Summer is just around the corner, but Sting has another season on his mind. The singer announcedВ yesterday (June 17) that his next album, 'If On a Winter's Night...,' will be inspired by his favorite time of year and feature two original compositions as well as traditional songs, carols and lullabies from the British Isles. The album is slated for release October 27 on Deutsche Grammophon.
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В "The theme of winter is rich in inspiration and material," Sting said in a statement. "By filtering all of these disparate styles into one album I hope we have created something refreshing and new."В В 
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'If On A Winter's Night' finds Sting collaborating with Robert Sadin, who produced and arranged Herbie Hancock's Grammy-winning 'Gershwin's World,' and a host of guest musicians including his longtime guitarist Dominic Miller. The artist's original compositions are entitled 'Lullaby for an Anxious Child' and 'The Hounds of Winter,' and among the traditional songs being interpreted are the Newscastle ballad 'The Snow It Melts the Soonest,' the English "begging" song 'A Soalin',' and 'Gabriel's Message,' a carol that dates back to the 14th century.
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Of his deep affinity for winter, Sting explained, "Our ancestors celebrated the paradox of light at the heart of the darkness, and the consequent miracle of rebirth and the regeneration of the seasons."
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Sting's 2006 album 'Songs from the Labyrinth,' inspired by the lute songs of English composer John Dowland, has sold 259,000 according to Nielsen SoundScan.