Yo-Yo Ma & Kathryn Stott – Songs From The Arc Of Life (180g Vinyl 2LP)

Yo-Yo Ma is one of the most famous and best cellists in the world and has been awarded 18 Grammys. After some very successful excursions into the musical world of jazz, American folk music and traditional Chinese music, the cellist is now releasing another classical album.

With his longtime friend, pianist Kathryn Stott, Yo-Yo Ma has recorded well-known and popular classical melodies on Songs From The Arc Of Life. The album begins and ends with two popular “Ave Maria” settings: Bach/Gounod’s bright, radiant version begins, and Schubert’s more reflective, serious version concludes. In between are beloved classics such as “Brahms’ Lullaby”, Dvorák’s “Lieder”, Elgar’s “Salut d’Amour”, Jacob Gade’s “Jalousie”, Saint-Saëns’ “Swan”, as well as atmospheric pieces by Debussy, Fauré, Gershwin and Tchaikovsky. These are all pieces that Ma and Stott have often played together in concert but have never recorded until now.

“We want to invite our audience to remember and imagine what the soundtrack of their own lives might sound like,” Yo-Yo Ma says. “Kathy and I have wanted for years to record an album of works that are close to our hearts, music that depicts the context of a life.”

Songs From The Arc Of Life is available on black vinyl and includes a 4-page booklet.

Side A
1. Ave Maria (Bach / Gounod)
2. Lullaby (Brahms)
3. Songs My Mother Taught Me (Dvořák)
4. Papillon (Fauré)
5. Tango Jalousie (Gade)
6. I. Vanitas Vanitatum (From Five Pieces in the Popular Style) (Schumann)

Side B
1. Was It A Dream? (Sibelius)
2. Après Un Rêve (Fauré)
3. Salut d’Amour (Elgar)
4. Prelude No. 1 (Gershwin)
5. Romance For Cello And Piano (Delius)

Side C
1. La Gitana (Kreisler)
2. Il bell’Antonio, Tema III (Sollima)
3. The Swan (From Carnival Of The Animals) (Saint-Saëns)
4. The Wounded Heart (From Elegiac Melodies) (Grieg)
5. Valse Sentimentale (Tchaikovsky)

Side D
1. Louange À l’Éternité De Jésus (From Quartet for the End of Time) (Messiaen)
2. Beau Soir (Debussy)
3. Ave Maria (Schubert)