On a trip through the woods, an attentive ear pauses four times to listen. Here are the stories it recorded. The Brook's Tale is a flowing riparian idyll, peacefully rising and falling, but mostly falling in overlapping cascades. A Tree Speaks of Winter recalls the long gripping freeze and then the slow return of the first sap. The grand freedom of flight is the theme of The Bird's Tale, as the bird speaks of circling over the landscape, effortlessly rising in the updrafts. The piece ends in abandon as the squirrels take to the trees in Squirrel Joy. - Jonathan Cohen