Renaissant - South of Winter (2004)

Renaissant is the Renaissance spin-off created by drummer (and here, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist) Terry Sullivan, with keyboardist John Tout helping out, plus several other musicians including a guest appearance by Martin Orford (IQ). Betty Thatcher Newsinger wrote lyrics for four of the songs, while Terry’s wife Christine handles most of the vocals. Of course Christine is not Annie Haslam, and no one can possibly replace Annie in the hearts of Renaissance fans. But the music is true to the Renaissance style. Like the last Renaissance album Tuscany, South of Winter lacks extended instrumental excursions, and the energy level is somewhat subdued. So this concentrates on Renaissance’s symphonic folk style, and while naturally it falls short of classic Renaissance, it’s nice to see Terry trying to keep the spirit of Renaissance alive.
review at Musical Discoveries.