Winter's Solstice: Silver Anniversary Edition CD

Includes liner notes by Dawn Atkinson.
This is part of Windham Hill Records "A Winter Solstice" series.
Personnel: Will Ackerman, Steve Erquiaga, Tim Ellis (guitar); W.G. Snuffy Walden (acoustic guitar, programming); George Doering (electric guitar); Barbara Higbie (bouzouki, hammer dulcimer, celtic harp, violin, piano, synthesizer); Michelle Sell (harp); Tracy Silverman (violin, electric violin, keyboards); John Fitzpatrick, Charlie Bisharat (violin); Martha Reikow, Joan Jeanrenaud (cello); Brian Dunning (flute, accordion); Thea Suits-Silverman (flute); Paul McCandless (oboe, English horn, keyboards); Kimberly Bryden (oboe d'amore); Philip Aaberg (piano, keyboards); Tim Story (piano, synthesizer); Jim Brickman, Liz Story (piano); Jeff Johnson (keyboards); Michael Manring (fretless bass); Caito Marcondes (pandeiro, caxixi); Gregg Williams (percussion).
Audio Mixers: Howard Johnston; Richard Schönerz; Jeff Johnson; Steven Miller ; Avi Kipper; Tracy Silverman; Tim Story.
Liner Note Author: Dawn Atkinson.
Recording information: Big Kitty Studios, Alameda, CA; Brick House Studio, Studio City, CA; Capitol Studios, Hollywood, CA; Coupe Studio, Boulder, CO; Different Fur Recording, San Francisco, CA; Farsight Strudio, Frankfurt, Germany; Gutlab South, Nashville, TN; Hooiserland Studio, Indianapolis, IN; Imaginary Road Studio, Windham County, VT; Jacordi Studio, Clane, County Kildare, Ireland; Main, Germany; Seventh Chance Studio, Maumee, OH; Taylor made Studios, Woodland Hills, CA; The Ark, Camano Island, WA; Zeta Recording, Toledo, OH.
Editor: Tracy Silverman.
Arrangers: Jeff Johnson; Ozzie Kotani; Paul McCandless; Steve Erquiaga; Barbara Higbie.
The classic new age holiday album Winter Solstice, Vol. 1: Silver Anniversary Edition collects smooth, gentle versions of holiday favorites and original pieces by leading lights of the genre, including Jim Brickman, Barbara Higbie, Will Ackerman, and Philip Aaberg. Steve Erquiaga's "Greensleeves," Brickman's "Shades of White," and Tim Story's "When Comes December" are quietly reverent celebrations of the season, while Tracy Silverman & Thea Suits' "The Gathering" and Ozzie Kotani's "Queen's Prayer" cast a warmer, more festive glow. In all, it's still a welcome collection of relaxing and elegant holiday music. ~ Heather Phares
One of the most well known productions of the Windham Hill label, which basically invented new age music but prefers the term "contemporary instrumental," has been the WINTER'S SOLSTICE series. Perhaps inspired by the season-based recordings of George Winston, the SOLSTICE albums (which feature tunes from a variety of the label's artists) have always been not Christmas albums per se, but winter albums. Of course, a few Yuletide-oriented tunes do find their way onto this, the anniversary edition of the first volume in the series, but for the most part these are agreeable sonic meditations on a wintry state of mind by the likes of Barbara Higbie, Liz Story, and label honcho Will Ackerman himself. If you listen close enough, you can almost hear the snow falling.