This is music to dream by. Designed to bring out the singing quality of the cello, the program comprises folk music of many lands, art songs, arias from opera and operetta, and instrumental pieces. All of the 20 numbers except Fauré's "Sicilienne", which the composer himself transcribed for cello, are arrangements. All are slow, lyrical, similar in mood and very repetitious. The dynamics, except for an occasional mild build-up, are subdued; every piece ends in a fade-out. Contrast is limited to instrumental colors, including electronics, and idiomatic rhythms. Julian Lloyd Webber is a fine cellist; his style and temperament seem eminently well suited to this music. His tone is beguilingly sweet and flawlessly pure, but, staying mostly in the middle range of the cello, it lacks nuance and inflection. The intensity of his vibrato varies only in one piece, where he puts swells on all the long notes: Schubert's famous "Serenade," whose simple melody hardly calls for it. He is mightily abetted by some splendid partners, most notably harpist Catrin Finch and pianist John Lenehan, both of whom made several of the arrangements. The record's title comes from the closing number, part of a piece written for the cellist by his brother, Andrew Lloyd Webber, performed here as a song. --Edith Eisler
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