Forget the tacky title. There’s some fine music in this collection of generally meditative music. The outstanding items are John Alden Carpenter’s lovely Sea Drift, and Thomas Canning’s Fantasy on a Hymn Tune of Justin Morgan. Canning’s work is a shameless plagiarism of Vaughan Williams’ Tallis Fantasia, but no less enjoyable for that, especially if you feel that it was all down hill for Vaughan Williams after the Tallis Fantasia. I don’t, but some do. The Barber Adagio puts in an appearance, presumably as a familiar anchor included to induce people afraid of everything else on the disc to buy it anyway. Good luck. It’s wonderful to have these worthy works gathered together on one CD. Not only are they fine in and of themselves, but they also serve to remind us how much really excellent American music is regularly neglected both in concert and on recordings. Raymond Leppard and the Indianapolis Symphony have absolutely nothing to fear from more famous ensembles, and the recorded sound is great. This is a lovely compilation. [10/15/1999]
