''A Winter Symphony'' is a Christmas album from the English soprano singer Sarah Brightman, released in November 2008.

Album information

The album borrows its name from Brightman's earlier 2008 album, '' Symphony''. A deluxe edition was released through Barnes & Noble, which included extra tracks and a DVD that featured documentary segments: "The Making of ''A Winter Symphony''", a photo gallery, and Brightman's live performances of "Fleurs du Mal", " Symphony", "Let It Rain", and "Running" from

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's Fashion on Ice Show. Brightman chose a number of traditional songs from the season: "

Silent Night "Silent Night" (german: "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht", links=no, italic=no) is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an ...

", "In the Bleak Midwinter", and "Child in a Manger", as well as two versions of "Ave Maria", one being the classical piece by French composer

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

, and the other—in duet with tenor Fernando Lima—an original by Brightman and Mexican composer Jorge Avedaño. Included are also contemporary pop tunes, such as

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist ...

's "Colder Than Winter", a cover of Neil Diamond's "

I've Been This Way Before "I've Been This Way Before" is a song written and performed by Neil Diamond. It was released as the second single from Diamond's 1974 album ''Serenade''. "I've Been This Way Before" was Neil Diamond's third No. 1 on the Easy Listening chart and als ...

" and

Roy Wood Roy Wood (born 8 November 1946) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder of the Move, Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard. As a songwriter, he contributed a ...

's "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday". The set continues with a rendition of "

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both ...

" and closes with a reading of "

I Believe in Father Christmas "I Believe in Father Christmas" is a song by English musician Greg Lake with lyrics by Peter Sinfield. Although it is often categorised as a Christmas song, this was not Lake's intention. He said that he wrote the song in protest at the commercia ...

" originally by

Emerson, Lake & Palmer Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitar, producer) and Carl Palmer (drums, percus ...

. To promote the album, in the week of 15–22 December, Brightman's "Silent Night" was the iTunes "Free Single of the Week" and the video for "I Believe in Father Christmas" was launched to accompany the single. Brightman also performed at the "

Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade The ''Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade'' is an American television special that airs on Christmas Day annually on ABC, airing live and taped, primarily inside the Magic Kingdom theme park at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, approximately ...

", performing "Silent Night" on 23 December 2008, and it was broadcast by

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

on 25 December 2008. ''A Winter Symphony'' won Classical Album of the Year at the 23rd

Japan Gold Disc Awards The is an award presented by the Recording Industry Association of Japan The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Associa ...

Track listing

Singles

* "Silent Night (iTunes only)" (2008) * "I Believe in Father Christmas/I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday (promo-only)" (2008)

Chart performance

Selling about 14,000 copies in the first week in the United States, the album debuted at number thirty-eight on the '' Billboard'' Top 200. It also made another debuts such as the Top Classical Crossover Albums at number-three; It scored a number six in the Top Holiday Albums, being the first entry for Brightman on this chart and debuted at number-four on the Top Internet Albums. In Japan, the album debuted in the top 15, peaking at No. 12 selling 13,953 copies in its first week of release.

Charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winter Symphony, A Sarah Brightman albums Albums produced by Frank Peterson Christmas albums by English artists Manhattan Records albums 2008 Christmas albums Pop Christmas albums Classical Christmas albums Classical crossover albums