Ritchie Blackmore has been known worldwide for his guitar shredding in DEEP PURPLE and RAINBOW. He has also shown hints of his penchant for medieval music in both of those bands. That 18th and 19th Century love, though, has only truly come to the fore within the acoustic context of his "renaissance rock" project, BLACKMORE'S NIGHT. Together with his wife, award-winning vocalist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist Candice Night (often compared to Stevie Nicks and Karen Carpenter), BLACKMORE'S NIGHT is currently celebrating the band's twentieth anniversary. Passionate about the musical melodies and styles of the past, combined with their love for the spirit of the holiday season, they recorded "Winter Carols" to share with their fans, friends and BLACKMORE'S NIGHT families. "Winter Carols" is holiday music at its best, performed and sung as it was hundreds of years ago, when the peasants and royalty alike shared the jovial spirit of the holidays. For this very special re-release of their holiday album (out on digital formats on September 22, on CD October 13), BLACKMORE'S NIGHT included three brand new recordings of "Deck The Halls", "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and "Oh Christmas Tree". Each song, arranged by Ritchie Blackmore, is lovingly filtered through the BLACKMORE'S NIGHT prism, given an eclectic renaissance touch topped with Candice Night's ethereal vocals. It's this love of renaissance-based and classical melodies that endears BLACKMORE'S NIGHT to hundreds of thousands of fans worldwide. Their unique genre is classified as "fantasy music for all ages." "The holiday season has always embodied joy, love, peace and togetherness," says Candice. "We are entranced by the magic of the season. The sentiments of the holidays are what we try to express in our music year round — so this CD is a natural progression. All the music we craft and create has always been about love, unity and friendship. These songs as a whole are beautiful unifying carols. Feel the warmth of friendship! Everyone can join in." "The origin of the word 'carol' means 'dance','" adds Ritchie. "I am naturally attracted to these melodies. As a kid, I would go from house to house during the holiday time and sing them just to earn some money. As an adult, I thought I could play them and make more money!" Track listing: 01. Deck The Halls 02. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 03. Oh Christmas Tree 04. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing/Come All Ye Faithful 05. I Saw Three Ships 06. Winter (Basse Dance) 07. Ding Dong Merrily On High 08. Ma-O-Tzur 09. Good King Wencesla 10. Lord Of The Dance/Simple Gifts 11. We Three Kings 12. Wish You Were Here 13. Emmanuel 14. Christmas Eve 15. We Wish You A Merry Christmas
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