| The members of Western Wind, four men and two women, share an incredible depth of experience and scholarship.  Combine that a musical sensitivity that embraces almost any genre, and the result is a "musical history tour."  Beginning with the medieval, the group includes Rennaissance polyphony, African-American spirituals and Duke Ellington swing on their journey.  "Dolcissimo Uscignolo" and "L'Amfiparnaso" border on the operatic.  Philip Glass' "Vessels" (Glass is a contemporary composer of some repute) takes as a central concept a repetitive series of intervals, minor second, major second, minor third, though not in that order, juxtaposed against an arpeggiated scale or repeated tone, conveying a marvelous sense of energy, upward movement and growth.  Fifties doo-wop takes a turn with "Sh'boom, Life Could Be A Dream," though the vocal style is much too refined to resemble the original version(s). Four tracks have minimal accompaniment. |