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Safe Internet Shopping - Songs of Joy & Peace
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List Price: $18.98
Our Price: $8.14
Your Save: $ 10.84 ( 57% )
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0886972441429
Label: Sony
Manufacturer: Sony
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Sony
Release Date: 2008-10-14
Studio: Sony
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: A decent attempt to bring the world together for the holidays
Comment: Anyone who enjoys professional instrumentation should find something worthy on this CD. "Songs of Joy & Peace" begins with Yo-Yo Ma's expressive solo of "Dona Dobis Pacem (Give Us Peace)", which will later be the theme of 4 improvisations with various instrumentalists on this CD.
Diana Krall and James Taylor each offer us a nice vocal recording, both of which are mostly non-Christmas, except for a small improv on the piano from Krall before she kicks into the song. Renee Fleming's song seems to be below her normal standard of performance, but is still way above average. The Krall, Taylor and Fleming recordings seem slightly out of place for the theme of a holiday CD, but they all sing with romantic warmth, which makes the inclusion of these recordings more than acceptable.
A major highlight for me is Alison Krauss' beautiful recording of "The Wexford Carol", which is a traditional Irish Christmas carol. Her vocals are perfect and the song seems natural. "The Wexford Carol" is my absolute favorite vocal track on the CD for capturing the traditional passion of the holiday season. The tracks with Chris Botti are also major highlights. I am usually partial to the trumpet with its great melodic tones. (I played the trumpet in school.) Botti sounds really professional alongside Yo-Yo Ma on the cello. Christina Pato on the bagpipes is a nice celtic highlight.
My favorite instrumental track is "My One and Only Love", with Joshua Redman on the saxophone and Yo-Yo Ma on the cello. Yo-Yo shows the expressiveness that has made him famous, and Redman is just phenomenal. "My One and Only Love" is my favorite arrangement, only rivaling the wonderful rendition of "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" with Hawaiian Jake Shimabukuro on the ukulele. I was surprised at how expressive the little ukulele really can be, and the tone color is right on. But I must not forget the legendary Dave Brubeck. He records some wonderful instrumental holiday jazz with Matt Brubeck (his youngest son), and also with the entertaining Paquito D'Rivera on the clarinet.
The back of the CD states Yo-Yo's objective for this disc:
"Imagine a party, a musical party inspired by the holiday season. A party that celebrates the universal hopes, dreams and joy animating seasonal festivals the world over. That is what brought Yo-Yo Ma together with a remarkable group of friends - some old, some new - to create SONGS OF JOY & PEACE. It is Yo-Yo's hope that everyone who listens to this album will hear a song familiar, comfortable and beloved to them as well as discover and fall in love with music that is brand new."
In the end, Yo-Yo Ma did a decent job in achieving his objective, but I am still trying to imagine this musical party. I know very little about the Assad family from Brazil, but I enjoyed their "Familia" recording very much, and Sergio Assad's guitar recordings are right on. The Cuban clarinetist Paquito D'Rivera is a nice inclusion to the CD, with his professional quality instrumentation with the clarinet. Israeli pianist Alon Yavnai is also very professional, as well as Wu Tong, who sings while playing the traditional Chinese sheng. Overall, "Songs of Joy & Peace" includes musicians from America, Cuba, Canada, Galicia, Brazil, Israel, and China (the ethnic origin of Yo-Yo Ma).
In conclusion, it is clear that Yo-Yo Ma has more in mind than just a simple run-of-the-mill holiday album. I do not find Yo-Yo's ideas to be grandiose, but instead I look at it as an appeal for everyone to embrace the different qualities of each culture in this world. Yo-Yo has been trying to increase cultural literacy since 1999 with his Silk Road Project, which promotes "collaboration among artists and institutions, promoting multicultural artistic exchange, and studying the ebb and flow of ideas among different cultures along the Silk Road."
I will recommend "Songs of Joy & Peace" not only to Yo-Yo Ma fans, but also to fans of instrumentation in general. However, this CD is an eclectic collection, which sometimes makes the flow of the recordings seem ill-matched. I recommend sampling first. In the end, I feel the CD holds together nicely overall. "Songs of Joy & Peace" is certainly worth the price.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not your Father's Holiday Music Anymore
Comment: For those of you out of the link, Yo Yo Ma is quite a hip guy. Sure, he can play the long-hair music more beautifully than any cellist today, but he's young enough and hip enough to know how to make a contemporary ballad REALLY sing. I've been following him for years. He's witty, urbane, and deeply devoted to the study of all music. And this cd does not disappoint. Yes, there are some holiday traditionals, but he has invited either old friends he's worked with or new musicians he admires to make this compilation. The result is making beautiful music tgether. It's eclectic, and occasionally a bit uneven, but in a fun improv kind of way. His long time friend James Taylor gives a "Hear Comes the Sun" cover that is both haunting and a little distracting due to Taylor's distinct consonant pronuciation. But it grows on one. Not just a holiday cd!
Customer Rating:
Summary: What a joy!
Comment: I watched the bonus DVD first and learned so much about why each song was chosen and how the arrangements came to be. Yo-Yo Ma is an effervescent personality who exudes such love and joy himself, the artists loved working with him. Some were old friends, some new. The music is exceptionally beautiful, with an unexpected selection for the holidays.
Customer Rating:
Summary: New holiday sounds
Comment: An interesting mix. Not your ordinary ubiquitous selection of holiday music. No background music here. Guests will be too intrigued.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Lovely to listen to
Comment: This is not your typical holiday album. There are a few holiday standards here, such as "Joy to the World", however, the arrangement is not what you might expect. I feel the true highlight of this album is track #8; Alison Krauss is goose bump worthy as a vocalist. Tracks #6 and #7 are ubeat and uplifting additions to this album. Where this album fell short is in the few songs which are arranged in an off putting minor key, and with track #20, which seems out of place among the others. However, overall, this album makes a welcome addition to any holiday collection.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Imagine a party, a musical party inspired by the holiday season. A party that celebrates the universal hopes, dreams and joy animating seasonal festivals the world over - Christmas, Hanukkah, Eid al-Adha, Kwanzaa, Yule and New Year's Day. That is what brought Yo-Yo Ma together with a remarkable group of friends - some old, some new - to create SONGS OF JOY & PEACE. It is Yo-Yo's hope that everyone who listens to this album will hear a song familiar, comfortable and beloved to them as well as discover and fall in love with music that is brand new.
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