Sting has released a new album dedicated to his favorite season - Winter - a season which has inspired countless songwriters over the centuries and produced a wealth of music exploring all of its many guises.

 

If On a Winter's Night... presents an arc of songs that conjures the season of spirits, resulting in a haunting, spiritual and reflective musical journey. "The theme of winter is rich in inspiration and material," comments Sting; "by filtering all of these disparate styles into one album I hope we have created something refreshing and new." He continues, "Our ancestors celebrated the paradox of light at the heart of the darkness, and the consequent miracle of rebirth and the regeneration of the seasons."

 

In collaboration with esteemed producer and arranger, Robert Sadin, "If On a Winter's Night..." features traditional music of the British Isles as its starting point. Sting and guest musicians interpret a stirring collection of songs, carols, and lullabies including The Snow it Melts the Soonest (traditional Newcastle ballad), Soul Cake (traditional English "begging" song) Gabriel's Message (14th century carol), Balulalow (lullaby by Peter Warlock) and Now Winter Comes Slowly (Henry Purcell).

 

Two of Sting's own compositions are also featured on the album, Lullaby for an Anxious Child and The Hounds of Winter, which originally appeared on his previous release Mercury Falling, alongside 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. Additional guests include an ensemble of three remarkable musicians from Northern England and Scotland: Kathryn Tickell (fiddle and Northumbrian pipes) Julian Sutton (melodeon) and Mary MacMaster (metal string Scottish harp), along with Daniel Hope (violin), Vincent (cello), Chris Botti and Ibrahim Maalouf, (trumpet), Cyro Baptista and Bijan Chemirani (percussion), the Webb Sisters (vocals) and Stile Antico (vocal ensemble).

Tracklist

A1       Gabriel's Message       2:34

A2       Soul Cake       3:26

A3       There Is No Rose Of Such Virtue      4:01

A4       The Snow It Melts The Soonest         3:42

A5       Christmas At Sea        4:34

A6       Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming         2:40

A7       Cold Song       3:14

B1       The Burning Babe      2:46

B2       Now Winter Comes Slowly    3:04

B3       The Hounds Of Winter           5:45

B4       Balulalow        3:08

B5       Cherry Tree Carol       3:10

B6       Lullaby For An Anxious Child           2:52

B7       The Hurdy-Gurdy Man           2:48

B8       You Only Cross My Mind In Winter 2:36

 

Companies, etc.

Marketed By – Universal Music Classical

Manufactured By – Universal Music Classical

Distributed By – Universal Music Distribution

Recorded At – Steerpike Studio

Recorded At – Il Palagio

Recorded At – The Source, Malibu, Florida

Recorded At – Clinton Recording Studio

Recorded At – Manhattan Center Studios

Recorded At – Seven Seas Studio

 

Credits

Backing Vocals, Vocals – Lisa Fischer (tracks: B1, B3, B4)

Bass – Ira Coleman (tracks: A1, A2, A4, A5, B1, B2, B6, B8)

Bass Clarinet – John Ellis (tracks: A7, B3)

Cello – Charles Curtis (tracks: B4), Melissa Meell (tracks: B2), Vincent Ségal* (tracks: A6, A7, B1, B3, B4, B6)

Conductor, Sounds [Soundscape] – Robert Sadin (tracks: A6, A7, B2, B4, B8)

Drums – Jack DeJohnette (tracks: B1)

Ensemble [Vocal Ensemble] – Stile Antico (tracks: A6)

Frame Drum, Percussion – Bashiri Johnson (tracks: A5, B3, B4)

Guitar – Dominic Miller (tracks: A1, A4, A5, A7, B3, B6)

Guitar, Mandolin – Dean Parks (tracks: A2)

Harmonium – David Hartley* (tracks: A3)

Harp, Vocals – Mary Macmaster (tracks: A5, B1, B6)

Horn – John Clark (2) (tracks: A2)

Lute – Edin Karamazov (tracks: B8)

Melodeon – julian Sutton (tracks: A6, B1, B3, B6, B7)

Ney, Oud – Bassam Saba (tracks: A3)

Organ – David Sancious (tracks: B3)

Percussion – Bijan Chemirani (tracks: A3, B3), Cyro Baptista (tracks: A1, B1, B3, B6), Daniel Freedman (tracks: A3), Donald Hay (tracks: A5), Rhani Krija (tracks: A3)

Producer – Robert Sadin

Recorder – Daphna Mor (tracks: A7)

Snare – Daniel Druckman (tracks: B1, B4)

Sopranino Saxophone – Kenny Garrett (tracks: B1)

Trombone – Chris Dudley (tracks: A2)

Trumpet – Brent Madsen (tracks: A2), Chris Botti (tracks: B4), Chris Gekker (tracks: A2), Ibrahim Maalouf (tracks: A1)

Tuba – Leslie Neish (tracks: A2), Marcus Rojas (tracks: A2)

Twelve-String Guitar, Dulcimer [Lap], Mandolin, Mandocello – David Mansfield (tracks: A2, A5, B1)

Viola – Dov Scheindlin (tracks: B9)

Violin – Daniel Hope (tracks: B2, B7), Peter Tickell (tracks: A2), Svetlana Tsovena (tracks: A7)

Violin, Bagpipes [Northumbrian Smallpipes] – Kathryn Tickell (tracks: A2, A5, A6, B1, B3, B6)

Vocals [Background] – Jasmine Thomas (tracks: A4), Joe Sumner (tracks: A2, A3), The Webb Sisters (tracks: A2, A3)

Vocals, Guitar, Percussion, Snare [Snare Drum], Lute, Producer – Sting

 

Notes

Gatefold sleeve