PARMA Recordings presents Legends & Light, a compilation album featuring works by composers Hans Bakker, Jan Järvlepp, Clive Muncaster, and Shirley Mier. Each has a different, unique story to tell, and the narratives are brought to life by the orchestra and string ensemble. Hans Bakker showcases his ‘Canzona III: Hidden in Her Light’ in ternary form. Described by the composer as a “hymn to the sun,” this tone poem is reminiscent of the symphonic storytellings of such greats as Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov — with a heritage of folk melodies and rhythms to boot. The extraordinary balance between strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion is expressed so fluidly, yet individually, the listener is immediately enveloped into the epic saga Bakker is telling. Jan Järvlepp expresses his unique composition style in Suite for Strings. In this incredible pedagogical work, Järvlepp brings the listener through a gamut of emotions. Clive Muncaster’s Redcliffe Gardens Suite for Strings follows suit perfectly with a romantic “Petronella,” enormously expressive in every way. “Pastorella” takes it down a notch, toeing the line between major and minor, somewhat demonstrating the complexity of romantic love. But, obviously, love wins. “Stella” is the heroic ballad to profess it. “Fuga Romantica” layers the sweetness together using one of composition’s most complex forms. Shirley Mier’s Of Lakes and Legends, a programmatic work written for the Century Chamber Orchestra, closes the album. Each movement is set at White Bear Lake in Minnesota, the city where the Century College and the ensemble are located. This celebration of music is tinged with nostalgia, as it both recalls these concerts and reflects on the fact that they now exist only in time past. This, hands down, is contemporary composition at its best. This album has been perfectly curated to offer continuity in the listening experience. PARMA patrons, old and new, will find enormous satisfaction in this collection.