knotheadusc's Full Review: If on a Winter's Night... by Sting
It's finally November. Usually around this time of year, I get a hankering to start occasionally listening to holiday music. However, ever since my infamous holiday music buying binge a few years ago, I've found myself listening to holiday music much more sparingly. In fact, lately, I've really only been pulling out my old favorites. And then I got a copy of Sting's 2009 winter themed album, If On A Winter's Night. I think I might have found yet another favorite.
Sting certainly has mellowed out in recent years. Ever since he went solo from The Police in 1985, his music has evolved from jazz inflected numbers to a softer, more classical side. If On A Winter's Night really reflects that gradual revolution, reminding me a little of Sting's 2006 effort, Songs From The Labyrinth. You won't find any hyperkinetic, punk infused rock tunes, either. This album is quiet, introspective, and frankly quite beautiful, with music inspired by the winter season. There are only passing glances at the subject of Christmas and those glances are not of the tired old carols everyone's heard a million times by a billion different artists. Instead, Sting takes on a few lesser known but traditional songs. He rounds out the rest of the album with simple classical songs and a stripped down remake of one of his own, "Hounds of Winter", which originally appeared on his 1996 album Mercury Falling.
The CD
This CD is packaged in a cardboard case. It runs for almost 51 minutes and consists of 15 songs. The generous liner notes include personnel listings for each song, notes from Sting, and printed lyrics. There are also several nice pictures.
The songs
Sting begins with Gabriel's Message, a haunting traditional song I originally heard him sing in 1987 for the first Very Special Christmas album. I really like this more subdued rendition, which he sings in a lower key. His vocals are backed by a quiet jazzy arrangement of the melody played by Dominic Miller on guitar, Ira Coleman on bass, Ibrahim Maalouf on trumper, and Cyro Baptista on percussion. I'm especially intrigued by the somber trumpet, which really gives this song an interesting sound.
Soul Cakes is an uptempo number written by Paul Stookey, Tracey Batteast, and Elena Mazzetti. It seems to flow naturally from "Gabriel's Message", as it's in the same key. Sting is joined by the Webb Sisters and his son, Joe Sumner, on background vocals. This song has a festive air about it, with a horn section playing a few bars of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" followed up with strings by Kathryn and Peter Tickell. I really like this song for its vivid lyrics that set up a story as well as the music soothes. "Soul Cakes" is like one party gypsy music, one part Celtic rag. I love it.
The anonymously penned There Is No Rose of Such Virtue slows down the pace slightly as Sting sings and accompanies himself on lute. Then the Webb Sisters and Joe Sumner are back to add a complicated background vocal arrangement to Middle Eastern sounding percussion.
The Snow It Melts the Soonest is another traditional song with Sting's vocals, Dominic Miller's guitar, and Ira Coleman's bass. This song has a bleak, stripped down sound that practically begs to be played next to a fire on a stormy winter's night. Miller's guitar playing is so simple and beautiful on this song, providing a gorgeous support for Sting's mournful style.
Sting and Mary MacMaster teamed up to compose the music that go with Robert Louis Stevenson's poetry on Christmas at Sea. MacMaster provides vocals on this song and immediately reminds me of Kate Bush, both in terms of her voice and the style she uses. This song has sort of a breathtaking aura and I find myself focusing more on the complex music and MacMaster's almost tribal singing rather than Sting.
Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming is a familiar song to me because I've sung in choirs that have done it. Of course, Sting puts his own unique spin on it, enlisting help from a vocal ensemble that kicks in after Sting sings the first verse. While they harmonize in the background, Sting's deep, sensual voice recites a verse. It's definitely a lovely twist on a classic.
Cold Song features music by Henry Purcell and lyrics by John Dryden. This song has a staccato beat provided by soft strings and some of the most subtle percussion I've ever heard by Robert Sadin. The percussion is practically a whisper. The end result is so gentle, yet precise. I really love the melody of this song and its elegance.
