Winter Magic (album)

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.[1] The album features traditional Christmas songs (like Coventry Carol) and more contemporary Christmas songs (as Joni Mitchell's classic, River).[2]

Winter Magic
Studio album by
Hayley Westenra
Released16 November 2009
GenreClassical, Christmas music, Traditional music
LabelDecca Records, Universal Music Group
Hayley Westenra chronology
Hayley Sings Japanese Songs 2
(2009)		 Winter Magic
(2009)		 Paradiso
(2011)

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".[3] Westenra’s ability to achieve such variety in a single album has garnered her critical praise.[4]

Track listing
  1. Little Road to Bethlehem
  2. Carol of the Bells
  3. Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)
  4. Veni Veni Emmanuel
  5. Silent Night
  6. Christmas Morning
  7. Sleigh Ride
  8. River
  9. Little Drummer Boy
  10. Corpus Christi Carol
  11. All with You
  12. Coventry Carol
  13. Winter's Dream
  14. Peace Shall Come
  15. On the Wings of Time (Japanese Bonus Track)
  16. 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) Peak
Position
New Zealand Music Charts 20
Taiwan Classical Album Charts 1
U.S. Billboard Classical Albums Charts[5] 11
UK Classical Album Charts 9
UK Album Charts 95

Tours

Asia
  1. 3 October 2009– National Theater and Concert Hall, Republic of China, Taipei
  2. 11 October 2009– Music in the Air Festival, Tokyo International Forum
  3. 12 October 2009– Kobe International House, Kobe
  4. 15 October 2009– Shirakawa Hall, Sakae, Nagoya
  5. 17 October 2009– Tokorozawa Civic Cultural Centre Muse, Tokorozawa, Saitama
  6. 18 October 2009– Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall, Yokohama

United Kingdom
  1. 23 November 2009– Peterborough Cathedral
  2. 24 November 2009– Ripon Cathedral
  3. 26 November 2009– Manchester Cathedral
  4. 28 November 2009– Banbury St. Mary's
  5. 2 December 2009– Tewkesbury Abbey
  6. 3 December 2009– Exeter Cathedral
  7. 14 December 2009– Norwich Cathedral
  8. 19 December 2009– Bristol Cathedral
  9. 21 December 2009– Barbican Centre

References
  1. "Westenra albums on Japan market". www47.tok2.com. 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  2. "Hayley Westenra album on iTunes". 30 November 2009. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  3. "Westenra albums on marbecks". marbecks.co.nz. 16 November 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  4. "Hayley Westenra albums review by Matt Rowe". 8 July 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  5. "Classical Albums Chart History". December 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
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