Album: Muhly, Seeing is Believing – Aurora Orchestra / Collon / Gould (Decca)

Nico Muhly's music is all-American, all now. So why do I keep hearing Vaughan Williams? "Seeing is Believing", the title track of the AO's all-Muhly disc, opens like a 21st-century "Lark Ascending", with violinist Thomas Gould soaring in ecstatic innocence.

Like Vaughan Williams, Muhly's arrangements of Byrd and Gibbons anthems begin with muted palettes that brighten progressively. "Step Team", the least nostalgic work, is the most convincing, with a phenomenal bass trombone solo.