100 YEARS or, "The Country at One Hundred" is a large suite, a collective work of the Prague Six, the composers concentrated around the Concept Art Orchestra big band. The composition originated as a tribute to the one hundredth anniversary of the foundation of Czechoslovakia in 2018 and consists of six parts in which the authors allude to various periods in the history of the Czechoslovak and later Czech Republic, with originality and energy typical of the big band. Štepánka Balcarová, Jan Jirucha, Luboš Soukup, Martin Brunner, Tomáš Sýkora and Vít Krištan each have authored one of the six movements in which they make full use of all the orchestration possibilities offered by a big band, expanding these with non-traditional instruments such as Ondes Martenot, the chimes or Moog synthetizer. The individual compositions also include sensitive references to period music and samples and citations from political speeches. The fourth movement, dedicated to the period of the so-called normalization in the 1970s and 1980s and based on the motives of a song by The Plastic People of the Universe, features a special guest, the saxophonist Vratislav Brabenec. This, already third recording by Concept Art Orchestra on the Animal Music label confirms the indisputable place of the band (the holder of the 2015 Andel Award for the best jazz album of the year) on the current big-band scene and testifies to their capacity to create original works rooted in the current musical and historical context as well as perform them to the highest professional standards.

A glorious choral Christmas collection of music from around the world! Through Chris de Silva’s incredible choral writing and inspired instrumental scoring, the themes of Christmas are exquisitely retold – those of light, darkness, shepherds, angels, heaven, earth, fear, wonder, peace, joy, silence, and sound. Chris de Silva’s formal, classical composition training shines through on each piece. From the joyfully powerful “Singing, We Come Singing” to the regal “The Child Is Born in Bethlehem” and the dance-like “Shepherds on to Bethlehem,” each of these eight pieces work beautifully as stand-alone choices for your choir’s Christmas celebrations. Together, the pieces would work well as part of a well-rounded lessons and carols service. For choral music lovers, the Mysterium recording will become one of your seasonal favorites!

Violeta Vicci is a multifaceted, contemporary artist and musician. Of Catalan - Swiss descent, based in London, she feels comfortable genre-crossing from Classical to Improvisation, Ethno Avantgarde, Ambient, Multilayered Electronics, her influences ranging from traditional to pop. The original idea for the album stems from the reflection of elements between Bach’s E Major Partita and Ysaÿe’s second Solo Sonata. A journey not only through time, but to the most unusual of spaces. The album opens with world premiere recording of Ragnar Söderlind’s natural and mystical Elegie for solo violin, balanced out by the serene expression of the Vocalise for solo voice, seeped in orientalism, by Jean-Louis Florentz. Violeta Vicci isn’t just an accomplished violinist and singer, but plays the viola, present in both the folklore inspired world premiere recording Suite by British composer Imogen Holst, and the closing piece of the album, the Sarabande in C Minor by Bach. Between the compositions, are improvisations, some solo, some two voices intertwined as “overdubs”, acting as transitions and woven into the very fabric of the album. Violeta Vicci’s “Mirror Images” is one of the most surprising and contemporary Solo-Albums of our time. A concept album beyond intellectual reasoning, an album of all encompassing, spellbinding dramatic art.

This release features a collection of works for flute and piano written by a group of contrasting French composers during the exciting Belle Époque period, which occurred between the end of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. ‘Chant dans la nuit’ is the outcome of a ten-year project which has involved flautist Filippo Mazzoli and pianist Nathalie Dang in intense, pioneering research conducted within the music section of the Paris Bibliothéque Nationale. Quite a number of these works are recorded here for the first time, including Fontbonne’s Chasse aux papillons Op. 30, Louis Masson’s Trois pièces, Xavier Leroux’s Le Nil, Moret’s Nuit de langueur, nuit de mensonge, Coedès-Mongin’s Suite Op. 5, Lefort’s Sur l’Eau, and Guilmant’s Romance sans paroles Op. 85. To quote Filippo Mazzoli, these are ‘evocative titles, like the music they feature. They are positive sensations that precisely reflect the years in which they were composed [and they express] the desire for wellbeing, and the desire to always be proactive and positive.’ Several musical associations flourished in the French capital between 1871 and 1939. They enthusiastically supported the dissemination of new works and promoted the presentation of original, unpublished ones, encouraged by musicians such as Saint-Saëns, Bussine, Duparc and Castillon. The works on this programme are dedicated to the great French flautists who were active in these music societies, not least in the Société de Musique de Chambre pour Instruments à Vent and the Société moderne pour Instruments à Vent. The entire programme is in the Belle Époque style and comprises a variety of the period's main genres: the morceau de salon, the fantasia on operatic themes, the song without words, and the melodies or album pages.

