''Wintersmith'' is the twenty-second studio album by

British folk rock British folk rock is a form of folk rock which developed in the United Kingdom from the mid 1960s, and was at its most significant in the 1970s. Though the merging of folk and rock music came from several sources, it is widely regarded that the ...

band

Steeleye Span Steeleye Span are a British folk rock band formed in 1969 in England by Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings and established London folk club duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. The band were part of the 1970s British folk revival, and we ...

. It was released in October 2013. It features the line-up of

Maddy Prior Madelaine Edith Prior MBE (born 14 August 1947) is an English folk singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span. She was born in Blackpool and moved to St Albans in her teens. Her father, Allan Prior, was co-creator of the police dr ...

, Peter Knight,

Rick Kemp Frederick Stanley 'Rick' Kemp (born 15 November 1941) is an English bass player, guitarist, songwriter, vocalist and record producer, best known for his work with the British folk rock band Steeleye Span. Projects In the 1960s, he shot to prom ...

, Julian Littman,

Pete Zorn Pete Zorn (29 May 1950 – 19 April 2016) was an American multi-instrumentalist who was a longstanding member of Richard Thompson's backing band. He was also a member of Steeleye Span, The Albion Band, and Driver 67. Career As a member of Tho ...

and

Liam Genockey Liam Genockey (born 12 August 1948) is an Irish musician, who is the drummer with British folk rock band Steeleye Span. Biography Genockey was born in Dublin, Ireland. During the 1960s he lived in Plymouth, Devon, U.K, playing in local semi-p ...

. Guest musicians are

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his ''Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first nov ...

(voice),

Kathryn Tickell Kathryn Tickell, OBE, DL (born 8 June 1967) is an English musician, noted for playing the Northumbrian smallpipes and fiddle. Music career Early life Kathryn Tickell was born in Walsall, then in Staffordshire, to parents who originated from N ...

(

Northumbrian pipes The Northumbrian smallpipes (also known as the Northumbrian pipes) are bellows-blown bagpipes from North East England, where they have been an important factor in the local musical culture for more than 250 years. The family of the Duke of Nor ...

), Bob Johnson (vocals), and

John Spiers John Spiers (born 1975) is an English diatonic button accordion, melodeon, concertina and bandoneon player. He is widely recognised as one of the leading English melodeon players of his generation. Career file:Purbeck_Valley_Folk_Festival_2 ...

(melodeon). The songs on the album were inspired principally by ''

Wintersmith ''Wintersmith'' is a comic fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, set in the Discworld and written with younger readers in mind. It is labelled a "Story of Discworld" to indicate its status as children's or young adult fiction, unlike ...

'' and other

Discworld ''Discworld'' is a comic fantasy"Humorous Fantasy" in David Pringle, ed., ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' (pp.31-33). London, Carlton,2006. book series written by the English author Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat pla ...

books featuring

Tiffany Aching Tiffany Aching is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's satirical ''Discworld'' series of fantasy novels. Her name in Nac Mac Feegle is Tir-far-thóinn or "Land Under Wave". Tiffany is a trainee witch whose growth into her job forms one of ...

. There is a spoken contribution by the author,

. A double CD Deluxe Edition was released in October 2014: the second disc featured a mixture of new tracks, live performances and demos.

Personnel

;Steeleye Span *

– vocals * Peter Knight – violin, vocals (except CD2, tracks 1-4) *Jessie May Smart – violin on "deluxe version" CD2, tracks 1 to 4 *

– bass, vocals *Julian Littman – guitar, piano, vocals *

– acoustic guitar, saxophone, vocals *

– drums, percussion with: *

– melodeon *

– Northumbrian pipes * Bob Johnson – vocals *

– voice (spoken word)

Tracks

2013 Standard Edition

#"Overture" #"The Dark Morris Song" #"Wintersmith" #"You" #"The Good Witch" – featuring Terry Pratchett (spoken word) #"Band of Teachers" #"

The Wee Free Men ''The Wee Free Men'' is a 2003 comic fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, which takes place in his Discworld setting. It is labelled a "Story of Discworld" to indicate its status as children's or young adult fiction, unlike most of ...

" #"Hiver" #"Fire & Ice" #"The Making of a Man" #"Crown of Ice" #"First Dance" #"The Dark Morris Tune" #"The Summer Lady" #"Ancient Eyes" #" We Shall Wear Midnight"

2014 Deluxe Edition

Tracks - Deluxe Edition Disc 2: #"To Be Human" #"Be Careful What You Wish for" #"Granny Aching" #"Just One Heart" #"You" (live) #"Ancient Eyes" (live) #"The Dark Morris Tune" (live) #"The Dark Morris Song" (live) #"The Making of a Man" (live) #"Crown of Ice" (live) #"Summer Lady" (live) #"We Shall Wear Midnight" (live) #"Ancient Eyes" (demo) #"The Wee Free Men" (demo)

Chart performance

''Wintersmith'' debuted at No. 77 on the UK Albums Chart.

Critical reception

The album received very positive reviews and has been described as "a marriage between the written word and music that is devastatingly superb." Folk Radio UK hailed the release as "a concept album it has that feel of being made for a stage production".

References

Steeleye Span albums 2013 albums Albums produced by Chris Tsangarides Discworld Adaptations of works by Terry Pratchett Concept albums {{2000s-folk-album-stub