In a gentle, even spiritual renewal, this CD, prepared and arranged by "Paul Winters," is the perfect tonic for an early summer morning. Picture a 4:30 a.m. sunrise concert inside New York's Cathedral of St. John the Divine; the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world. Utilizing St. John's pipe organ, and several of the finest Irish and Irish-American Celtic musicians, Mr. Winters created an event of incredible beauty and depth. He didn't restrict himself to the traditional forms of Celtic music only. This album is a delightful mix of the traditional and the new. Mr. Winters, among a few select others, has brought his fortunate listeners the joy and beauty of Uilleann pipes in a modern setting.

Among the 12 tracks on this album, we are treated to the rich and bluesy Uilleann pipes, a Celtic harp, a welsh triple harp, the bodhran (a wonderfully expressive percussion instrument), a soprano sax, various whistles, a flute, piano, guitar, bass, other forms of percussion and of course, the pipe organ.

The straight instrumentals are moving, lilting, and even haunting at times. For example, opening the very first cut, "Triumph", a single "A" hangs in the air, dips down just a touch and then rises into a melody line, leisurely, almost tentatively. Soon, the pipe organ emerges from the dark; strengthening, building, note upon note, retaining each chord in sympathy and harmony with the sax, until, at long last, the Uilleann pipes join in echoing and winding around the sax. All three build together in crescendo and then drop away to take turns carrying the line, passing it back and forth in a soulful and wistful improvisation. It's a very impassioned sunrise, and an uplifting eye opener.

A high point of the CD is the sixth track, a merging of two distinct tunes "My Fair and Faithful Love/ Blarney Pilgrim", one a song performed instrumentally only, the other a jig. The song, performed at first only by Winters himself on the sax, is then joined by whistles, piano, and fiddle. This is a preparation for the jig. Spritely and light-hearted, the song evolves into the dance which then takes on new depth in a lovely improvisation by Winters. The melody line is then taken over by the other instruments and shared at different times by a whistle, a fiddle and a lovely assortment of percussions, building and building to a sweeping and grand finish. Sheer fun!

In direct opposition to the sixth cut, the ninth is mournful and melancholy. "The Minstrel's Adieu" is as funereal a piece as Mozart's Requiem. Winters, again on sax, joins Carol Thompson on the Welsh triple harp as pall bearers for this 2 minute dirge composed by Welsh harpist John Thomas, approximately 100 years ago. It definitely carries the weight of a casket.

The songs on this album are not only beautiful musically, but contain some of the sweetest poetry to pass a listener's ears. The second, seventh and eleventh tracks treat us to the Gaelic renderings of Karan Casey's dulcet soprano. The second cut and the eleventh (a reprise) are adapted from W. B. Yeats' "The Song of Wandering Aengus," which has come to be known as "Golden Apples of The Sun." For those of you uninitiated to the magic of hazel wood branches bearing silver and golden bells with which to cast spells over those about, prepare for the story of the legendary Kelpie, sung in Karan's golden belled voice.

"A Chomaraigh Aoibhinn Ó (Sweet Comeraghs)," the seventh track poetically illuminates, "Cliffs and steep slopes in every direction,/ Like a satin weave from a magic loom,/ As the dew falls from the heavens high,/ Sweet Comeragh." Casey's voice weaves a tapestry of the majestic Comeragh Mountains in County Waterford, Ireland. I dare you not to heave a sigh of pleasure while listening to her!

We are fortunate that Winters gathered these artists together and allowed Windham Hill to record this event for us to enjoy. Now just go get it, and hear it for yourself. Me? I'm going to enjoy listening to this one for years to come.