And Winter Came…

And Winter Came...
Studio album by Enya
Released	10 November 2008
Recorded	2006–2008 at Aigle Studios, Dublin
Genre	New age celtic holiday
Length	45:00
Label	Warner Bros. Reprise
Producer	Tom Whalley (exec.) Nicky Ryan
Enya chronology
Amarantine (2005) And Winter Came... (2008) Dark Sky Island (2015)
Singles from And Winter Came
"Trains and Winter Rains" Released: 10 October 2008

And Winter Came... is the seventh studio album from Irish musician Enya. The album was announced by Enya via her official site on 12 September 2008, and was released on 7 November 2008.^[1] The songs on the album primarily have a Christmas or winter theme. Since its release, the album has sold more than 3 million copies.^[2]

Background

• In a video released on Enya's website on 26 October 2008^[3] Enya said this of the title of the album:

“

At the beginning, I intended to work on a Christmas themed album, and I thought it was going to be, um, mostly covers of Christmas carols, and some original Christmas pieces I would write. But, the theme that became very strong was the winter theme. Hence, the title And Winter Came...

”

• "And Winter Came ..." is a new version of the song "Midnight Blue" released with the "Wild Child" single.
• The bonus track, "Miraculum", is a Latin track dedicating the 20 years since Watermark, using the "One Toy Soldier" melody. It is the first Enya recording not being made available on physical media.

Songs

The album consists of 12 tracks: ten English songs, which are all original compositions, plus "Oíche Chiúin" being sung in Irish and '"Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel" in English and Latin. A couple of tracks of the new album are reworked versions of songs that Enya released in the past: "Oíche Chiúin" is a re-recording of a song that she released for the first time back in 1988, originally as a b-side of the "Evening Falls" single; "And Winter Came..." is a reworked version of the song "Midnight Blue", which had previously been released in 2001, originally as a b-side of the "Wild Child" single.

An announcement on Enya's official website, www.enya.com, on 18 September 2008 confirmed that the first single of the album, which was to be released on 7 November of that year, was "Trains and Winter Rains".^[4] However, unlike most Enya albums of the past, which have spawned one or more CD singles, often with non-album bonus tracks, there has to date been no release of any singles from this album on physical media.

Singles

• "Trains and Winter Rains" was released as a digital download in October 2008. It was released officially through Enya's website on 10 November 2008. The BBC Radio 2 show Wake up to Wogan was given the world exclusive to the new song, which aired on 29 September 2008. A music video that shows a boy's journey home was released on 22 October 2008

Promotional releases

• "White Is in the Winter Night" was released exclusively as a digital download on 4 November 2008.
• "My! My! Time Flies!" was released on 4 February 2009. It is the first ever Enya song to feature a steady drum track,a prominent 12-string guitar accompaniment and a full electric guitar solo. The guitar parts were played by Dublin-based guitarist Pat Farrell. The song is dedicated to the memory of Jimmy Faulkner, a well known Dublin guitarist who died in March 2008. The use of guitars in general is rare in Enya's recordings, with "Time Flies" being one of only a couple of recordings since Enya's 1986 track "I Want Tomorrow" to include the instrument.
• "Dreams Are More Precious" was released as a digital download on 10 October 2009. It was also released as a one-track promo CD in Japan.

All of the promos for these releases had the album edit of the song, except "Trains and Winter Rains", which had the radio edit of the song.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com	[5]
AllMusic	[6]
BBC Music	(positive)[7]
Sputnikmusic	(3/5)[8]
The Times	[9]

And Winter Came ... received mixed to positive reviews from music critics.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Roma Ryan, all music composed by Enya and all songs produced by Nicky Ryan. All instruments (except guitar on "My! My! Time Flies!") and vocals performed by Enya.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"And Winter Came..."	3:15
2.	"Journey of the Angels"	4:47
3.	"White Is in the Winter Night"	3:00
4.	"O Come, O Come, Emmanuel*"	3:40
5.	"Trains and Winter Rains"	3:44
6.	"Dreams Are More Precious"	4:25
7.	"Last Time by Moonlight"	3:57
8.	"One Toy Soldier"	3:54
9.	"Stars and Midnight Blue"	3:08
10.	"The Spirit of Christmas Past"	4:18
11.	"My! My! Time Flies!"	3:02
12.	"Oíche Chiúin*[10]" (Chorale*)	3:49

Bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
13.	"Miraculum[11]" (Available in mp3 format from Amazon.com and on some iTunes Stores. Also available in Lossless format from qobuz.com)	3:53

Charts, certifications and sales

Charts Country Position Argentina[12] 8 Australia[13] 7 Austria[14] 6 Belgium 1 Canada[15] 4 Czech Republic[16] 2 Denmark[17] 9 Europe[18] 2 Finland[19] 21 France[20] 9 Germany[21] 3 Greece[22] 15 Hong Kong[15] 1 Hungary[23] 3 Ireland[24] 13 Italy[25] 6 Japan[26] 6 Netherlands[27] 2 New Zealand[28] 9 Norway[29] 17 Poland[30] 16 Portugal[31] 15 Russia[32] 9 Spain[33] 2 Sweden[34] 4 Switzerland[35] 3 United Kingdom[36] 6 United States[37] 8 Year-end charts Chart (2008) Position Spain (PROMUSICAE)[38] 41 Chart (2009) Position Swiss Albums Chart[39] 36 The album also peaked at number-one on the Billboard "Top Holiday Albums" chart for a week[40] and four weeks in the "Top New Age Albums".[41] It also peaked number two on the Billboard "Top Internet Albums" chart.[42] The album peaked at No. 57 on the Billboard "Billboard Top 200" chart in 2009.[43] The album has so far peaked at No. 170 on the Billboard "Billboard Top 200" chart in 2010.[44]

Certifications and sales Region Certification Sales/shipments Australia (ARIA)[45] Platinum 70,000 Austria (IFPI Austria)[46] Gold 10,000 Belgium (BEA)[47] Platinum 30,000 Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[48] Gold 15,000 France (SNEP)[49] Gold 75,000 Germany (BVMI)[50] Platinum 200,000 Ireland (IRMA)[51] Platinum 15,000 Italy 60,000[52] Japan (RIAJ)[53] Gold 100,000 Netherlands (NVPI)[54] Platinum 60,000 New Zealand (RMNZ)[55] Platinum 15,000 Russia (NFPF)[56] Gold 10,000 Spain (PROMUSICAE)[57] Gold 40,000 Sweden (GLF)[58] Gold 20,000 Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[59] Platinum 30,000 United Kingdom (BPI)[60] Gold 100,000 United States (RIAA)[61] Gold 920,000[62] Summaries Europe (IFPI)[63] Platinum 1,000,000 Worldwide 3,000,000[2] ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone ^xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Production

• Vocals (tracks 2-12), Instrumentation (All tracks) performed by: Enya
• Featured lead & twelve-string guitarist : Pat Farrell (track 11)
• Arranged by Enya and Nicky Ryan
• Engineered and mixed by Nicky Ryan
• Lyrics (tracks 2-3, 5-11), Vocals (2-12) by: Roma Ryan
• Executive Producer : Tom Whalley
• Recorded at Aigle studio
• Mastered by Dick Beetham
• Photography by Simon Fowler
• Design and Art Direction by Stylorouge

References

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External links

• And Winter Came... at Discogs (list of releases)