This is a program of great choral works, including one work from the 1500s, works from the 20th Century, and one work, Black Pierrot that was commissioned by R. Paul Crabb for the ensembles on this album. R. Paul Crabb, University of Missouri's Director of Choral Activities, earned degrees in Music Education, Vocal Performance and Choral Music Education. His ensembles have performed at state, regional and national conventions and have traveled extensively in Mexico, Germany, Austria, Italy, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Russia, Bulgaria and Australia. Crabb served as assistant conductor at the Russian/American Choral Symposium for two years where his choir was invited as the resident American choir at the Moscow Conservatory. He served for one year as a visiting professor in Salzburg, Austria, where he taught and worked with the choir of the Salzburg Cathedral. He has taught conducting in Taiwan, eighteenth-century music in England, and studied sixteenth century polyphony in Italy with the renowned Peter Phillips. More recently he served as Guest Visiting Choral Professor at the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary - the first American selected for that position.

The present release features new commissions based on familiar tunes and other premiere performances make this fifth volume a delightful and entertaining addition to the unique repertoire of organ music for two. America’s celebrated duo organists, Elizabeth and Raymond Chenault, have made a significant contribution to organ repertoire by commissioning, arranging, premiering and recording over 70 organ duets. For their renowned artistry they have indisputably earned the title “The World’s Premiere Duo-Organ Team.” The Cathedral’s organ was designed, built, and installed in 1962 as the Aeolian-Skinner Opus1399. In 1992, after significant acoustical renovations to the Cathedral nave, the organ was re-voiced by John Hendrickson, who previously had worked for Aeolian-Skinner, and had helped to install the Cathedral’s organ. In the mid-1990s, a Tuba stop was added to the Solo division by Austin Organs, Inc. In 2011, anew console was designed, built, and installed by Schoenstein and Co., to replace the original console of 1962.

“PICCOLO ENCOUNTERS” is the culmination of a career-long desire to capture the essence of the wealth of experience we have been able to accumulate as musical partners and friends. As varied as their nationalities, diverse as their backgrounds and contrasting as their cultures, the artists on this album share a close bond: that which connects these seemingly disparate elements and leads to the creation of Encounters that punctuate the lives of composers and performers alike. The sharing of these experiences with you, the audience, is the special privilege of the musician. These encounters and experiences that we were able to make in the world of music had a decisive influence on the life of Pamela Stahel and led to the creation of this album. It is not only the special perspective of a piccolo player that is important, but above all the special repertoire that makes up the character of this collaboration. Both the selection of the pieces and the performers are decisive. Pamela Stahel plays a Burkart Piccolo Elite XXV. Nicola Mazzanti plays a Keefe Piccolo. On the album are Works by Alessandro Cavicchi, Meyer Kupferman, Sophie Dufeutrelle, Francesco Santucci, Jeff Scott and Giacinto Scelsi.

Bassoonist Theo Plath is currently the talk of the town: After winning the 2018 German Music Competition, which awarded him this Primavera Edition prizewinner album, he also impressed audiences at the 2019 ARD Music Competition. Be it as a soloist, chamber musician, or solo bassoonist with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Theo Plath simply thrills his audiences. On his solo debut recording, he combines Romantic bassoon concertos by Carl Maria von Weber and Bernhard Crusell with modern French compositions by Marcel Bitsch and André Jolivet. Accompanied by the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie under the baton of Leo McFall, he lets the broad spectrum of the bassoon's expressive possibilities resound, from melancholic lyricism to witty charm.

