When It's Time For Letting Go...And Letting God: Music To Heal The Heart
In many ways, this is Serenity Records' flagship recording; many of their major artists, including Rob Whitesides-Woo, Shardad Rohani, Max Highstein, and Scott Fitzgerald appear on it, and the label itself says that this CD represents "what Serenity is all about." The first pleasant surprise is that this album lacks the saccharine sweetness that infects most recordings of this nature. Instead, although a mood of quiet calm pervades all of the music here, as one might expect, there is also a great deal of variety. "Full Circle Waltz" (Highstein) is full of running piano scales and interesting interplay between the instruments; Whitesides-Woo contributes both a lullaby ("Cradle Song") and the mythical, monarchial "Coeur de Lion." Rohani, an orchestral conductor as well as composer and arranger, turns in several cinematic pieces, and Scott Fitzgerald's "Celebration" is an evocative piano piece. Depending on what you like to listen to when you want to relax, this may or may not be your cup of tea. However, the music is straightforward and unpretentious, and more adventurous than one might expect. --Genevieve Williams