Today, as every Saturday, I brought my daughter to the stables where she has her riding lessons. But this time was different. As we pulled up the long gravel driveway, we found ourselves dodging a riderless horse, moving at a trot across our path. It turned out that the very cold weather had caused a latch to malfunction—"gate won't close, railing's froze"—and five horses had gotten loose.

Today, as every Saturday, I brought my daughter to the stables where she has her riding lessons. But this time was different. As we pulled up the long gravel driveway, we found ourselves dodging a riderless horse, moving at a trot across our path. It turned out that the very cold weather had caused a latch to malfunction—"gate won't close, railing's froze"—and five horses had gotten loose.

It's said that your first experience on entering a space sets the tone for all that follows. At LP pressing plant Record Technology, Inc. (RTI), that experience is my encounter with veteran pressman Richard Lopez, who responds to my request for direction. As he leaves his vintage record press to lead me to owner Don MacInnis, Lopez reads aloud the sticker on a box of recently pressed LPs. "WORLD'S FINEST PHONOGRAPH RECORDS," he declares with pride. As I reflect on how few workers today feel so connected to the products they make, I sense that something special lies ahead.

It's said that your first experience on entering a space sets the tone for all that follows. At LP pressing plant Record Technology, Inc. (RTI), that experience is my encounter with veteran pressman Richard Lopez, who responds to my request for direction. As he leaves his vintage record press to lead me to owner Don MacInnis, Lopez reads aloud the sticker on a box of recently pressed LPs. "WORLD'S FINEST PHONOGRAPH RECORDS," he declares with pride. As I reflect on how few workers today feel so connected to the products they make, I sense that something special lies ahead.

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US composer Morten Lauridsen's <I>Lux Aeterna</I> is one of the indisputable masterpieces of the 20th century. John Atkinson has recorded the male vocal group Cantus's performances of Lauridsen's <I>O Magnum Mysterium</I> (on <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/musicrecordings/1105cantus"><I>Comfort and Joy: Volume One</I></A>, Cantus CTS-1204) and <I>Ave Maria Dulcissima</I> (on <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/121007cantus"><I>Cantus</I></A&gt;, Cantus CTS-1207). (And great recordings they are&mdash;one engineer chum thinks JA's Cantus recording of <I>OMM</I> is the single best-engineered choral recording he's ever heard.)

US composer Morten Lauridsen's <I>Lux Aeterna</I> is one of the indisputable masterpieces of the 20th century. John Atkinson has recorded the male vocal group Cantus's performances of Lauridsen's <I>O Magnum Mysterium</I> (on <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/musicrecordings/1105cantus"><I>Comfort and Joy: Volume One</I></A>, Cantus CTS-1204) and <I>Ave Maria Dulcissima</I> (on <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/121007cantus"><I>Cantus</I></A&gt;, Cantus CTS-1207). (And great recordings they are&mdash;one engineer chum thinks JA's Cantus recording of <I>OMM</I> is the single best-engineered choral recording he's ever heard.)