Windham Hill Rules!
It's nice when a label that began before CDs appeared never loses its excellence. I have Winter Solstice I, II, and IV (waiting for III to arrive in my mailbox) and, quite frankly, can't say which is my favorite. Perhaps my favorite is whichever one I'm listening to at the moment. Having said that, I'll confess that on this CD "Wexford Carol" and "Sheep May Safely Graze" do not have the sound one usually hears when the Mormons or Cambridge (Bach Choir) etal do them. (Not that I dislike any of these groups; on the contrary, I love them and play their Christmas music year-round.) Perhaps that's because Nightnoise and Modern Mandolin Quartet have unique sounds all their own (and Windham's own, too) that make these pieces seem even older than the orchestra renderings. But then, that's what makes Windham so Windham Wonderland. Long may they wave.