Isaac Stern's career as a solo artist, chamber musician, and much else (he led the movement to save Carnegie hall) was remarkable. This album of his live performances is an eloquent testament to his musical insights, technical command and his gorgeous, luminous tone. Isaac Stern was born in 1920, in Krimieniecz, now in Ukraine. A year later his parents came to San Francisco. Violin lessons began at eight, with Naoum Blinder. Two years later he made his debut, playing Bach double concerto with his teacher. His Town Hall debut in 1937 was followed by a Carnegie Hall debut in 1943. He was the first American artist to tour the former Soviet Union-and as a result became a deeply respected figure there. The campaign to save Carnegie Hall began in 1960. The Six-Day War of 1967 saw his iconic performance of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with Leonard Bernstein on Mount Scopus. His involvement with Hollywood, which began in 1948 with his performance in the film Humoresque, was followed up in 1971, when he played on the soundtrack of "Fiddler on the Roof". His travel to China in 1979 led to a resurgence of classical music in that country, documented in "From Mao to Mozart". He recorded prolifically and received countless honors and tributes. Isaac Stern passed away at the age of 81 in 2001.

Soprano and producer Andrea Chudak has been interpreting Ave Maria settings for over 15 years. During this time, a large collection of more than 200 compositions from all eras of music history was created; composers even wrote new works for her and dedicated them to her. In any case, the compilation of 68 selected Ave Maria presented is a spotlight-like overview of a repertoire that is hard to grasp in its entirety, from Gregorian chant to arrangements by successful alley-makers and ambiguous salon pieces to occasional works by composers who succeed in other genres and contemporary pieces for today’s liturgical practice. With these new compositions, the millennium-old tradition is given new facets that open up very individual interpretations.

This is a great program of contemporary works for clarinet and piano, and one work for clarinet, piano, and violin. These are all immediately accessible, appealing works. Christopher Ayer, a native of Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, is Professor of Music at Stephen F. Austin State University, where he coordinates undergraduate and graduate clarinet study, and performs with the Stone Fort Wind Quintet. He has studied with Thomas Martin, Associate Principal Clarinetist with the Boston Symphony, and Ronald de Kant, former Principal Clarinetist of the Vancouver Symphony. Prior to his appointment at SFA, Dr. Ayer was the clarinet professor and orchestra conductor at Eastern New Mexico University. He holds graduate performance degrees in clarinet from the New England Conservatory of Music and the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Música Temprana, one of today’s most exciting Hispanic early music ensembles, presents its first PENTATONE album Melancolía, on which they present Spanish courtly songs on mourning and unrequited love around 1500 together with the apocalyptic liturgical tradition of El Canto de la Sibila. Many of the villancicos, canciones, romances and estrambotes performed here have been documented in songbooks such as the famous Cancionero Musical de Palacio. They show the transition from troubadour lyricism to the flourishing Siglo de Oro (Golden Age), and the shift from a medieval to a Renaissance aesthetic in Spanish music. El Canto de la Sibila is a religious tradition that can be traced back as far as St Augustine, who put his contemplation on the end of times into the mouth of a pagan prophetess from Graeco-Roman mythology. Música Temprana’s interpretation revives religious practices in 15th-century Cuenca. Altogether, the works performed on this album underline the strong melancholic connections between worldly and religious Spanish musical traditions around 1500, a period full of change and conflict, during which Christian Europe feared the hypothetical end of the world. The extraordinary beauty of these austere works offers solace for our troubled times as well.

Carolyn Surrick writes of this new release: “When I called Ronn McFarlane in January to ask if he wanted to play a house concert in April, he checked his calendar and said, “Sure, sounds great!” Members of Ensemble Galilei... are spread across the country, and we don’t usually get together until right before a performance. But Ronn and I live about twenty miles away from each other, so we started rehearsing. February turned to March in this year of COVID-19. There would be no house concerts. But we kept meeting on Saturday mornings... It was a few weeks into March when I turned to him and said, “Hey, let’s make a recording in June.” It was a crazy idea. We didn’t have much shared repertoire... That meant a huge investment of time and energy. I did not receive a resounding affirmative response. But days passed and the reality of the pandemic settled in. Nothing else was going to be happening this spring. No concerts. No tours. Cancellation after cancellation, with no end in sight. “Yes,” he said, “let’s do this.” I called Lindsey Nelson, Ensemble Galilei’s wonderful executive producer, and Collin Rae, the master of strategic marketing at Sono Luminus. I texted our producer, Dan Merceruio. Totally on board. We added rehearsals. Wrote harmony parts. Wrote new music. Arranged our favorite tunes for lute and viola da gamba… All in the shadow of the pandemic. Would we have done this a year ago? Not a chance. We were too busy… The recording exists because of this moment in time...”

