If you have any doubts about this album, listen to the sample from Monteverdi's "Vespers of the Blessed Virgin: Deus in Adjutorium." The opening is, of course, meditative; the next 15 seconds are revelatory. It is the perfect album to play on a bright Christmas morning or a gray afternoon.It may seem sacrilegious to classical music listeners, but I love to hear the Monteverdi selections played loud!