If You Love Me

Richard Galliano | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 28, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Cam Jazz
• ASIN: B000TNFWWY
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #203,782 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Milonga Is Coming

2. Triunfal

3. L 'Hymne à l'Amour [If You Love Me]

4. Sinfonia 11 in G-Moll, BWV 797

5. Soledad

6. Para Jobim

7. Operation Tango

8. Romance del Diablo

Editorial Reviews

This album by accordionist Richard Galliano is entitled If You Love Me ( L'Hymne à l'Amour ) and it marks the beginning of a significant collaboration with Gary Burton, an outstanding vibes player who, like Galliano, is a musician of extraordinary poetic feeling. The rhythm is made up of the vastly experienced bass player George Mraz and drummer Clarence Penn, one of the best drummers of his generation.
In If You Love Me ( L'Hymne à l'Amour ) there are five tracks by the magnificent Argentine composer and bandoneon player Astor Piazzolla: Milonga Is Coming, Triunfal, Soledad, Operation Tango and Romance del Diablo. Besides the splendid melody that gives the CD its title, written by Edith Piaf and Marguerite Monnot, there are Waltz For Debby by Bill Evans, the beautiful theme from the film Il Postino by Louis Bacalov and Para Jobim by Galliano. To complete this fine picture is a piece by Bach, taken
from his Symphony No. 11 in D Minor. Richard Galliano affirms This album evokes, I believe, an intense emotion and profound feeling of Peace and Love, a chiaroscuro like a Rembrandt painting or a poem by Lamartine. The vibraphone s blades vibrate with the keys of my accordion and will, I hope, make your soul vibrate to this Hymne à l'Amour that raises itself, more than ever, against violence, terrorism and war. Words to which there is no need to add more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hymn To Love, September 7, 2007

By 

Erik Werkman (Maarssen, The Netherlands) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: If You Love Me (Audio CD)

Richard Galliano, the world's no. 1 accordian player, seems to be in a very productive period lately, as he is issuing several new albums in a relative short period of time, in different settings. This new album is right up there with the best of his impressive and increasingly substantial discography and a wonderful addition to it, as it unites the beautifully blending sounds of Mr Galliano's accordion with Mr Burton's vibraphone on a gorgeous set of tunes, half of which coming from their common late friend Astor Piazzolla, most of which were recorded by Astor Piazzolla together with Gary Burton on a live album some 20+ years ago.

Both living artists, who always put the melody first instead of showing their mere virtuosity, have already previously released tributes to Mr Piazzolla, but none of their individual tributes has reached the heights of this collaboration. The album's opener is certainly one of the album's highlights and is sure to send shivers down your spine and will surely not be the last this happens while listening to this album. Special mention deserve also the subtle rhythm tandem, consisting of two other masters of their art, George Mraz on bass and Clarence Penn on drums, who know how to support this music optimally. As Richard Galliano rightly notes in his liner notes, this album provokes "an intense emotion and profound feeling of Peace and Love", or as I would call it, this music soothes the soul. Therefore, my only criticism towads this album is that instead of "If You Love Me" it would have been more appropriate to name it "Hymn To Love", which would have been a literal translation of the French title song contained in this marvelous collection. Not to be missed.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Over-rated, January 20, 2008

By 

Mark Kaminski (Portland, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: If You Love Me (Audio CD)

I had heard a really good CD of accordions playing classical works... and was amazed. Then I heard an excerpt of this CD (the "sinfonia" track) which turned out to be, easily, the best track. It's not bad, but it didn't move me.