The Burning Babe picks up the tempo again, with complex music by Chris Wood and lyrics by Robert Southwell. This is the first song on the album that reminds me of Sting's jazzier history, particularly when Kenny Garrett plays a soprano saxophone solo that reminds me a little of "Fortress Around Your Heart", a song from Sting's first solo album The Dream of the Blue Turtles.
Now Winter Comes Slowly is another song with music by Henry Purcell. Lyrics are this time provided by Thomas Betterton. This arrangement is heavy on strings, hauntingly played by Daniel Hope on violin, Dov Scheindlin on viola, Melissa Meell on cello, and Ira Coleman on bass. Hope, Scheindlin, and Meell blend so incredibly well as Coleman's thumping bass provides a backbone for their delicate, intricate playing. I almost wish this had been an instrumental.
Next comes Sting's remake of Hounds of Winter. I really like the way Sting has rearranged this song, removing the electric guitars and replacing them with strings, undulating percussion, and a melodeon played by Julian Sutton. He's dropped the key a step or two and changed this adult contemporary number into something much more complex and infinitely more interesting.
Balulalow features music by Peter Warlock and traditional lyrics. This song's simple melody is augmented by Sting and willowy background vocals by Lisa Fischer and Jasmine Thomas, which give this song sort of a windy sound. Oddly enough, though this is a gorgeous song, it reminds me a little of Vince Guaraldi's haunting arrangement of "The Little Drummer Boy" for A Charlie Brown Christmas. The string section from the Musica Aeterna Orchestra provide exquisite accompaniment. Daniel Druckman plays a subtle snare drum in the background, further reminding me of "The Little Drummer Boy".
I'm not as wild about the traditional Cherry Tree Carol, which features Sting accompanying his vocals as he plays guitar. Though it fits well with the rest of the music, it sort of pales in comparison with some of the other songs on this disc.
Sting and Dominic Miller teamed up to pen Lullaby for an Anxious Child, a comforting, elegant song meant to inspire sleep in a worried child. The melody is very pretty, but the tempo almost sounds a little too quick to be a lullaby. I still enjoy listening to it, even if I can't picture myself being lulled to sleep by it.
The Hurdy-Gurdy Man is a combination of music by Franz Schubert and poetry by Wilhelm Muller, the English adaption of which was done by Sting. Once again, the arrangement is spare, with Sting singing and playing guitar, Julian Sutton playing melodeon, and Daniel Hope playing violin. This one is not one of my favorites on this album, but I still find it pleasant to listen to.
You Only Cross My Mind in Winter is a song made through a marriage of music by J.S. Bach and Sting's lyrics. This song is positively sublime, with Bach's wonderfully calming melody matched with Sting's vocal reading, so calm and romantic. The strings from the Musica Aeterna Orchestra are back, as is Ira Coleman on bass. Edin Karamazov plays lute. It's a beautiful way to end the album, even if hearing Bach's music set to Sting's words makes me yearn just a little for the original piece.
Overall
I really like this album, even if I am a little amused by Sting's arrogance. In several instances on this album, he's taken music written by classical musical giants and words written by literary geniuses and either altered them to suit his tastes or paired them with his own music and words. I think it takes a certain amount of gall to be so assured of one's own abilities to engage in such an undertaking. And yet, for the most part, I really like what Sting has done, even if it sounds like maybe his vocals aren't quite what they once were. Maybe his talent really does match his ego after all.
This is a really peaceful, beautiful album, perfect for a quiet evening at home over dinner. Sting has teamed up with some truly wonderful singers and musicians and made something I think is quite special. It's kind of a holiday album, sure, but it's the kind of holiday album one can enjoy all year, even with its subtle references to Christmas. I would certainly recommend it to anyone who has an appreciation for complex music set with literary lyrics. Those who like their music a little more upbeat and less intellectual may not like it as much, but I doubt those people were the audience Sting was aiming for, anyway.
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