The X-Files

This CD contains jazz arrangements of Edward MacDowell's Woodland Sketches.
Edward MacDowell (1861-1908) was an American composer for whom the MacDowell art colony in New Hampshire is named (it occupies his former acreage in Peterborough). WOODLAND SKETCHES is a delightful series of short pieces (all are under four minutes in length--most are under two) that draws from his impressions of the forested landscape around his rural home. They are here performed in two different guises; first by a sextet of strings, clarinet and flute, and then as solo piano pieces. This set eschews the Beau Hunks' jazzier inclinations and instrumentation, but still adheres to their gorgeously performed and painstakingly researched tradition of unearthing lost or forgotten works by great American composers. The pristine recording is supplemented by a beautifully designed booklet that includes notes, photographs, illustrations, and other documentation.