The Fairy Ring

by Carol WrightMike 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.