With Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa just around the corner this new release A Family Christmas with Andrea Borcelli, son Matteo (age 25) and daughter Virginia (age 10) give us what we want most for the Holidays: feel good vibes (Capitol Records). Borcelli and children offer harmonious collaborations to stylish arrangements of thirteen songs which evoke contemporary and centuries old musical traditions one might expect to hear during a season where Ave Maria even inspired 15 time Grammy winner Alicia Keys in her new R&B album Santa Baby – although Luciano Pavarotti’s version remains a shining star.
Borcelli has been on stage for so many years that we tend to take his artistic savvy for granted as might be the case with other entertainment gurus like Paul McCartney, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Andre Rieu, Stevie Wonder and Dave Koz. Although his persona is firmly rooted in the classical sound world of Italian opera and popular Neapolitan-style tunes, his silky tenor voice can easily navigate a mélange of repertoire that include roles in operas, musicals and duets with Ed Sheeran, Jennifer Lopez, Celine Dion and Cecilia Bartoli.
Borcelli’s worldwide performances embrace the intimacy of St. Peter’s Basilica, concert halls and huge outdoor venues. Needless to say, losing sight completely at age 12 makes his unique talent as vocalist, pianist and flutist even more remarkable. His My Christmas album (2009) topped the charts as best of holiday season but this release is all about this talented family and as such, has a generous tinge of sentimentality to it which is also expressed in photogenic booklet notes and the comment, “Yet music has the extraordinary power to boost emotion and beauty, to travel, to be collected and made your own should you wish it to be so.”
This is the kind of recording that can be listened to one-on-one or as background which doesn’t downplay the quality but would just add some soothing overtones to a hectic day – certainly evidenced in arrangements that are supported by backup vocals and silky blended orchestration in Do You Hear What I Hear, The First Noel and The Greatest Gift. Buon Natale has the sophisticated swing of a Nino Rota film score and Il giorno piu speciale both highlight Andrea and Matteo – these two are sung in Italian with the others in English.
Pull out the tissue for I’ll Be Home for Christmas and Virginia’s sweet toned contributions in When Christmas Comes to Town and Away in a Manger where she gives the serene tune and lyrics a kind of country music lilt. Yes Andrea, Matteo and Virginia - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and grazie for offering an upbeat syncopated. harmonized, keyboard and percussion infused Feliz Navidad - although Jose Feliciano’s version still rings in my ears, too. Andrea Borcelli continues a global tour which includes performances in Sacramento and The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles May 9 and 10 of next year.