Voices features great singers

Since the greatest tenors of recent times are all represented in the album, I venture to think that maybe the producers should have also included Enrico Caruso, Mario Lanza and new tenor sensation Josh Groban. But I have to admit that even without these famous names, Voices is still an over-the-top kind of compilation featuring, what else but some of the greatest voices of recent times.

The selections included in Voices are culled from various albums. They range from opera La Donna e Mobile from Verdi’s Rigoletto to pop like Now We are Free from the soundtrack of the motion picture Gladiator to Broadway, folk and rock and even New Age. What they all have in common is that each cut is a showcase of the vocal prowess of a particular singer or in the case of some duet numbers, particular singers.

I always say that it is necessary to listen to an entire album to fully appreciate what an artist is capable of, but times are hard and not all of us can afford to buy all the CDs we want. Besides, some of the artists included in the album have no releases available in the local stores and this is probably the first time we are able to listen to their works. So enjoy Voices for the great performances and the beautiful songs it offers, then allow it to serve as a sampler from which we can make our choices of whom we want to hear more of.

Get a load of this line-up: the late Freddie Mercury of Queen in a duet of Barcelona with Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballe; Andrea Bocelli and Nessum Dorma; Luciano Pavarotti with Caruso; teen-aged soprano Charlotte Church with Summertime from Porgy and Bess; Lisa Gerard and Hans Zimmer with Now We are Free; Lara Fabian and Adagio; Don’t Cry for Me Argentina from Evita by Julie Covington; Amigos Para Siempre by Sarah Brightman and Jose Carreras; La Donna e Mobile by Placido Domingo; Ill Propio Fine by Erna Hemming; Ameno by Era; La Notte Eterna by Emma Shapplin; O Mio Babbino Caro by Renee Fleming; Carreras again with Core ’ngrato; Russell Watson’s version of Bridge Over Troubled Waters; Air from County Derry by Helmut Lotti; La Vie en Rose by Ute Lemper; and Maria Callas, one of the greatest sopranos of all time with La Mamma Morta.

Once in a Red Moon

Beautiful music is also what Once in a Red Moon by Secret Garden has to offer. Dreamy is the only way to describe the contents of the album wherein 12 new compositions by Rolf Lovland are used to tell what can be deduced as an inspiring tale of man in complete communion with nature and the most positive of feelings. This is the sort of album you should listen to to lift up your spirit and to marvel at how affecting music can be.

Secret Garden is made up of Rolf as composer, arranger, producer and pianist and Fionnuala Sherry as co-producer and violinist. They regard the violin as "the voice of our melodies" and the instrumental phrases as "the words of our songs." They had previously released Songs from a Secret Garden, White Stones, Dawn of a New Century and the Dreamcatcher compilation. Each one is made up of original works that tell a lyrical tale and which blends the music artistry of artists from all over the world.

Most notable among the selections in Once in a Red Moon is You Raise Me Up, a very uplifting song performed by Irish singer Brian Kennedy with Tracy Campbell-Nation and the London Community Gospel Choir, which was featured in The Circle of Life from The Lion King and the Uilleann Pipes artistry of Liam O’Flynn. There are also Gates of Dawn and Greenwaves, which features the voice of the Scottish singer Karen Matheson; Duo a cello and violin duet with Fionnuala and Julian Lloyd Webber, the younger brother of the famous composer Andrew Lloyd; Orbit which features Asa Jinder, the Swedish key harp artist.

Take note of the 66 different pianos playing the "global C chord" on the piano. Fionnuala and Rolf asked people to participate in a musical experiment by sending the "global C" as played on the piano through Secret Garden’s website. The response totalled 66 pianos from Russia, Belgium, Hong Kong, Korea, China, Mexico, USA and other parts of the world. These were then mixed together into the final chord of the album’s latest cut Elegie.