The title “Beloved” embraces all the works in this collection of song literature, which express an overriding conception of the Beloved and its presence in many different facets of life. The recording, features all original arrangements and includes such staples of the tenor repertoire as the popular Neapolitan songs. Among these crowd-rousing selections is “Core ’ngrato”, written in 1911 specially for Enrico Caruso. Among the Ukrainian & Russian selections is Rachmaninoff's: “Zdes Khorosho”- "How Fair this Spot". Its text remarks upon the beauty and wonder of a location. It shares its key of A Major with Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Symphony, written less than four years later. After seeing a performance of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Dresden Opera, Rachmaninoff was inspired by the connection between both music and locale and he began composing this symphony. In understanding this relationship of land and tranquil beauty for Rachmaninoff, one can begin to see a parallel between these works. As such, the introduction to this arrangement makes use of the 3rd movement of Rachmaninoff’s second symphony. “Extase”, Beloved’s second, notably ethereal French chanson - one of only 17 to survive Duparc’s massive personal destruction after his blindness. It is believed that the text of Tosti's “Ideale” was written with heartbroken reverence for the loss of an infant. For this reason, Braga's "Angel's Serenade" was chosen to follow. The serenata is a dialogue between mother and daughter as the child is called away by an angel. Braga's use of the violin represents the angel. Following several Irish favorites are a final three selections, filled with emotions and colors that only the Spanish language could so passionately reect. “Estrellita” is a Mexican Lullaby wishing on a star for requited love. “Júrame”, remarks upon love to the point of insanity. Finally, “El día que me quieras” is an Argentine tango by Carlos Gardel with immense beauty and passion - in English “The day when you will love me”. © 2014 Copyright All Rights Reserved Warning: Unauthorized reproduction is a violation of applicable laws. ChicagoClassical LP Chicago, Illinois- USA Christian E. Ketter www.christianketter.com Manufactured in USA