#Closer song list plus

Lawrence English has a natural affinity for winter music. The Rustle of the Stars imagines their hopes and their struggles as they wander into the great unknown.Ģ4) Lawrence English ~ For Varying Degrees of Winter (Baskaru, 2007) These musicians find sympathy in their stories and inject empathy into their eulogies. Occasionally a captain and crew would return from the polar regions outwardly victorious, but inwardly hollowed and hardened. The triumph and tragedy of the early explorers is lovingly outlined by Knox and Oberland in this bleak but emotionally satisfying opus. Oberland ~ The Rustle of the Stars (Gizeh, 2011) Now let’s take a look at what’s left: the “pure” winter albums in which vocals take a back seat to sound.Ģ5) Richard Knox & Frédéric D. And for vocal-based winter albums, we recommend Björk‘s Vespertine, Benni Hemm Hemm‘s Ein í leyni, and Sigur Rós‘ ( ). 1 in G Minor, op.13 “Winter Dreams” and the winter movements of Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, none of which are long enough to fill an album. For the most part, the albums at the summit remain near their initial positions, while newer recordings make their play at the base there are, however, a few exceptions and surprises.įor shorter winter-based classical works, we suggest Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.

Now we present only the best of the best, a list we hope will stand the test of time.

#Closer song list plus

With 25 releases on the initial list, plus 37 charted entries from 2011-14, there was plenty to choose from: a shortlist of 62 that had first been narrowed down from a longer list of over 100. The first version of this article appeared in 2011 and inspired A Closer Listen‘s popular year-end chart, The Year’s Best Winter Music. No matter what one’s winter preference, these albums provide the perfect accompaniment. But winter isn’t always stark on this list, you’ll also find music for sledding and making snow angels, as well as the natural music of field recordings. 2015 Edition! This is music for long, dark nights and cold, grey days, music to play when surrounded by howling winds and white drifts.