Swan Hill

'Carmina Burana' stands tall as one of the great 20th-century masterpieces of choral music. Well-known for it's opening theme "O Fortuna," the work has garnered critical acclaim since it's inception in the 1930's. Carl Orff composed the material from a collection of 13th-century Latin and German poems written by Benedictine monks in Beuren and the melodies are at times tender, full of beauty, yet scandalous in nature.

Like 1994's Forest, George Winston's 1999 album Plains is inspired by the subtle beauty of America's landscapes. Pieces like "Dubuque" and "Muliwai" evoke regions as diverse as Montana's fields and Hawaiian shores, but Winston's distinctive piano stylings unite the songs into a cohesive vision. Though his interpretation of Sammy Cahn's "Teach Me Tonight" is unremarkable, his cover of Sarah McLachlan's "Angel" and originals like "Cloudburst," "The Swan," "Rainsong," and the title track showcase Winston's unique ability to transform nature into expressive piano pieces.