Track 5

Arturo Delmoni & Friends (Arturo Delmoni and Nina Bodnar, violins; Natasha Lipkina, viola; Nathaniel Rosen, violoncello; with special guest Emily Mitchell, harp) US $15.00

To listen to a sample track on this CD, go to "What's On It" below. You will need to have the RealAudio plug-in installed on your computer and a 28.8 or better modem . Go to our Technical Information page for more details on how to do this or if you are having any problems with playing any of the tracks. In my opinion Volume Two is even lovlier than the first. Christmas music of a kind and quality you won’t hear anywhere else! Track 1: Ave Maria Track 2: Adam Lay Ybounden Track 3: The Shepherds' Farewell Track 4: II Est Ne Le Devin Enfant Track 5: In The Bleak Mid-Winter Fans of the string quartet are in luck here, with 22 beautifully played classics and curiosities in first-rate arrangements. The performers are Arturo Delmoni and Nina Bodnar, violins; Natasha Lipkina, viola; and Nathaniel Rosen, cello, with harpist Emily Mitchell joining the ensemble for two different Ave Marias. Delmoni's sweet-voiced fiddle takes the melodies and lifts them aloft. Melinda Bargreen, The Seattle Times Volume 1 came out in 1995 and was reviewed Nov/Dec of that year. This is more of the same — but with some unusual and rarely heard selections to add variety — and with playing this good it is certainly welcome. As in the first set, this group plays the music sweetly and simply — no mucked-up arrangements. You hear the innocent beauty of the tunes, the purity of the sentiments. Volume 1 had a few pieces that called for a majesty that a string quartet cannot convey; in Volume 2 nothing like that happens — you feel very content with these beautifully played carols and hymns. Bach’s "Sheep May Safely Graze’ and ‘Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring’ are both here, and the Christmas theme is stretched to include ‘All Through the Night’ and the Crusaders’ Hymn. Handel’s ‘He Shall Feed His Flock’ sounds very mellow and pastoral, as does the Shepherds’ Farewell (Berlioz). The harp is only present in the two Ave Marias — Gounod and Schubert, as you would expect. The Gounod actually sounds better this way than sung. There are a few renaissance selections. First violin and cello are played by the same people who did the first Rejoice! album, but the other two musicians are new. Nina Bodnar was concertmaster in St. Louis until recently. This may be an ad hoc group, but they make gorgeous sounds and blend together better than many a long-established quartet. As with the first album, these pieces are so mellow and laid-back that someone is bound to complain. (Can it be too soothing? But music should be soothing!) But what a relief it is after all the trashy arrangements we have forced on us every Christmas. And, what a delight this will be for chamber music lovers! Donald Vroon, American Record Guide

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