Track Listing

1. Vocalise, Op. 34, No. 14
2. Ave Maria
3. Pourquoi me réveiller from Werther
4. Après un rêve, Op. 7, No. 1
5. Song to the Moon from Rusalka
6. Laudate Dominum from Vesperae solennes de confessore for soloists, chorus & orchestra, K. 339
7. None but the Lonely Heart, Op. 6/6
8. Una furtiva lagrima from L'Elisir d'Amore
9. In trutina from Carmina Burana
10. May Breezes from Songs without Words, Op. 62, No. 1
11. Beau soir
12. Estrellita
13. Nana (Bercuese) from Siete conciones populares Espanolas
14. Je crois entendre encore from The Pearl Fishers
15. Morgen! Op. 27, No. 4

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1259 in Music
• Released on: 2006-09-05
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
Constantly exhorted to "sing," string players naturally try to emulate that most beautiful musical instrument, the human voice; no wonder they literally want to get their fingers on the treasures of the vocal repertoire. Joshua Bell has appropriated some of its best-loved songs and operatic arias, from Mozart through the romantics to Orff. Slow, sustained, lovely and yes, singing, these beguiling melodies and wide emotional range are eminently well suited to the violin. Credit for most of the arrangements is given to J.A.C. Redford, a well-known film and television composer, and indeed the throbbing strings and jarring modulations typical of sound-tracks invade his orchestrations, in startling contrast to the composers' own. In Debussy's "Beau soir," pianist Frederic Chiu partners Bell so beautifully that one wishes he had supplanted the orchestra in all the songs with piano accompaniment. The violin transcriptions of the vocal line closely follow the originals, except for Redford's compulsive habit of adding octaves in the repeats and jumping from the lowest to the highest register. Of course, Bell is very good at all this, and it's the playing that's really the thing. His tone is ravishingly beautiful, warm on the G-string, radiant up high, and always deeply expressive. His love and innate feeling for the music---its inward simplicity, romantic yearning and passionate ardor---speak straight to the heart. In the only authentic violin part, the obbligato of Richard Strauss' "Morgen!" he is joined by the golden-voiced soprano Anna Netrebko; at first overly intense, she relaxes into a blissful, magical ending. --Edith Eisler

Customer Reviews

Enjoying the violin
After I bought the Ladies in Lavender I had to buy Johuas Bell music.
I heard him play the Brahms violinconcert april 2003 and became a fan.
One period in my life I almost hated violin music maybe because I was
playing the piano with my brother violin. Later I heard the Busch quartet
play , and later I heard Isac Stern and Menuhin play in concerts.
The music Johua plays in wonderful and he plays beutifully.

A splendid piece of work...
I am a classical singer, my mother plays the violin, so I know how closely they are related. Joshua Bell has chosen some beautifu selections. Some of my favorite pieces on this compilation are pieces I have actually sung. One of the most beautiful is Dvorak's Song To the Moon, the way he plays it is so warm and elegant, it is one of the most beautiful pieces ever written and with him playing it, it sounds even better. Estrellita is another song that I have sung, and I absolutely love , the same with Mozart's Laudate Dominum.His violin gives the music such a soul that it almost is better the hearing someone sing it. The only regret I have about this CD is it does not have him playing O mio Babbino caro, guess I will have to buy his other CD for that.

Joshua Bell
What a master on the violin!!! I appreciate being able to get this CD quickly at an affordable price. It is a treasure.