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Music > Easy listening
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Sacred Arias
(CD)
Clive Bennett, Andrea Bocelli; Performed by Andrea Bocelli
2
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R423
R371
Discovery Miles 3 710
Save R52 (12%)
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Ships in 10 - 17 working days
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When he was growing up, Andrea Bocelli recalls finding inspiration
in a favorite 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 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 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. --Thomas May
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Songbook
(CD)
Laura Jayne
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R320
Discovery Miles 3 200
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Ships in 10 - 17 working days
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Moon River
(CD)
Lawrence Welk
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R130
Discovery Miles 1 300
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Ships in 10 - 17 working days
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New Blood
(CD)
Peter Gabriel
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R279
R260
Discovery Miles 2 600
Save R19 (7%)
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Ships in 10 - 17 working days
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New Blood is a continuum of Peters previous Scratch My Back album -
the song-swap project where he covered the songs of others, all to
an orchestral backing. Thanks to the precise arrangements by John
Metcalf and Peter, the treatment was so successful that Peter very
quickly knew where he wanted to take it next, and work began to
apply the same principals to his own songs. Great care has been
taken, and much discussion shared, in deciding what songs were
included on New Blood. It wasnt simply a case of giving the big
numbers an orchestral re-rub. Indeed, some of the big hits are
missing in favour of lesser-known material. But the intention wasnt
a deliberate obliqueness; it was more a case of finding the songs
that would be enhanced by the massed strings, brass, woodwind and
percussion. The orchestra provides different dimensions to the
music that werent there initially, confirms Peter. Rock artists
work slowly in studios, building up layer by layer, and one of the
great, powerful advantages of an orchestra is all these musicians
playing at one moment with all sorts of colours and personalities.
And in front of orchestra, taking centre stage when necessary,
retreating into the shadows when not, is Peters rich voice.
Retaining its trademark emotive power, it returns to lyrics written
20 or 30 years ago, reinvesting them with new meaning and
heightened poignancy.
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