Audio CD review:
Andrea Bocelli, Giulio Caccini, Cesar Franck, Charles Gounod, Franz Xaver Gruber, George Frideric Handel, Jean-Paul Lecot, Eric Levi, Steven Mercurio, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Sacred Arias [Special Edition with Bonus DVD]

Andrea Bocelli, Giulio Caccini, Cesar Franck, Charles Gounod, Franz Xaver Gruber, George Frideric Handel, Jean-Paul Lecot, Eric Levi, Steven Mercurio, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Sacred Arias [Special Edition with Bonus DVD]

Band: Andrea Bocelli, Giulio Caccini, Cesar Franck, Charles Gounod, Franz Xaver Gruber, George Frideric Handel, Jean-Paul Lecot, Eric Levi, Steven Mercurio, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Title: Sacred Arias [Special Edition with Bonus DVD] Rating: Release Date: 14 October, 2003 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Ave Maria 2: Sancta Maria 3: Ave Maria 4: Ave Maria 5: Panis Angelicus - Norbert Balatsch 6: Cujus Animam 7: Ingemisco 8: Ave Verum Corpus 9: Der Engel 10: Frondi Tenere... Ombra Mai Fu 11: Pieta, Signore - Norbert Balatsch 12: Domine Deus 13: Mille Cherubini In Coro - Norbert Balatsch 14: Silent Night 15: Adeste Fideles (O Come, All Ye Faithful) - Norbert Balatsch 16: Gloria A Te, Cristo Gesu (The Hymn Of The Great Jubilee) 17: Agnus Dei 18: I Believe

Editoral Review 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. When he was growing up, Andrea Bocelli recalls finding inspiration in a favorite recording of sacred music performed by tenor legend Franco Corelli. 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 compartmentalize Bocelli into a singer of "operatic" versus "popular" styles: in truth his approach is at heart the same. Lack of color 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 program 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. This new special edition includes two bonus tracks on a CD enhanced with a picture gallery as well as a full-length DVD of Bocelli in concert filmed at the Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome. --Thomas May .. You can see a complete list of all Andrea Bocelli, Giulio Caccini, Cesar Franck, Charles Gounod, Franz Xaver Gruber, George Frideric Handel, Jean-Paul Lecot, Eric Levi, Steven Mercurio, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart discography, or go back to the Andrea Bocelli, Giulio Caccini, Cesar Franck, Charles Gounod, Franz Xaver Gruber, George Frideric Handel, Jean-Paul Lecot, Eric Levi, Steven Mercurio, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart tabs