Sacred Arias

1	Ave Maria
2	Cavalleria rusticana, ope
3	Ave Maria, for voice & pi
4	Ellens Gesang III ("Ave M
5	Panis angelicus for tenor
6	Stabat mater for 2 sopran
7	Requiem Mass, for soloist
8	Ave verum Corpus, motet f
9	Wesendonk Lieder, songs (
10	Serse (Xerxes), opera, HW
11	Pietà, Signore! for voice
12	Petite messe solennelle,
13	Wiegenlied ("Schlafe, sch
14	Stille Nacht, heilige Nac
15	O Come, All Ye Faithful (
16	Gloria a te, Cristo Gesù
Sacred Arias
1.	Ave Maria 3:49
	Composed by Giulio Caccini
	Conducted by Myung-Whun Chung
	Performed by Andrea Bocelli
2.	Cavalleria rusticana, opera (melodramma) in 1 act: Intermezzo 3:37
	Composed by Pietro Mascagni
	Conducted by Myung-Whun Chung
	Performed by Andrea Bocelli
3.	Ave Maria, for voice & piano (after Bach's Prelude No. 1 from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1) 3:01
	Composed by Charles Gounod
	Conducted by Myung-Whun Chung
	Performed by Andrea Bocelli
4.	Ellens Gesang III ("Ave Maria"), song for voice & piano, D. 839 (Op. 52/6) 2:32
	Composed by Franz Schubert
	Conducted by Myung-Whun Chung
	Performed by Andrea Bocelli
5.	Panis angelicus for tenor, organ, harp, cello & bass 3:32
	Composed by César Franck
	Performed by Norbert Balatsch and Andrea Bocelli
	Conducted by Myung-Whun Chung
6.	Stabat mater for 2 sopranos, tenor, bass, chorus & orchestra: Cujus animam 5:34
	Composed by Gioachino Rossini
	Conducted by Myung-Whun Chung
	Performed by Andrea Bocelli
7.	Requiem Mass, for soloists, chorus & orchestra (Manzoni Requiem): Ingemisco 4:10
	Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
	Conducted by Myung-Whun Chung
	Performed by Andrea Bocelli
8.	Ave verum Corpus, motet for chorus, strings & organ, K. 618 3:05
	Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
	Conducted by Myung-Whun Chung
	Performed by Andrea Bocelli
9.	Wesendonk Lieder, songs (5) for voice & piano (or orchestra), WWV 91: No.1, Der Engel 3:05
	Composed by Richard Wagner
	Conducted by Myung-Whun Chung
	Performed by Andrea Bocelli
10.	Serse (Xerxes), opera, HWV 40: Frondi Tenere... Ombra mai fu 3:56
	Composed by George Frideric Handel
	Conducted by Myung-Whun Chung
	Performed by Andrea Bocelli
11.	Pietà, Signore! for voice & piano (or orchestra) 6:59
	Composed by Louis Niedermeyer
	Performed by Norbert Balatsch and Andrea Bocelli
	Conducted by Myung-Whun Chung
12.	Petite messe solennelle, for soloists, 2 pianos, harmonium & choir: Domine Deus 4:37
	Composed by Gioachino Rossini
	Conducted by Myung-Whun Chung
	Performed by Andrea Bocelli
13.	Wiegenlied ("Schlafe, schlafe, holder süsser Knabe"), song for voice & piano ("Mille Cherubini in Coro"), D. 498 (Op. 98/2) 3:55
	Composed by Franz Schubert
	Performed by Norbert Balatsch and Andrea Bocelli
	Conducted by Myung-Whun Chung
14.	Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht (Silent Night) 3:08
	Composed by Franz Xaver Gruber
	Performed by Norbert Balatsch, Andrea Bocelli, Arcum Choir and Paolo Lucci
	Conducted by Myung-Whun Chung
15.	O Come, All Ye Faithful (Adeste fidelis) 2:55
	Composed by John Francis Wade
	Performed by Norbert Balatsch and Andrea Bocelli
	Conducted by Myung-Whun Chung
16.	Gloria a te, Cristo Gesù 4:21
	Composed by Jean-Paul Lecot
	Conducted by Myung-Whun Chung
	Performed by Andrea Bocelli and Ciro Visco

Barnes & Noble

Sacred Arias is a whole lot more than a Christmas album. Following up on his bestselling recordings of operatic favorites -- Viaggio Italiano and Aria -- Andrea Bocelli offers a richly varied recital of spiritual music drawn from the vast repertory of classical song, oratorio, and opera. Some of these selections are well known, like Franz Schubert's "Ave Maria" (used in Walt Disney's film "Fantasia"), Charles Gounod's "Ave Maria" (based on a prelude by J. S. Bach), and the vocally challenging "Ingemisco" from Giuseppe Verdi's powerful Requiem. But who would expect to find Bocelli singing his heart out in Richard Wagner's song "Der Engel" (The Angel)? In fact, throughout Sacred Arias, Bocelli sings with passion and imagination. He starts Pietro Mascagni's "Sancta Maria" in hushed, trembling tones before letting his voice ring out in its full splendor. "Panis Angelicus" by César Franck has equal parts tenderness and strength. Bocelli performs the difficult Verdi excerpt with remarkable ease, and his heartfelt interpretation makes the most of the composer's awe-inspiring music. Even the rarely heard Wagner song (sung in its original German) finds the Italian sounding right at home. "Silent Night" (sung in English) and "Adeste Fidelis" are given in tastefully elegant arrangements, although the final "Gloria a Te, Christo Gesú" is opulently orchestrated, providing a suitably rousing finale for this uplifting program. Andrew Farach-Colton

All Music Guide

Sacred Arias followed Andrea Bocelli's successful mainstream effort Sogno by a matter of months -- a release strategy which suggests that he wanted to shore up his classical audience after a pop-leaning effort. That's nonsense, however. For lack of a better term, Sacred Arias is a holiday album, released in November, just in time for Christmas. For much of Bocelli's audience, given that the arias are religious songs, they are holiday songs as well -- after all, "Ave Maria," which leads off the album, is an integral part of the holiday season, and "Silent Night" and "Adeste Fideles" are also here. But Sacred Arias is more than just a holiday record. It contains other arias that aren't specifically about Christmas, plus selections like Wagner's "Der Engel," which isn't religious. Nevertheless, the album holds together fairly well, since the arrangements are of a piece, and Bocelli performs each in his signature style. He may not offer new interpretations of these standards, nor is his phrasing particularly unique, but nevertheless, he does deliver spirited performances of strong, albeit familiar, music in a way that's accessible to a wide audience. That's reason enough for fans to add this to their collection, especially as it is his first collection of arias and religious music. Stephen Thomas Erlewine