The contents of this release appear at first glance, and even after closer inspection, to have little in the way of a unifying theme, except that all the works are by either U.S. or Canadian composers and have an essentially lyrical character. In the notes, composer
Malcolm Bruno gamely tries to tease out other commonalities: the works all relate to childhood (except for
James D'Angelo's The Loves of Krishna and The Dance of Krishna, and
Bernstein's La Bonne Cuisine), or all are by composers whose musical lineage can be traced directly back to
Nadia Boulanger (except
Libby Larsen), or they all include the voice (except
D'Angelo's Krishna pieces, for recorders and piano). Nonetheless, it is a lovely collection, both in its individual works and as a totality. The
American Boychoir, led by
James Litton, is prominently featured, and sings with spirit and pure tone, but the clipped precision of the singers' accents makes them sound more British than American, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, just odd, especially in
Copland's Old American Songs. Soprano
Patricia Petibon is absolutely radiant and delightful in the album's many selections in French --
Barber's Mélodies passagères,
Bruno's Trois Noëls Québécois, and
Bernstein's La Bonne Cuisine -- as well as in
Dello Joio's A Jubilant Song, and mezzo-soprano
Catherine King is equally effective in songs by
Barber and
Bruno. The sound is mostly good -- clean and bright -- but sometimes initial consonants come across as distractingly explosive.