Winter Magic is a Christmas album by Christchurch, New Zealand soprano Hayley Westenra. The album was called Christmas Magic in some territories, and was released in Japan as Winter Magic: Fuyu No Kagayaki – Koibito Tachi No Pure Voice. The album features traditional Christmas songs (like Coventry Carol) and more contemporary Christmas songs (as Joni Mitchell's classic, River).
Winter Magic includes "The Little Road to Bethlehem", "Silent Night", "Veni Veni Emmanuel", "The Little Drummer Boy", and "The Coventry Carol", among other seasonal songs. These Christmas tunes combine Westenra's voice with the accompaniment of a choral group. Westenra herself wrote three new songs for the CD: "Peace Shall Come", "All With You", and "Christmas Morning". The variety of melodies, as well as the different genres, of the songs included were designed to showcase the versatility of Hayley's voice to perform classically, as in "Corpus Christi Carol", as well as in a considerably more "pop" style for songs like "Peace Shall Come". Westenra's ability to achieve such variety in a single album has garnered her critical praise.
Track listing Little Road to Bethlehem Carol of the Bells Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) Veni Veni Emmanuel Silent Night Christmas Morning Sleigh Ride River Little Drummer Boy Corpus Christi Carol All with You Coventry Carol Winter's Dream Peace Shall Come On the Wings of Time (Japanese Bonus Track) It's Only Christmas (with Ronan Keating (from Boyzone) - UK and NZ Bonus Track)
Release history Region Date Label Format Catalogue Japan 30 September 2009 Universal Music Japan CD/Download New Zealand 23 November 2009 Universal New Zealand CD/Download United States 24 November 2009 Decca CD/Download United Kingdom 30 November 2009 Decca CD/Download
Charts
Album Chart (2009)PeakPositionNew Zealand Music Charts20Taiwan Classical Album Charts1U.S. Billboard Classical Albums Charts11UK Classical Album Charts9UK Album Charts95
Tours
Asia 3 October 2009– National Theater and Concert Hall, Republic of China, Taipei 11 October 2009– Music in the Air Festival, Tokyo International Forum 12 October 2009– Kobe International House, Kobe 15 October 2009– Shirakawa Hall, Sakae, Nagoya 17 October 2009– Tokorozawa Civic Cultural Centre Muse, Tokorozawa, Saitama 18 October 2009– Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall, Yokohama
United Kingdom 23 November 2009– Peterborough Cathedral 24 November 2009– Ripon Cathedral 26 November 2009– Manchester Cathedral 28 November 2009– Banbury St. Mary's 2 December 2009– Tewkesbury Abbey 3 December 2009– Exeter Cathedral 14 December 2009– Norwich Cathedral 19 December 2009– Bristol Cathedral 21 December 2009– Barbican Centre
References
External links
Japanese Edition Info Japan Tour on Hayley Westenra International