World-renowned Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli has released a breathtaking new album, Believe, via Sugar/Decca Records, celebrating the power of music to soothe the soul. He is joined on the record by Alison Krauss, the most awarded singer in Grammy history, for a powerful and emotional rendition of ‘Amazing Grace’.
It follows Bocelli’s record-breaking ‘Music for Hope’ performance at Easter from the historic Duomo cathedral in Milan which was watched live by millions around the globe. The new album also features two duets with leading opera singer Cecilia Bartoli, a previously unreleased track from the late, great Italian composer Ennio Morricone, as well as ‘Gratia Plena’ – the closing song from the critically acclaimed new movie, Fatima.
The themes explored in this new recording are deeply personal to Bocelli, who says, “The concept behind ‘Believe’ is based on three words: faith, hope and charity. These are the three theological virtues of Christianity, yet – quite independently of any religious belief – they are also the three extraordinary keys to giving meaning and completeness to the lives of every one of us.”
Bocelli’s solo rendition of ‘Amazing Grace’ beautifully concluded his ‘Music for Hope’ performance earlier this year. As one of the biggest musical live stream performances of all-time and with over 2.8 million peak concurrent viewers, it achieved the largest simultaneous audience for a classical live stream in YouTube history. The video received more than 28 million views from across the globe in its first 24 hours.
Bocelli has composed his own settings of ‘Ave Maria’ and ‘Padre Nostro’ specially for this record. He says, “I don’t consider myself to be a composer, however, I am a musician, and sometimes melodies come to my mind, with essentially complete harmonies… Music that knocks on the door of my soul and which I gladly welcome and then set free by putting pen to paper”. There are also melodies like ‘Mira il tuo popolo’ which take him back to when he was a boy, growing up in Tuscany. “They represent the soundtrack to my childhood memories,” he says.
Musically gifted from birth, Andrea Bocelli is one of the most celebrated singers in modern history, performing at major international events including the Olympic Games and the World Cup, as well as his own sell-out arena shows around the world. He has a Golden Globe, seven Classical BRITs and seven World Music Awards under his belt, plus a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His previous album, Si, reached No.1 on both the US and UK charts.
Believe – Tracklisting
- YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE
- FRATELLO SOLE SORELLA LUNA (DOLCE È SENTIRE)
- HALLELUJAH
- PIANISSIMO duet with Cecilia Bartoli
- AMAZING GRACE duet with Alison Krauss
- PREGHIERA (ALLA MENTE CONFUSA)
- GRATIA PLENA (from the movie “Fatima”)
- CANTIQUE DE JEAN RACINE
- INNO SUSSURATO
- OH, MADRE BENEDETTA! (ADAGIO DI ALBINONI)
- I BELIEVE duet with Cecilia Bartoli
- AVE MARIA
- ANGELE DEI
- AGNUS DEI
