Hello
candice, I have a been a fan of your music
since " Shadow of The Moon, and so
far have managed to collect everything you
have released, including the Castles And
Dreams dvd, which i think is excellent,
I only wish i had been at the concert, your
singing is clear, I hear every word,no need
for sub titles, and of course your guitarist
(Ritchie is his name right? ha ha ), is
in fine form as are the rest of the band,
thankyou for giving us this wonderful music,
I play it to my friends, and they all love
it..one question, can you tell me when you
and Ritchie were married please?
Thankyou again
Clive
Hello Clive,
Thanks and I am so pleased that you enjoyed
Castles and Dreams. Yes, that was a magical
night and a lot of work was put into that
DVD so its always nice to hear when people
enjoy it...
Ritchie and I have been together since 1989
and have been living together since 1991
and engaged since 1994. As for marriage,
well, we have yet to take that long trip
down the aisle...But when we do, I promise,
I will let everyone know...
Love,
Candice
Dear Candice,
Firstly I would like to thank you for sharing
your wonderful music with the world. I cannot
express how much your music has touched
my life. I was fortunate enough to attend
your holiday concert in New York and I will
never forget what a magical night it was!
I hope that you play New York soon, I would
love to see you and Blackmore's Night again.
My favorite Blackmore's Night song happens
to be "Fires at Midnight". I listen
to this song every day and find myself entranced
by the beautiful lyrics and instruments.
I was wondering if you could tell what inspired
you to write this song. What do the lyrics
mean and where do they come from?
Also, perhaps this is a rather stupid question,
but I was wondering if you could tell me
why a stuffed animal (a possum, I think)
is always tied to a pole on the stage when
you give a concert. I've seen this a few
times, on the DVD and in pictures. Can you
tell me what it means?
Thank you for your time, if you happen to
read this letter. I hope to see you in concert
soon!
Much love and thanks,
Lee Anne
Hello Lee Anne,
Thank you for your kind words and I'm so
glad to know that our music has inspired
you. That is a great compliment. Fires At
Midnight was taken from a melody written
by King Alfonse the 10th in the 12th century
in Spain. The lyric content was inspired
a night we spent in Czech Republic while
touring there. On the 30th of April they
have a traditional burning throughout the
fields and hills in the outskirts of Prague.
There were fires as far as the eye could
see. It was for Witches Night, you can read
more about it here.
That is what the song was born from, lyrically.
The wisdom of the olde ways, the magic and
mystery in nature and being in awe of it
all. Speaking to the stars to get guidance,
allowing the magic to surround you, and
not to be swept up in madness and superstition
that may pull you down. I hope this makes
sense...
As far as the possum is concerned: we have
many animals that call our garden their
home. One day, while recording, Ritchie
was putting down his guitar parts and a
possum came and looked in the window. He
sat there watching Ritchie until the guitar
tracks were complete, then he waddled away.
Ritchie loved this sight so much that he
wrote 2 songs for the possum: Possums Last
Dance and Possum Goes To Prague. So now,
wherever we go, we take the spirit of the
curious possum with us on stage and see
what other music he will inspire us to create!
Thanks for your questions.
Love and light,
Candice
Dear Candice,
I recently saw a presentation
on PBS and it was the first time I've ever
heard your music. I must say I love it.
I am so into the renaissance era
that I joined our local faire. I was wondering
where one might be able to
purchase a Shawm? I play the clarinet now
but would love to try something
new. Also where would one look to find one
that looks authentic? Thanks for
listening and I await your response. Keep
singing and keep that wonderful
smile of your's.
Christina m.
Hello Christina,
It is wonderful that you saw our PBS performance.
It will continue to be aired across the
USA throughout 2006. We were so pleased
to have worked together with them. As you
can imagine, shawms are not easily acquired.
I tend to get mine on our travels, by luck,
in some old music shops. I found a cornamuse
in New Hope Pennsylvania and a Pommard in
Czech! But for a good standard, I tend to
order mine through e-m-s.com in Bradford.
We stop off there whenever we are in England
and close enough to the shop and always
leave with at least one instrument! Also,
try experimenting. Reeds make all the difference,
so dont get discouraged on your first few
tries. you have to get a couple of reeds
and play with them a bit to know if they'll
be right for you and the instrument. But
since you already play the clarinet I'm
sure you know the blessings and curses or
reeds. The shawm is an interesting instrument
and well worth the aggravation! If its an
authentic bombastic sound you seek...look
no further! For a more rounded sound, try
a rauschepfife.
