This CD contains both ADD and DDD recordings.
To know a piece of music, to truly understand the depth of its meaning, requires intense study. Once written, a great work takes on a life of its own, its full potential beyond even what its composer anticipates. This album, an exploration of Rachmaninov's 'Vocalise,' takes 13 interpretations and, by laying them side by side, shows how rich such a simple melody can be.
Each interpretation brings out something new in this beautiful, wordless song. Transcriptions for solo piano, solo flute, piano duet, soprano, full choir, and full orchestra show how flexibly the music accepts different ideas and instrumentation. The deep melancholy of Vladimir Spivakov's violin, accompanied by Sergei Bezrodny's piano, stands in stark contrast with the angelic transcendence found in countertenor Brian Asawa's performance.
Every listener will find his or her favorite performance here, but it is impossible to select a definitive interpretation. However, the Philadelphia Orchestra's version, conducted by Rachmaninov himself, has an air of authority. After all, who better to interpret the intentions of the composer than the composer himself?