Roses, autumn leaves, a carnival in Venice, a night of stars… these are the ingredients for André Rieu's newest CD “You Raise Me Up”.
It's a bouquet of simply gorgeous, lush melodies, many of them recorded for the first time by André Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra. Opening with the title track from the 1979 film The Rose, starring Bette Middler (it becoming one of her biggest hit singles in 1980), the album pays tribute to nature in the form of a waltz (Johann Strauss's Roses from the South), a timeless chanson (Autumn Leaves), and a tribute to the night sky via Chopin, in this, the 200th anniversary of his birth (it attained enormously popularity as the song Tristesse [Rossi – 1939], later set to English lyrics and a big UK hit in 1964 for comedian and singer Ken Dodd). No less a hit a year later, 1965, was Nini Rosso's Il Silenzio. It went to #1 in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Italy Switzerland and reached #1 in Australia on 1 September 1965 and stayed in the charts for 19 weeks. And speaking of #1 hits, You Raise Me Up, which has chalked up more plaudits and #1s than any other song in recent memory, needs little introduction.
It's but a short journey from the world of waltzes to the world of operetta – second-cousins one might call them – and André's new CD brings us those timeless melodies from Kalman's The Gypsy Princess (a great Mantovani hit) and the gorgeous song Liebe du Himmel auf Erden (You love heaven on earth). And then another short ride to the world of musicals, for two numbers from the Disney musical of the moment – Mary Poppins, and the incredibly moving Send in the Clowns from Sondheim's A Little Night Music. Not forgetting the song of songs that climbed to the top of the charts worldwide last year: I dreamed a dream.
The album features soprano soloists Australian-born Mirusia Louwerse and Brazilian-born Carmen Monarcha, who make the recording debut as duetists for Send in the clowns. And of course, the delightful Platin Tenors who sing the Chiantilied and the 'mum' song of songs, Mamma.
As with every André Rieu CD, it's beautiful, memorable melodies in lavish arrangements, all with the stamp of Maestro Rieu that make this the perfect album for Mother's Day – and, in fact, well beyond.
