|
|
 |
CD Review
|
| Click Here to go back. |
Amazon.com, CD Review >>
For the last 25 years Paul Winter has been performing winter solstice shows in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. By and large, this is where he has stretched his music, working with virtuoso players from across the musical spectrum, but especially world music. Irish piper Davey Spillane and singer Nóirín ní Riain, Armenian percussionist Arto Tuncboyaciyan, Brazilian guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves, and the Russian Dmitri Pokrovsky Singers join the Winter Consort in songs that tap a different spirit in the winter season. The cathedral facilitates an embracing aura so that Spillane's uilleann pipe lament on "Dawnwalker" segues into Tuncboyaciyan's mournful hymn, "Before It's Too Late," as if they were the same piece. Perhaps a lament taps the same spirit in any language or culture, be it Irish or Armenian. Besides all the global themes, there's quintessential Consort classical-folk-jazz like the Winter-penned "Harvest Faire," where his soprano dances in the cathedral eaves amidst Spillane's pipes and the Balkan-based rhythms. Most of Silver Solstice is drawn from the 2004 performance, but there are some previously recorded renditions here, and several songs had previous incarnations on the limited-edition release of Solstice Gems. So to longtime Winter fans, this may seem like a glorified greatest-hits collection. But that limited-edition release is now out of print, making Silver Solstice the definitive document of this annual event. In addition to the two main discs, there is also a DVD-Audio disc with 5.1 surround mixes that puts you in the middle of the cathedral.
-John Diliberto 12/14/05 >> go there
|
| Click Here to go back. |
|
 |
|
|
|
