ABC Classic FM CD of the Week. Week beginning 14th December 2009

Track Listing:

Debussy Girl with the Flaxen Hair, Dvorak Song to the Moon, Grieg Solveig Song, Chopin Mazurka Op 67 No 4, Nocturne Op 9 No 2, Tchaikovsky Valse Sentimentale Op 51 No 6, Rachmaninov Vocalise, Satie Gymnopedie, Gnossienne No 1, Faure Pavane, After A Dream

Craig Leon's arrangements for Joshua Bell's best-selling album Romance of the Violin paved the way for this new CD of glorious, singing cello lines. With the cello often being described as the instrument whose sound is closest to the human voice, Swiss cellist Ophelie Gaillard here takes the lead in opera aria transcriptions (including the famous Song to the Moon and Puccini's 'O mio babbino caro') for cello and orchestra. Also featuring well known works by Satie, Faure, Debussy and Grieg, Leon and Gaillard's Dreams hears oft-heard melodies anew in serene yet sumptuous new arrangements.