Best of luck,
Candice
Dear Candice,
My name is Petteri and I'm
from Finland.
I heard your music for the first time in
the last summer and I've been
totally hooked since then. And when I noticed
that you and Ritchie and the
other minstrels will be coming to Finland,
I was so happy. I bought the
tickets in the same moment and now I'm counting
down the days to meet you.
Thank you so much for making my dream coming
true.
I have also a few questions.
The first is about Ritchie. I've been
wondering, how many guitars does he have?
Lots of, that's for sure. That's
enough talking about Ritchie and his guitars.
Let's talk about you and your
collection of witches. How's your witch
collection doing, do you still keep
collecting them and perhaps you have some
from Finland also? My last
question is about your songs that you play
live. Have you played each one of
your songs live or is there some songs you
haven't?
I'm really looking forward
seeing you and I can't wait for your new
studio
album coming out.
Once again Thank You and
we'll see you soon,
Petteri
Hello Petteri,
I hope that you were at the show and had
a good time! Ritchie has quite a few guitars,
but when he plays around the house, as he
does for at least 6 hrs a day, he always
relys on his acoustics. Those are Fylde
and Lakewoods. The other guitars, if they
are to be used on tour, are usually in storage
and the ones that he doesnt often use...sometimes
he donates them to charities. But his favorites
are the ones that have stood the test of
time. I do still occasionally collect witches,
though I have quite a collection now too.
I usually only like to get them if they
are "different"...sort of like
I feel I am... or if they speak to me or
if they are given to me by fans. Then they
will come home with me and join the rest
of the group, though I am running out of
room! It is interesting to me thought how
something. like a witch, or it could be
anything for that matter, can appear so
different throughout the world, though it
is the same. The Pendle Witches of England,
the Smoker Witches in Germany; the Brazilian
Witches made of clay... There is a moral
to that somewhere...
As far as the songs go, there are many songs
that we haven't played live yet, and probably
never will. A lot of thought goes into the
set list- tempos, keys, how many songs the
band must remember... There are songs I'd
love to do, but they don't fit in unless
something else drops out. Which is a shame...
But with each new album, and aprx 16 songs
per album, it would be impossible to do
them all. Unless you're willing to watch
the show as it lasts for 3 days straight?
But just because they dont make it to the
stage doesnt mean theyre forgotten. Often
Ritchie and I go out and play those songs
to by-standers who are unfamiliar with what
we do and those songs make great impressions...
Love,
Candice
Dear Candice!
My name is Sergey Uvarov. I'm living in
Russia. I've seen your great performance
in Moscow at april 19, 2006. And it was
unforgettable!!!
Can I ask you some questions? What your
impression of russian audience and Russia?
And what song from "Village Lanterne"
is your favourite? My favourite song from
this CD is "Call It Love"! You
voice in this song is so sweet and charming,
melody is so nice, and words... words is,
I think, very wise!
I hope your answer me!
Thanks
Sergey Uvarov
Hello Sergey,
Thank you for your compliments... you are
very sweet. I always love going to Russia.
There is so much love for what we are doing
by the Russian audiences, they are true
lovers of music. As a matter of fact, I
brought my brother and sister to Moscow
and St Petersburg this year when we toured
their because I wanted them to see the Russia
I see, meet the people and enjoy the blinis!
And so much more... Here
are some pictures from our shows in
Russia in April. There were so many flowers
thrown on stage during the St Petersburg
show that I couldn't take them all with
me... I love that the people thought enough
of us to shower us with flowers...So I take
photos of them so they will last forever
as will my memories of those nights. Then,
when I must leave the country, I donate
the flowers to a local hospital so that
the people who are sick and healing will
have something to brighten their day as
well...So thank you all for helping to share
the love! My favorite song on Village Lanterne
always changes depending on my mood... I
am so happy with Windmills, lyrically; Faerie
Queen I think the magic and innocence shines
through; oh, it is so hard to choose...
But I am so happy that you liked Call It
Love! That is one of my songs that sat on
a shelf collecting dust for a few years
before it found a home as a bonus track.
I really must get to recording some more
of those songs! All in good time...
Love,
Candice
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nightanswers@aol.com
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