This recording offers music representative of the festival traditions of five different cultures: Russia (or more precisely, the former Soviet Union), Mexico, Poland (by way of France), Greece, and Rome. While the music certainly reveals the differences one would expect from such diverse cultures, the similarities are even more striking. The universal elements of a festival-the exuberance, the gratitude, and the reverence-are present in this music, and serve to remind US of the commonalities of human existence.