REVIEWS:

This instrumental pairing, lute and viola da gamba, occurs only occasionally in Baroque and Renaissance literature. They augment Dowland’s Adew for Master Oliver Cromwell with newly composed works by McFarlane and with arrangements by both players. These are delightfully varied, taking up such works as The Allman Brothers’ Little Martha (originally an acoustic guitar solo by Duane Allman, so not as odd as it sounds), Amazing Grace, and Gounod’s Ave Maria. Some of the selections veer toward the Celtic folk side, including an intriguing version of Blackwater Slide modeled on one by Scottish musician Bert Jansch. Sono Luminus’ sound is, well, luminous, a pleasure throughout. Falling into a class of pandemic-time recordings where musicians rediscovered the enjoyment of home music-making, this is an unusually satisfying example of the genre. 

– AllMusicGuide.com (James Manheim)
What is wonderful and becomes most fascinating are the new compositions and the threading of two or three songs into one. Carolyn Surrick’s viola da gamba has a rarity in its ability to provide shadings of emotions that add great chemistry. Equally, Ronn McFarlane’s investments are worthy and in their own right.

– ConcertoNet.com (Christie Grimstad)

The five wind quintets recorded on this album clearly refer to the neoclassical style, which is directly related to the genre preferences and musical language of each of the presented Polish artists active in the 20th and early 21st centuries. THE CRACOW GOLDEN QUINTET is a chamber ensemble composed of professional musicians who, thanks to their passion for music and precision, perfectly render the beauty of the sound of a wind quintet. The ensemble was established in 2015 in Cracow. It consists of graduates of Polish academies of music – soloists, members of symphony orchestras and various chamber ensembles: Natalia JARZĄBEK (flute), Damian ŚWIST (oboe), Tomasz SOWA (clarinet), Małgorzata WYGODA (bas-soon), and Konrad GOŁDA (horn).The ensemble specializes in performing and promot-ing Polish music. Its repertoire, conceived and prepared to participate in the Stanisław Moniuszko International Competition of Polish Music in Rzeszów, features com-positions by, among others, Grażyna Bacewicz, Wojciech Kilar, or Michał Spisak. The ensemble’s portfolio is being constantly expanded, especially with pieces that are rarely performed on the stages of concert halls, but extremely valuable in the context of the Polish national heritage.

In this unique sequence of music for the Christmas season, the choir of Keble College presents a captivating selection of twenty- and twenty-first century choral music, arrangements and well-known carols. The programme, which features several world premiere recordings, reflects the present tradition of grand liturgy at Keble with inflections of plainchant and kaleidoscopic organ accompaniment. The disc was recorded in the great Benedictine monastery of Buckfast Abbey, showcasing it's stunning acoustic and magnificent Ruffatti organ. The Choir of Keble College, Oxford is one of the city's most distinctive mixed-voice ensembles and comprises around eighteen choral scholars, some volunteers, plus up to three lay clerks. The choir regularly broadcasts on BBC Radio 3. Matthew Martin is Precentor and Director of Music at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge and was Director of Music at Keble College, Oxford from 2015-2020 where he was also Artistic Director of the annual Keble Early Music Festival. He studied at Magdalen College, Oxford and at the Royal Academy of Music, and was an organ student of Marie-Claire Alain in Paris.

Nayan Navaa is an album full of life, sun, kindness, compassion and joy. NAMGAR contribute to the preservation of the Buryat language, one of the listed endangered languages of the world. NAMGAR’s aim is to save and promote traditional Buryat melodies by working with archives, collecting songs, and performing them both in their homeland and around the world. In 2019, band members Evgeny Zolotarev and Namgar Lkhasaranova worked in the archives of St. Petersburg, Moscow and Ulan-Ude, Buryatia, collecting 100 forgotten traditional Buryat songs, a selection of which feature on this album.

