Notes and Editorial Reviews
Joy unbounded. This CD is a succession of catchy tunes, big, bold and sung with a quality rare in any age and practically extinct in this.
If the Destinies at GRAMOPHONE'S Editorial office who apportion the fate of records and reviewers knew of the murder in my heart as. I unpacked this ("What rubbish have they sent me now!", etc.).. . If the reader knew of the subterfuges, delays and arrangements for playing in instalments that preceded the listening. . . . Well, they might be mildly astonished to learn that the record has been responsible for an hour of tingling, somewhat guilty pleasure, in which there,was no question of stopping halfway to make a cup of tea or go out to the shops, and which I hope to
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repeat fairly soon. Normally the dressing-up of these songs in glossy orchestration, with twee bits of counterpoint and clever, alien harmonies is something I find infuriating. Often, too, it seems they have lost the way of singing them with style and sincerity, so that you go back to de Lucia and Caruso, Schipa and Gigli to confirm conviction of the subequent degeneracy of the human race. The idea of Henry Mancini jetsetting the songs for symphony orchestra and chorus did not appeal, and it must be said that the very start of the record, with spotlit flights of instruments and a fearsome gimmick of double-tracking or superimposing the tenor's voice suggested the worst excesses to follow. But no: it settles down blissfully into a succession of catchy tunes, big, bold and unashamed, colourfully but appropriately orchestrated and sung with shining Italian resonance of a quality rare in any age and practically extinct in this.
For Volare itself, Pavarotti finds an attractive modern manner, perhaps learnt from the more stylish of pop singers and effectively applied. He has the energy and buoyant flair for the old Bixio numbers, good at nimble enunciation of the words without losing fullness of tone. The sentimental pieces sometimes need softening, and Pavarotti is altogether too prosaic—compare Martinelli or Gobbi—with Mascagni's Serenata. But again, one can't complain for long, when this stream of magnificent sound rings out with its "Sola per te"s and "mai pio"s (all the best songs have that in them). Then the chorus take over, then Pavarotti does a bit more, then the orchestra continues in an ecstasy of bad taste, and the great tenor returns with a crowning high note. Joy unbounded.
-- Gramophone [12/1987]
reviewing the original release of this recording, Decca 421052
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Works on This Recording
1.
Volare by Domenico Modugno
Performer:
Luciano Pavarotti (Tenor)
Conductor:
Henry Mancini
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bologna Teatro Comunale Chorus,
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1958; Italy
Language: Italian
Notes: Arranger: Henry Mancini.
2.
Occhi di fata by Luigi Denza
Performer:
Luciano Pavarotti (Tenor),
Henry Mancini (Piano)
Conductor:
Henry Mancini
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bologna Teatro Comunale Chorus,
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: Naples, Italy
Language: Italian
3.
La strada nel bosco by Cesare Andrea Bixio
Performer:
Henry Mancini (Piano),
Luciano Pavarotti (Tenor)
Conductor:
Henry Mancini
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bologna Teatro Comunale Chorus,
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1943; Italy
Language: Italian
4.
La girometta by Gabriele Sibella
Performer:
Henry Mancini (Piano),
Luciano Pavarotti (Tenor)
Conductor:
Henry Mancini
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bologna Teatro Comunale Chorus,
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Language: Italian
5.
Malinconia d'amore by Giovanni D'anzi
Performer:
Henry Mancini (Piano),
Luciano Pavarotti (Tenor)
Conductor:
Henry Mancini
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bologna Teatro Comunale Chorus,
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: Italy
Language: Italian
6.
Chi è più felice di me by Cesare Andrea Bixio
Performer:
Henry Mancini (Piano),
Luciano Pavarotti (Tenor)
Conductor:
Henry Mancini
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bologna Teatro Comunale Chorus,
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: Italy
Language: Italian
7.
Luna marinara by Bonagura,
Performer:
Luciano Pavarotti (Tenor),
Henry Mancini (Piano)
Conductor:
Henry Mancini
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bologna Teatro Comunale Chorus,
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: Italy
Language: Italian
8.
Fra tanta gente by Cassarini,
Performer:
Henry Mancini (Piano),
Luciano Pavarotti (Tenor)
Conductor:
Henry Mancini
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bologna Teatro Comunale Chorus,
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Language: Italian
9.
Fiorin fiorello by Vittorio Mascheroni
Performer:
Henry Mancini (Piano),
Luciano Pavarotti (Tenor)
Conductor:
Henry Mancini
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bologna Teatro Comunale Chorus,
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: Italy
Language: Italian
10.
Ti voglio tanto bene by Ernesto De Curtis
Performer:
Henry Mancini (Piano),
Luciano Pavarotti (Tenor)
Conductor:
Henry Mancini
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bologna Teatro Comunale Chorus,
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: Italy
Language: Italian
11.
Una chitarra nella notte by Ermenegildo Ruccione
Performer:
Henry Mancini (Piano),
Luciano Pavarotti (Tenor)
Conductor:
Henry Mancini
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bologna Teatro Comunale Chorus,
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: Italy
Language: Italian
12.
La canzone dell'amore by Cesare Andrea Bixio
Performer:
Luciano Pavarotti (Tenor),
Henry Mancini (Piano)
Conductor:
Henry Mancini
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bologna Teatro Comunale Chorus,
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: Italy
Language: Italian
13.
Cantate con me by Cesare Andrea Bixio
Performer:
Henry Mancini (Piano),
Luciano Pavarotti (Tenor)
Conductor:
Henry Mancini
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bologna Teatro Comunale Chorus,
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: Italy
Language: Italian
14.
Serenata by Pietro Mascagni
Performer:
Luciano Pavarotti (Tenor),
Henry Mancini (Piano)
Conductor:
Henry Mancini
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bologna Teatro Comunale Chorus,
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1883; Italy
Language: Italian
15.
Dimmi tu primavera by Cesare Andrea Bixio
Performer:
Luciano Pavarotti (Tenor),
Henry Mancini (Piano)
Conductor:
Henry Mancini
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bologna Teatro Comunale Chorus,
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: Italy
Language: Italian
16.
Un amore cosi grande by Guido Maria Ferilli
Performer:
Luciano Pavarotti (Tenor),
Henry Mancini (Piano)
Conductor:
Henry Mancini
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bologna Teatro Comunale Chorus,
Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: Italy
Language: Italian
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