Winter's Knight is an album released by Nox Arcana

Nox Arcana

Nox Arcana is an American dark ambient musical group, formed in 2003 by Joseph Vargo and William Piotrowski. Nox Arcana specializes in concept albums based on gothic fiction and classic horror literature. Such literary references include: H. P. Lovecraft, The Brothers Grimm, Ray Bradbury, and Edgar...

 on Monolith Graphics in 2005

2005 in music

-Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:...

. The music is predominantly instrumental with a darker medieval flair, and is one of the Top 10 Gothic Christmas or Solstice albums.

The music is accented with Gregorian

Gregorian

Gregorian might refer to:* The thought or ideology of Pope Gregory I or Pope Gregory VII *Things named for Pope Gregory I:**Gregorian chant** Gregorian mass**Brotherhood of Saint Gregory...

 chanting, pipe organs, violins, and acoustic guitar. Some of the tracks contain vocals, such as the minstrel's rendition of "Past Time With Good Company." Other songs feature narration describing a tale of a ghostly knight who wanders the ruins of a haunted cathedral at wintertime. The story is set in the mythical Ebonshire forest. The booklet is decorated to look like an Illuminated manuscript

Illuminated manuscript

An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...

 and features the artwork of Joseph Vargo.

Winter's Knight hit #8 on the Billboard Music Chart for Top Holiday Albums of 2006.

Nox Arcana, already popular in the gothic genre, wanted to carry the gothic mood into the Christmas season, along the lines of Dickens' classic ghost story, A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...

.

Track listing

Music composed and performed by Joseph Vargo and William Piotrowski.

1. "Vigil" — 1:41
2. "Ghosts of Christmas Past" — 3:40
3. "Ebonshire" — 2:53
4. "Solitude" — 2:51
5. "Crystal Forest" — 3:17
6. "First Snow" — 4:36
7. "Evening Star" — 3:21
8. "Reflections of Long Ago" — 2:25
9. "December Winds" — 2:49
10. "Phantom Toccata" — 1:12
11. "Hallowed Ruins" — 2:28
12. "Gregorian Hymn" — 1:16
13. "Spirit of the Season" — 3:13
14. "Coventry Carol
    Coventry Carol
    The "Coventry Carol" is a Christmas carol dating from the 16th century. The carol was performed in Coventry in England as part of a mystery play called The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors. The play depicts the Christmas story from chapter two in the Gospel of Matthew...
    
    " — 3:23
15. "Lullaby" — 2:06
16. "Winter's Knight" — 3:53
17. "Past Time With Good Company
    Pastime with Good Company
    "Pastime with Good Company", also known as "The King's Ballad" , is an English folk song written by King Henry VIII in the first years of the 16th century, shortly after being crowned. It is regarded as the most famous of his compositions, and it became a popular song in England and other European...
    
    " — 3:33
18. "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" — 3:02
19. "Veni, Veni, Emmanuel
    O come, O come, Emmanuel
    O come, O come, Emmanuel is a translation of the Latin text by John Mason Neale and Henry Sloane Coffin in the mid-19th century. It is a metrical version of a collation of various Advent Antiphons , which now serves as a popular Advent hymn...
    
    " — 3:01
20. "Redemption" — 3:44
21. "Carol of the Bells
    Carol of the Bells
    "Carol of the Bells" is the common English language title of a Christmas carol of Ukrainian origin, which has in recent years grown in popularity, particularly in English-speaking countries. The work was originally a choral miniature composition by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych based on...
    
    " — 3:15

External links

• Nox Arcana official website
• The Tale of Winter's Knight
• Billboard Discography