In 1964, the jury of the Venice Biennale awarded its American Grand Prix for the first time to an American artist, Robert Rauschenberg. This was an initiative that was commonly interpreted as a definitive recognition of the migration of the world art scene from Paris to New York. However, if it is undeniable that from the sixties on, artists from across the Atlantic triumphed, European creators were not outdone. As proof, the plethora of movements of which they revealed themselves at the foundations: New Realism, Lyric Abstraction, Narrative Figuration, New Figuration ... Nineteen major artists, from Adami to Zao Wou-Ki, via Arman , Buren, Corneille or Combas, testify here for us and elucidate the meaning of their respective practices. Produced from the holdings of the Audiovisual Encyclopedia of Contemporary Art (Imago), Michel Onfray wanted the Gallery and Frémeaux & Associates to publish this essential sound document on the history of contemporary art.

Sublime and calming plainchant and celebrations of Gloria, Kyrie, Sanctus and Magnificat invoke the glories of the Christian faith. A rich sound, a fine acoustic and expressive music lift the spirits. This release is perfect for meditation and relaxation during a quiet moment of the day. Ensembles featured on this masterful compilation include the Oxford Girls’ Choir directed by Richard Vendome, Magdala directed by David Skinner, Singscape conducted by Sarah Tenant-Flowers, The Choir of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge directed by David Skinner, The Monks and Novices of St. Frideswide, and more.

The aim of "Christmas songs" recorded by duo Thom Hell (vocals) and Andreas Ulvo (piano, synth) was to create something intuitive and with familiar and beloved Christmas songs; The performance should be unpretentious, contrary to how we are used to hearing holiday songs. In order to keep the nerve and spontaneity only one take of each song was made, with some overdubs where they later felt it was needed.

Andreas Ulvo (b. 1983), pianist and keyboardist from Eidskog in Hedmark. He has a master's degree in jazz and improvisation from the Norwegian Academy of Music. He is active with several own projects Andreas Ulvo ensemble, Eple Trio, Innlandet and his own solo project, with several releases. He has also worked with bands and artists such as Ingrid Olava, Mathias Eick, Solveig Slettahjell, Ellen Andrea Wang, Karl Seglem, and others. Thom Hell (b. 1976), is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist from Hånesin Kristiansand. Has released 8 albums as a solo artist and won 3 Norwegian Grammy Awards: 2 as artist of the year and 1 as pop composer of the year. Has worked as a producer and starring Jonas Alaska, Matilda, Jonas Fjeld and Marte Wulff. Thom Hell has also participated in several Norwegian Music TV shows.

“I’m leaving. I shall not forget via Toledo nor all the other districts in Naples. To my eyes it is incomparable, the most beautiful city in the world.” Stendhal Stendhal describes the Naples we love. The Naples of myriad colors and scents, with its wealth of different music. This set of 10 albums provides an original overview of Neapolitan music of the 18th century, the music that was played and sung in the great houses, the churches and the streets of the city. It is a chance to rediscover forgotten or long-neglected repertoires: a vast musical heritage of instrumental and sacred music, first and foremost, but also folk music, magnificently brought back to life by Marco Beasley, Pino De Vittorio and Guido Morini in Fra’ Diavolo and Storie di Napoli, two iconic albums which appear here together for the first time. The set also features other outstanding musicians of international repute, many of them specialized in this particular repertoire: Roberta Invernizzi, Monica Piccinini, Silvia Frigato, Romina Basso, Salvo Vitale, the Ghislieri Choir and Orchestra (Giulio Prandi), Talenti Vulcanici, Dolce & Tempesta (Stefano Demicheli) and Odhecaton (Paolo Da Col).

Inspired by the practice of Nuove Musiche advocated by Caccini in 1602, this album takes us to the foundations of modern Italian vocal music: a journey to the heart of the musical innovation that led to opera, presented by the singer Marco Beasley, the organist and harpsichordist Guido Morini and the Ensemble Accordone. After the success of the Red, Yellow, Blue, Pink and White collections (a total of sixty reissues) which gave a new lease of life to the pearls of the Baroque catalogues from our house labels, here are fourteen new titles which offer a chance to discover other treasures, whether Baroque or dating from an earlier or later era. Like the most recent series, this sixth instalment opens out onto the Classical repertory (Mozart by Ensemble 415 and Chiara Banchini) and the Renaissance (Févin by Doulce Mémoire and Denis Raisin Dadre); recordings that are an integral part of Alpha’s identity and history. Fourteen reissues performed by the leading musicians in the field, most of which received one or more awards on their original release. Proper booklets accompany the discs, with notes in three languages (French, English, German). Photographers from all over the world have been selected to illustrate the covers, this time with the guiding thread of the color green, a symbol of nature, fertility... and hope!

