en-us Amazon.com: When he was growing up, Andrea Bocelli recalls finding inspiration in a favorite recording of sacred music performed by tenor legend Franco Corelli. Bocelli--who in the meantime has come to inspire millions of fiercely loyal fans himself--returns to the genre as the guiding theme of Sacred Arias, the release of which coincides with the first English-language biography of the singer. These performances are filled with the singer's phenomenally well-known vocal signature: his flair for long, sweetly floating high notes and the gentle sense of cadence he brings to a melody. It's a mistake to compartmentalize Bocelli into a singer of "operatic" versus "popular" styles: in truth his approach is at heart the same. Lack of color and control in his phrasing remains a drawback, but the emotional empathy Bocelli evokes is never in doubt. The arias collected here sample some of the most famous devotional pieces: Schubert's "Ave Maria" and Mozart's transporting "Ave Verum," as well as an arrangement of "Silent Night" in which Bocelli tries out his English. There's also a decidedly odd choice of bedfellows for a program of "sacred" music, such as a song from Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder (whose "angel" is the object of an overpoweringly erotic attraction) and Handel's figurative ode to a tree, "Ombra mai fu." Still, Bocelli sings with an unfeigned directness that is sure to expand his already enormous following even further. --Thomas May http://www.earlymiser.com/product/B00002ND9N http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/516T-ynqVCL._SL75_.jpg http://www.earlymiser.com/product/B00002ND9N http://www.amazon.com/gp/aws/cart/add.html?SubscriptionId=D68HUNXKLHS4J&AssociateTag=silicrexshoppeng&ASIN.1=B00002ND9N&Quantity.1=1&adid=1M18505EWJT7JVP0KG4S&linkCode=as1&OfferListingId.1=8WXxzvGIdMf49Ow8MxaXK0o9fr2RlZtggt1lQsHq4aXC4va1WWc9IP%2BmjvjD24QztDXtW8ZoIMVkglUrJu1qUv%2BHVKZr4WEjDY6QWXY2keTmL%2B1kbuTtqeyGiqL8PTq2KTGe3qf3WiiUNtf4u2AmsQ%3D%3D&submit.add.x=55&submit.add.y=10&submit.add=Buy+from+Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/gp/aws/cart/add.html?SubscriptionId=D68HUNXKLHS4J&AssociateTag=silicrexshoppeng&ASIN.1=B00002ND9N&Quantity.1=1&adid=1M18505EWJT7JVP0KG4S&linkCode=as1&OfferListingId.1=8WXxzvGIdMf49Ow8MxaXK0o9fr2RlZtggt1lQsHq4aXC4va1WWc9IP%2BmjvjD24QztDXtW8ZoIMVkglUrJu1qUv%2BHVKZr4WEjDY6QWXY2keTmL%2B1kbuTtqeyGiqL8PTq2KTGe3qf3WiiUNtf4u2AmsQ%3D%3D&submit.add.x=55&submit.add.y=10&submit.add=Buy+from+Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/gp/aws/cart/add.html?SubscriptionId=D68HUNXKLHS4J&AssociateTag=silicrexshoppeng&ASIN.1=B00002ND9N&Quantity.1=1&adid=1M18505EWJT7JVP0KG4S&linkCode=as1&OfferListingId.1=H11aY6P9aqKaWsyyMq%2FK%2BTWOHwi5N78OmPO9pPyUE9Lfrk%2F1VereNCCfG%2FZjQEYMPtBQwAQnL2CENEwQPNq0Ju5XfOLH3dSokVCbbA9X5fyZkHkpDorg%2FJYhtVyQ8dDAEpwxZjJ67G5x1jwrMnmSGg%3D%3D&submit.add.x=55&submit.add.y=10&submit.add=Buy+from+Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/gp/aws/cart/add.html?SubscriptionId=D68HUNXKLHS4J&AssociateTag=silicrexshoppeng&ASIN.1=B00002ND9N&Quantity.1=1&adid=1M18505EWJT7JVP0KG4S&linkCode=as1&OfferListingId.1=H11aY6P9aqKaWsyyMq%2FK%2BTWOHwi5N78OmPO9pPyUE9Lfrk%2F1VereNCCfG%2FZjQEYMPtBQwAQnL2CENEwQPNq0Ju5XfOLH3dSokVCbbA9X5fyZkHkpDorg%2FJYhtVyQ8dDAEpwxZjJ67G5x1jwrMnmSGg%3D%3D&submit.add.x=55&submit.add.y=10&submit.add=Buy+from+Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/gp/aws/cart/add.html?SubscriptionId=D68HUNXKLHS4J&AssociateTag=silicrexshoppeng&ASIN.1=B00002ND9N&Quantity.1=1&adid=1M18505EWJT7JVP0KG4S&linkCode=as1&OfferListingId.1=IATLVwqKviKBDZZ71JFgKBYZqBCG6zedgnCH9cPEz4JQT%2FarX6VUFtspXlVVo2PtyHeEsIt%2FLz2Y78E%2FaZ9fRf3S5x8GCtmciuegjbBHWdMj4X%2FAyD9JW5AMcrGyeIomcvwb%2F6oQeSc%3D&submit.add.x=55&submit.add.y=10&submit.add=Buy+from+Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/gp/aws/cart/add.html?SubscriptionId=D68HUNXKLHS4J&AssociateTag=silicrexshoppeng&ASIN.1=B00002ND9N&Quantity.1=1&adid=1M18505EWJT7JVP0KG4S&linkCode=as1&OfferListingId.1=IATLVwqKviKBDZZ71JFgKBYZqBCG6zedgnCH9cPEz4JQT%2FarX6VUFtspXlVVo2PtyHeEsIt%2FLz2Y78E%2FaZ9fRf3S5x8GCtmciuegjbBHWdMj4X%2FAyD9JW5AMcrGyeIomcvwb%2F6oQeSc%3D&submit.add.x=55&submit.add.y=10&submit.add=Buy+from+Amazon.com