songs deserve. I am not a huge fan of most present day Christmas albums precisely for this reason - too often the traditional feeling is lost by adding cheesy synthesizers, programmed drum machines and other such modern-day hokum. Blackmore's Night has wisely avoided this trap and has resultingly created a splendid album that will mentally transport the listener to a starlit, snow-covered countryside on a cold Winter's eve. I also like the fact that Blackmore has chosen several Christmas songs that are not widely known, such as "Ma-O-Tzur", "I Saw Three Ships", "Ding Dong Merrily on High" and "Lord of the Dance/Simple Gifts", so that we are not being barraged by the same songs being performed by all the other artists who are performing Christmas songs out there. While every Blackmore's Night CD is of uniformly high quality, there are always 2 or 3 songs on each album which jump out as instant classics. Winter Carols is no exception. "I Saw Three Ships" and "Lord of the Dance/Simple Gifts" not only rank right up there with the best Blackmore's Night songs, but are rapidly becoming two of my all-time favorite Christmas songs. That is how excellent they are. Both have such infectious, catchy melodies that they will swim around in your head for hours. I can just see minstrels dancing around the medieval courtyard every time I listen to them. "Emmanuel" is another standout, highlighted by Blackmore's fluid guitar playing and, during the last half of the song, droning cellos which will leave you begging for more. You can just feel the chill in the air as you listen to "Winter", accented by Blackmore at his acoustic best and powerful strings. A special commendation must be given to the Sisters of the Moon - their backup vocals in "Ding Dong Merrily on High" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" are sung in such a high range that it truly does bring to mind a choir of heavenly angels. "Christmas Eve" (a Blackmore's Night original?) with its church bells, horns and sleigh bells, is as good a modern day carol as I have heard. What more can I say? Throw a few logs on the fire, get a glass of your favorite brew, and take a journey to the days of olde on a starlit, snow-covered rural winter's night...
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