I realize Christmas was only a few weeks ago, but I recently came across a mid-winter/Christmas concert given by Gordon Sumner, better known as Sting, at Durham Cathedral in 2009. It's basically a live performance of his album If On A Winter's Night, released earlier that year. He's accompanied by many musicians, making this effectively an orchestral recording.
I tried for a long time to think of the best tracks to play from this recording, but eventually decided I couldn't. They all blend together to make a melodious whole. Therefore, courtesy of YouTube, here's the entire concert. The track listing is:
1. The Snow It Melts The Soonest (Traditional / Gordon Sumner) - 00:00
2. Gabriel's Message (Edgar Pettman / Sabine Baring-Gould) - 03:50
3. Soul Cake (English County Song) - 07:27
4. There Is No Rose Of Such Virtue (Traditional / Gordon Sumner) - 13:25
5. Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming (Don Ross / Michael Praetorius) - 18:15
6. Christmas At Sea (Traditional / Gordon Sumner / Mary Macmaster) - 22:47
7. Now Winter Comes Slowly (Traditional / Gordon Sumner) - 28:36
8. Cold Song (Henry Purcell / John Dryden) - 31:48
9. The Burning Babe (Rick Kemp / Robert Southwell) - 36:18
10. Ghost Story (Gordon Sumner) - 40:28
11. Team Spirit (Kathryn and Peter Tickell) - 45:32
12. The Hounds Of Winter (Sting) - 49:33
13. Cherry Tree Carol (Traditional / Ritchie Jean) - 56:32
14. Balulalow (Traditional / Gordon Sumner) - 1:00:51
15. Bethlehem Down (Peter Warlock / Bruce Blunt) - 1:05:01
16. Coventry Carol - 1:08:35
17. Lullaby for an anxious child (Dominic Miller / Gordon Sumner) - 1:12:05
18. Christmas day - 1:18:41
Lovely music, and rather unlike much of the rest of Sting's prodigious output.
Peter
Stark reminder that these guys are insanely talented, even if I don't like their normal work. Some of the coolest albums are these cross-genre or unplugged collections.
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