Mike Rowland's 1982 new age classic
Fairy Ring was recorded in
Rowland's living room; it was high on innocence, shy on panache -- in short, a resounding success. Thirteen years later, Netherlands composer Henk Alkema arranged the essence of
Rowland's themes for grand piano (played by
Kate Williams) and the Sylvan String Orchestra with woodwinds, horns, and harp. In Alkema's hands, the music springs to life with the impressionistic colors of
Debussy and the rhapsodic sweep of
Rachmaninoff. This suite is not a repeat of
Rowland's familiar themes, but a liberation of the nature in them. The treatment conjures up blossoming buds, water, and gently swirling winds. Gorgeous. ~ Carol Wright