Andrea Bocelli – Sacred Arias (1999)

1.    Caccini: "Ave Maria (Funeral for a Friend)"
2.    Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticana – "Sancta Maria"
3.    Gounod: "Ave Maria"
4.    Schubert: Ellens Gesang, Op. 52/6, D 839 – "Ave Maria"
5.    Franck: "Panis Angelicus"				play
6.    Rossini: Stabat Mater – "Cujus Animam"
7.    Verdi: Requiem – "Ingemisco"
8.    Mozart: "Ave verum corpus", K. 618		play
9.    Wagner: Wesendonck Lieder, WWV 91/1 – "Der Engel"
10.   Handel: Serse, HWV 40 – "Frondi tenere ... Ombra mai fu"
11.   Niedermeyer: "Pietà, Signore"
12.   Rossini: Petite Messe Solennelle – "Domine Deus"
13.   Schubert: Wiegenlied, Op. 98/2, D 498 – "Mille Cherubini In Coro"
14.   Gruber: "Silent Night"
15.   Wade: "Adeste Fideles (O Come, All Ye Faithful)"
16.   Lécot: "Gloria A Te, Cristo Gesù"
17.   Georges Bizet: "Angus Dei" (Bonus)
18.   Eric Lévi: "I Believe" (Bonus)

Orchestra e Coro dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
Myung-Whun Chung – conductor

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

"Sacred Arias" was my first Bocelli CD (it hasn't been my last!). As a pastor, seminary student, and lover of classical music (especially sacred music) I was drawn to it the moment I saw it. And, when I first listened to it, I was not disappointed. I find each of the arias to be tremendously inspiring. But, the "Sancta Maria" brought tears to my eyes when I first heard it. This CD provides me with 62:22 minutes of worship as I listen to each of these beautifully sung praises and prayers that have served as a testimony of faith over time. It is obvious that these pieces are dear to Bocelli's heart because his heart is definitely in his interpretation of them. ---G. Howe

In 2000, the album led Bocelli to receive an ECHO Klassik for "Bestseller of the year", as well as a 2000 Classical BRIT Award for "Album of the year", and a Goldene Europa for classical music, in 2000.

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