Voice of the Violin

Voice of the Violin
Joshua Bell
Featuring Anna Netrebko
Sony Classical

Joshua Bell's 2006 CD is an experience not to be missed. I just checked it out from our library and fell in love with it so much that I just had to go buy it. Every song on this disc has been adapted for violin from vocal pieces (hence the name "Voice of the Violin"). He plays several opera arias, including "Pourquoi me reveiller?"and Rusalka's "Song to the Moon". Every song is a gem and so worth listening to, however, the last two are the icing on the cake. Bizet's haunting "Je crois entendre encore" is simply wonderful. Joshua Bell has indeed made the violin sound like a voice, creating a wonderful effect for this beautiful number. For the final song, he is joined by famous opera soprano Anna Netrebko, for Richard Strauss' "Morgen!", a song originally written for voice and piano. They are simply wonderful together and the only trouble is that it is over too soon. Actually, that is the only trouble with the entire cd - it is over too soon. But the nice thing is that you can start it all over again from the beginning!

The disc has wonderful quality sound and features a nice booklet, which is worth reading as it has notes about each song. All in all, definitely worth listening to and this will be on the top of my shelf from now on! Whether you want to hear a few songs or go all the way through, this is a fantastic cd.

RACHMANINOFF: Vocalise
SCHUBERT: Ave Maria
MASSENET: Pourquoi me reveiller? from Werther
FAURE: Apres un reve
DVORAK: Song to the Moon from Rusalka
MOZART: Laudate Dominum
TCHAIKOVSKY: None but the Lonely Heart
DONIZETTI: Una furtiva lagrima from L'Elisir d'Amore
ORFF: In trutina from Carmina Burana
MENDELSSOHN: May Breezes from Songs Without Words
DEBUSSY: Beau soir
PONCE: Estrellita
DE FALLA: Nana from Seven Popular Spanish Songs
BIZET: Je crois entendre encore from The Pearl Fishers
R. STRAUSS: Morgen! - featuring ANNA NETREBKO -