Imagine a lake, calm and flat, shimmering through the changing light of day. There’s nothing going on, not much happening. Now, add a few guitars, a mandolin and country legends like Dolly Parton, Vince Gill and the McGarrigle sisters. Surprise, surprise… there’s still not much happening, but it’s such a nice place to be.

If that sounds inviting, you’re going to want Emmylou Harris’s latest CD, All I Intended to Be.

Four years in the making, this effort reconciles Harris — musically, that is — with her former husband Brian Ahern, who produced her first 11 albums including her classic mid-‘70s releases: Pieces of the Sky, Elite Hotel, Luxury Liner and Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town. Ahern stays within the boundaries of traditional country and folk, but uses his own personal blend of seasonings. The result is entirely satisfying.

Harris has said she’s a collector, a hoarder of songs; and she drew upon her treasure trove of songs she hasn’t previously recorded, material going back 25 years to hone the mix.

The album opens on a note of heady optimism with Jack Wesley Routh’s "Shores of White Sands." It’s easy to be drawn to its glass-is-half-full perspective: "Some say I’m sinking to the muddy bottom, but somehow I’m sailing to the shores of white sand." "Hold On," a nifty tune penned by Jude Johnstone, features Emmylou doing what she does best, singing and harmonizing beautifully with others and herself. She brings those same qualities to Patty Griffin’s hauntingly familiar "Moon Song."

On "She Could Sing the Wildwood Flower," the first of two songs co-written with the McGarrigle sisters, Kate and Anna also add their signature harmonies. It’s a song about a song and, with its abundance of traditional stringed instruments, a fitting tribute to a classic.

Their second and equally satisfying collaboration was inspired by Terry Schiavo. Touching and topical, "Sailing Round the Room" tells the story of how to let go: "Gonna lay my burden down/ Take a bird’s-eye look around." Oddly, it’s not morose but rather ethereal, angelic and hopeful.

From its simple story, eloquently told by Harris, to its classic country roots, Merle Haggard’s "Kern River" is sublime. So is Billy Joe Shaver’s "Old Five and Dimers," a beautiful slow dance of a song, superbly sung by Vince Gill and Emmylou. The line "An Old Five and Dimer is all I intended to be" is the origin of the album’s title.

Dolly Parton’s high, pure tones sparkle as she joins Emmylou in "Gold."

Harris is the first to say she’s always been drawn to sad songs and "The Great Divide" keeps her honest. With its somber reminders of love and life lost, Emmylou laments "When you love someone, life’s not long enough," adding, "I still haunt the places you once stood."

It’s languid, mellow, and deals with loss, yet All I Intended to Be is not depressing. Paradoxically, it’s so well-conceived and -executed that at times it’s even downright uplifting.