Winter's Knight

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Winter's Knight
Winter's Knight cover
Studio album by Nox Arcana
Released July 10, 2005
Genre Gothic Christmas
Label Monolith Graphics
Professional reviews

"All the enchantment and beauty of traditional classical Christmas music from the dark side. Very evocative of holiness as well as spine chillingly mysterious." — Morbid Outlook
Nox Arcana chronology
Necronomicon (2004) Winter's Knight (2005) Transylvania (2005)

Winter's Knight is an album released by Nox Arcana on Monolith Graphics in 2005. The music is predominantly instrumental with a darker medieval flair, and is one of the Top 10 Gothic Christmas or Solstice albums.[1] The music is accented with Gregorian chanting, pipe organs, violins, and acoustic guitar. Some of the tracks contain vocals, such as the minstrel's rendition of "Past Time With Good Company." Other songs feature narration describing a tale of a ghostly knight who wanders the ruins of a haunted cathedral at wintertime. The story is set in the mythical Ebonshire forest. The booklet is decorated to look like an Illuminated manuscript and features the artwork of Joseph Vargo.

Winter's Knight hit #8 on the Billboard Music Chart for Top Holiday Albums of 2006.[1]

Nox Arcana, already popular in the gothic genre, wanted to carry the gothic mood into the Christmas season, along the lines of Dickens' classic ghost story, A Christmas Carol.[2]

[edit] Track listing

Music composed and performed by Joseph Vargo and William Piotrowski.

  1. "Vigil" — 1:41
  2. "Ghosts of Christmas Past" — 3:40
  3. "Ebonshire" — 2:53
  4. "Solitude" — 2:51
  5. "Crystal Forest" — 3:17
  6. "First Snow" — 4:36
  7. "Evening Star" — 3:21
  8. "Reflections of Long Ago" — 2:25
  9. "December Winds" — 2:49
  10. "Phantom Toccata" — 1:12
  11. "Hallowed Ruins" — 2:28
  12. "Gregorian Hymn" — 1:16
  13. "Spirit of the Season" — 3:13
  14. "Coventry Carol" — 3:23[3]
  15. "Lullaby" — 2:06
  16. "Winter’s Knight" — 3:53
  17. "Past Time With Good Company" — 3:33[3]
  18. "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" — 3:02[3]
  19. "Veni, Veni, Emannuel" — 3:01[3]
  20. "Redemption" — 3:44
  21. "Carol of the Bells" — 3:15[3]

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Billboard Music Charts
  2. ^ Interview with Joseph Vargo at the Halloween Database
  3. ^ a b c d e New recordings of 5 traditional carols as indicated in cd liner notes.