Yo-Yo Ma, Kathryn Stott - Songs From the Arc of Life (2015)

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Kathryn Stott create a unique classical music experience with their new Sony Classical recording Songs from the Arc of Life available September 18, 2015. This all-new recording also celebrates thirty years of friendship and collaboration in concerts and recordings for Ma and Stott. The album includes pieces they have frequently performed but never recorded, as well as a handful of discoveries. Songs from the Arc of Life begins and ends with two, much-beloved settings of the traditional “Ave Maria,” opening with the soaring, radiant Bach/Gounod arrangement and closing with Schubert’s more serene, contemplative version. In between is a remarkable spectrum of music that includes such enduring favorites as Brahms’ “Lullaby,” Dvořák’s “Songs My Mother Taught Me,” Elgar’s “Salut d’amour,” Gade’s “Jalousie” and Saint-Saëns’ “The Swan,” as well as richly evocative works by Debussy, Delius, Fauré, Gershwin, Grieg, Kriesler, Messaien, Schumann, Sibelius and Tchaikovsky. Ma and Stott also include a haunting piece by the contemporary composer Giovanni Sollima, a friend and colleague of both artists.

Composer: Charles Gounod, Johannes Brahms, Gabriel Fauré, Jacob Gade, …
Performer: Kathryn Stott, Yo-Yo Ma

A life is an arc of experience, from beginning to end and all the notes in between. The new album, Songs from the Arc of Life, is a musical journey shared by Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott, and a window into our universal adventure through life and time.

Longtime friends, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Kathryn Stott, create a unique classical music experience with their new recording, Songs from the Arc of Life. The album includes pieces they have frequently performed but never recorded, as well as a handful of discoveries. Songs from the Arc of Life begins and ends with two, much-beloved settings of the traditional “Ave Maria,” opening with the soaring, radiant Bach/Gounod arrangement and closing with Schubert’s more serene, contemplative version. In between is a remarkable spectrum of music that includes such enduring favorites as Brahms’ “Lullaby,” Dvora?k’s “Songs My Mother Taught Me,” Elgar’s “Salut d’amour,” Gade’s “Tango Jalousie” and Saint-Sae?ns’ “The Swan,” as well as richly evocative works by Debussy, Delius, Faure?, Gershwin, Grieg, Kreisler, Messiaen, Schumann, Sibelius and Tchaikovsky. Ma and Stott also include a haunting piece by the contemporary composer Giovanni Sollima, a friend and colleague of both artists.

Tracklist:

1. Ave Maria (2:43)
2. Wiegenlied, Op. 49 No. 4 (Lullaby) (1:49)
3. Gypsy Songs, Op. 55: No. 4, Songs My Mother Taught Me (1:56)
4. Papillon, Op. 77 (2:48)
5. Tango Jalousie (3:42)
6. Five Pieces in the Popular Style, Op. 102: I. Vanitas vanitatum (3:03)
7. Was it a Dream?, Op. 37 No. 4 (2:16)
8. Après un rêve, Op. 7 No. 1 (2:40)
9. Salut d'amour, Op. 12 (2:44)
10. Three Preludes: No. 1 in B-Flat Major (1:51)
11. Romance for Cello and Piano (6:25)
12. La Gitana (3:32)
13. Il bell'Antonio, Tema III (7:34)
14. Carnival of the Animals: XIII. The Swan (2:54)
15. Elegiac Melodies, Op. 34: No. 1, The Wounded Heart (2:29)
16. Valse sentimentale, Op. 51 No. 6 (2:17)
17. Quartet for the End of Time: VIII. Louange à l'Éternité de Jésus (10:17)
18. Beau Soir (2:31)
19. Ave Maria, Op. 52 No. 6 (Ellens Gesang III) (4:14)

Total length: 01:07:45