A New York Times 25 Best Classical Track Selection for 2019

Violinist Jennifer Koh’s Limitless, based on her groundbreaking recital project of the same name, bridges the modern divide between composer and instrumentalist, celebrates artistic collaboration, and revives the grand tradition of composers performing their own music. The album features world-premiere recordings of Koh-commissioned duets by a diverse roster of highly accomplished contemporary composers, which she performs with the composers themselves. Premieres include Quasim Naqvi’s The Banquet for violin and modular synthesizer, exploring a convergence between acoustic string and electronic sound worlds; Lisa Bielawa’s Sanctuary Songs for violin and voice, three settings of texts by American women poets of the 1920s; Du Yun’s give me back my fingerprints for violin and voice, representative of what The New York Times calls her “adventurously eclectic” style; and Tyshawn Sorey’s In Memoriam Muhal Richard Abrams, dedicated to Sorey’s beloved mentor, the avant-garde pianist, composer, and founding president of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). Limitless also offers the first recording of Nina C. Young’s Sun Propeller for violin and electronics, inspired by traditional Tuvan throat-singing; Wang Lu’s Her Latitude for violin and electronics, with a quasi-improvised piano part and electronically processed sounds of Buddhist chants and old Korean pop songs; and jazz luminary Vijay Iyer’s The Diamond for violin and piano, inspired by an early Buddhist text. The album concludes with Missy Mazzoli’s A Thousand Tongues for violin, piano, and electronics, an intense response to a line in a Stephen Crane poem; and Vespers for violin and electronics, “deliciously disorienting” (National Public Radio) with a soaring solo violin.

REVIEWS:

Koh, needless to say, is sensational throughout: responsive to each composer’s demands, and fiercely committed to making each piece sing true in collaboration with its creator. The project is a paradigm shift in thinking about composers who perform, and about representation on the concert platform; the result is a beautiful, compelling collection of intimate conversations and collective statements.

– National Sawdust

Part of Ms. Koh’s double-disc project of collaborations with composers who also perform alongside her, Du Yun: ‘Give Me Back My Fingerprints’ rises from quietly uneasy to rabid and raw, then back again. Violin lines emerge, as if from far away, to mingle with Ms. Du’s earthy, murmuring, sometimes choking voice.

– New York Times (Zachary Woolfe)

With 49 tracks spanning two CDs, DISCOVER-FILM MUSIC is an informative package designed to lure the casual listener into the larger world of film music. Disc One largely consists of major Hollywood releases, including KING KONG, BEN HUR, STAR WARS, and SPIDER-MAN. Disc Two explores the more classical-centric foreign film scores, originating in Britain, Europe, and Japan. The set is accompanied by a 72-page booklet / learning guide, composed by British film music lecturer John Riley.

The attachment of King Louis XII and a whole people to Queen Anne of Brittany can be heard on this disc, where Denis Raisin Dadre and his ensemble Doulce Mémoire juxtapose Antoine de Févin’s Missa pro defunctis with Breton folk songs for solo voice in commemoration of this emblematic Queen Consort of France. After the success of the Red, Yellow, Blue, Pink and White collections (a total of sixty reissues) which gave a new lease of life to the pearls of the Baroque catalogues from our house labels, here are fourteen new titles which offer a chance to discover other treasures, whether Baroque or dating from an earlier or later era. Like the most recent series, this sixth instalment opens out onto the Classical repertory (Mozart by Ensemble 415 and Chiara Banchini) and the Renaissance (Févin by Doulce Mémoire and Denis Raisin Dadre); recordings that are an integral part of Alpha’s identity and history. Fourteen reissues performed by the leading musicians in the field, most of which received one or more awards on their original release. Proper booklets accompany the discs, with notes in three languages (French, English, German). Photographers from all over the world have been selected to illustrate the covers, this time with the guiding thread of the color green, a symbol of nature, fertility . . . and hope!