Andrea Bocelli - Sacred Arias - [CD]

The mention of his voice ignites the passion of millions worldwide. They eagerly anticipate each & every new album containing that is distinctly Andrea Boccelli. Now they will wait no more. His latest album he has recorded some of the most beautiful and inspired music. A combination of timeless melodies, newly discovered gems and the world's favorite "Ave Maria,'s,". This album also contains two bonus Christmas tracks, "Silent Night," in English and Italian. Also, O Come, All Ye Faithful,". He is accompanied by the internationally acclaimed conductor Myung-Whun Chung and the Orchestra e coro dell'Academia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. When he was growing up, Andrea Bocelli recalls finding inspiration in a favourite recording of sacred music performed by tenor legend Franco Corelli. Bocelli--who in the meantime has come to inspire millions of fiercely loyal fans himself--returns to the genre as the guiding theme of Sacred Arias, the release of which coincides with the first major English-language biography of the singer. These performances are filled with the singer's phenomenally well-known vocal signature: his flair for long, sweetly floating high notes and the gentle sense of cadence he brings to a melody. It's a mistake to compartmentalise Bocelli into a singer of "operatic" versus "popular" styles: in truth his approach is at heart the same. Lack of colour and control in his phrasing remains a drawback, but the emotional empathy Bocelli evokes is never in doubt. The arias collected here sample some of the most famous devotional pieces: Schubert's "Ave Maria" and Mozart's transporting "Ave Verum," as well as an arrangement of "Silent Night" in which Bocelli tries out his English. There's also a decidedly odd choice of bedfellows for a programme of "sacred" music, such as a song from Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder (whose "angel" is the object of an overpoweringly erotic attraction) and Handel's figurative ode to a tree, "Ombra mai fu". Still, Bocelli sings with an unfeigned directness that is sure to expand his already enormous following even further. --Thomas May