Windham Hill never fails to have new (or in this case, old) ideas for
specialty albums. Kind of the K-tel of the New Age music world and I mean that in a good way. This particular album is a collection of contemporary recordings of rediscovered music from the 16th and 17th centuries in Europe. As usual WH has gathered contributions from many of their talented musicians such as David Arkenstone, Liz Story and George Winston along with several groups devoted to playing period music such as Piffaro and Ex Umbris.

The music ranges from the stately court styles to folk tunes often using instruments of the period to lend authenticity to the sound and atmosphere.

The opening cut feature three Italian dances played by Piffaro on flute
and pennywhistle. You can picture the lords and ladies engaging in stately
dancing with a lot of bowing and curtseying. The female ensemble,  Angels of Venice plays a rather baroque version of the French "Si Ji Perdais Mon Ami" making the steel guitar seem like a medieval instrument.

George Winston plays "Villanelle" on the slack key guitar which sounds
soft enough to spin clouds from. Lisa Lynne's harp gives creedence to the
title "How Sweet the Torment" Punish me some more Lisa!

Two groups formed expressly to play period music, Ex Umbris and Ensemble de Medici both exhibit the stark simplicity of these music forms where one or just a few instruments provided entertainment. The madrigal form is represented by a piece from Tim Story showing it's not just something for Christmas as many people are accustomed to thinking.

Famed Rennaissance players, Baltimore Consort, give us a sprightly
version of "Les Buffons" about a french jester while Arkenstone's latin choral piece rings of cathredals.

Husband and wife team, the Silvermans on flute and cello render a
beautiful version of Byrd's "Regina Caeli" while the Phillips give us English folk tunes on period instruments.    Michael Hedges flute and acoustic guitar gives us the marchlike "Fantasia" which reminded me one of those 'round the maypole' village dances where everyone joins in.    

But the most surprising piece on this album is from the Wilson sisters of
Heart fame. Their sly rendering of the bawdy "My Thing Is My Own" surprised the hell out of me as the final cut on the album. Certainly it is full of the double entendre's and wordplay we associate with Shakespeare's plays. 

There are seventeen cuts in all with a variety of tempos and styles but all
harkening back to an era of astonishing attention to the fine arts, the
Rennaissance. While most of the pieces may be unfamiliar there is no question of their appeal to those who enjoy period or light classical works. Decidely different, but worth listening to.